CIS Tower (Manchester)

United Kingdom / England / Manchester / Miller Street
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The CIS Tower is a a 118-metre (387-foot) skyscraper in Manchester, England. The glass-walled building is the headquarters of the Co-operative Insurance Society Co. Ltd. The tower was constructed from 1959 to 1962. It was the first building in Manchester to surpass the Town Hall's 87-meter spire. Upon its completion, the CIS Tower was the tallest building in the United Kingdom until it was surpassed by the Euston Tower in 1970. It was still the tallest building in the UK outside of London until 2005 when it was surpassed by the Holloway Circus Tower in Birmingham. In 2006, the CIS Tower lost its title as the tallest building in Manchester to the Beetham Tower. Its exterior is of glass, aluminum, and black enamelled steel. Its interior was designed by Sir Misha Black, co-founder of the Design Research Unit. The tower was heavily influenced by skyscraper architecture in America, particularly the Inland Steel Building in Chicago. On a clear day, the Jodrell Bank Observatory and the Clywidian Mountains in Wales can be seen from the top floors of the building. The letters of the CIS logo at the top of the building are 2.13 meters (7 ft) high. The CIS Tower is a Grade II Listed Building.

The CIS Tower recently underwent a major facelift as it was clad in photovoltaic panels, the UK's largest solar power project to date, which generate 180,000 kWh per year, or, on average, 21 kW, which is reported to be enough energy to make 9,000,000 cups of tea. It was originally clad with 14,000,000 mosaic tiles, inspired by buildings of New York such as the Seagram Building. However, pollution and numerous repairs have given it a more dull grey than shimmering silver colour. The mosaic tiles began to fall off due to a lack of expansion joints and adhesion failure. The directors decided to do something to help the problem of climate change. So CIS was set to go solar.

The CIS Tower was clad in 7,244.80 blue solar panels at a cost of £5,500,000 and started feeding electricity to the national Grid in November 2005. Given the £5,500,000 cost and a capacity to power over 75 homes, it averages to an approximate cost of £73,333 per home. The work was supported by a £885,000 grant from the Northwest Development Agency and £175,000 from the Energy Savings Bank. The CIS Solar Tower was activated by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIS_Tower
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Coordinates:   53°29'11"N   2°14'18"W

Comments

  • the service tower at the front of this 400ft tower is now completely covered in solar panels, generating enough electricity for over 7000 homes
  • At £5,500,000 cost and 180,000 KWh, worth about £0.10 per KWh, the payback period is just over 305 years! It would have done more to protect the environment if the money had been spent on research into better (i.e cheaper and more efficient) solar panels.
This article was last modified 16 years ago