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The UK's tallest timber tower has been unveiled in Salford.

Conran & Partners, Sir Terence Conran's architecture and design practice, has completed the striking 19-storey residential building, sitting opposite the Lowry Centre and adjacent to the proposed site for the new BBC building in Salford Quays.

The two linked nine and 19 storey residential towers are on the waterfront in one of the Quay's most desirable locations. The innovative, modern design is a striking addition to this thriving waterfront quarter.

Conran & Partners' use of full-height glazing and almond panelling provides a subtle contrast to the stark use of steel and aluminium at the Imperial War Museum North and the stainless steel cladding used on the Lowry Centre.

The entrance to the building is adorned with a three-tonne cast-iron sculpture 'Adagio' by British artist Charles Hadcock.

The apartments are all one or two bedroom, many with balconies and views out over the waterway, whilst there are six top floor apartments that have roof terraces.

Tim Bowder-Ridger, associate director at Conran & Partners, explained: "We believe that a good building can sit quietly in its setting, not all buildings need to scream and shout.

"Our buildings tend to be unfussy, well proportioned, using materials that age gracefully.

"The external panelling is a timber veneer compressed onto Bakelite to give a warm, tactile finish.

"The natural variation in the wood helps the scale of the building."

The Salford Quays tower is Conran's fifth scheme in Manchester - the latest project is another 19-storey tower in the heart of Manchester, the Light House, currently under construction for Stonehurst Estates.

For 25 years, Conran & Partners has been at the forefront of new thinking in architecture, whether pioneering urban regeneration as at Butlers Wharf in London, or being one of the first to say high rise city living could work in regional cities.

Paul Zara, director of Conran & Partners, says: "Manchester is perhaps the most successful example of this trend, where we built our first big city centre apartment blocks outside London.

"And we are still here, building a landmark 19-storey glass and steel tower in the city's bohemian Northern Quarter on the edge of the retail district.

"We are also now building the tallest residential towers in Sheffield, Glasgow and Cardiff."

And the architecture practice is widely acknowledged as having continually pushed the boundaries of design excellence in the city. All the residential schemes the company has designed to date have sold out and the Conran brand has become synonymous with quality and excellence.

Paul Zara added: "Good buildings also need good teams of people to design them. We have a growing team of young architects from around the world, (led by some slightly older heads!), who work hard to produce the very best designs from whatever brief they are given.

"Awards are the icing on the cake, and we have won many, including those from the RIBA, the Civic Trust and Housing Design Awards."

by: Editor

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