Museum of Tall Buildings for Manchester

Confidentials 1 April 2024

‘Dangle and Dine’ included as part of Government’s Levelling Up programme

THIS WAS OUR APRIL FOOL SO DON’T BE FOOLED

The government has announced there will be a new Museum of Tall Buildings for Manchester with construction expected to begin by June. It's believed to be a world's first.

Levelling up minister, Michael Gove, told Confidentials.com: “This is all about levelling up. And up. And up. Manchester and Salford are building more tall buildings than anywhere else at present in the UK and we want to mark this with an even taller building in the city to celebrate the remarkable vertical growth."

This is all about levelling up. And up.

The 75 storey building (the tallest outside London) will be built on a site close to Piccadilly Station where the HS2 station was due to be built before the government pulled the Northern arm of the high speed rail link last year.

The most eyecatching feature will be a rooftop restaurant which will connect by two zipwires with Chotto Matte restaurant opening next spring in the Gary Neville led scheme at St Michael’s.

One zipwire will speed between the two buildings.

The second will be a unique slow sit down zipwire for food lovers to ‘Dangle and dine’ over tapas style food. They will be able to hire footwear shaped like enormous buckets to catch any falling food.

A spokesperson said: ‘This is a precautionary measure as we don’t want residents and visitors being bombarded by carelessly handled calamari, do we?”

Gary Neville has promised to say something.

2023 12 21 Manchester Cathedral Skyline Aerial 01 Copy — **Manchester Cathedral and some tall buildings** Image: Andy Mallins on huge stepladders

Other features include a 'Moaning Gallery' on the 45th floor for those who don’t like tall buildings and 'go on about them'. Guest speakers will include Eamonn Cunliffe, Professor of Moaning about Tall Buildings at Manchester School of Architecture.

Two Manchester property developers, Salboy and Renaker, will have a special ‘Mine’s Bigger Than Yours’ gallery.

There will be a gym, a well-being space, a bicycle dock, rain capture, hot air release and lots of words about the environment and sustainability. Lots of them.

"No box will be left unticked," says Michael Gove. Some floors might be used to house people not shipped to Rwanda.

Gove also said: “Simpson Haugh Architects will be appointed architects, because...er...Manchester Planning doesn't know of any other architects who can build tall buildings. Most of the money for the building is already guaranteed by foreign investors who have never been to Manchester."

Initial budgets seem to indicate there will be £110m which can then progressively and unexpectedly rise to £242m - £132m over budget – in line with established procedure at Aviva Studios/Factory International.

The project is expected to take three years rising to five and half years in line with established procedure at Aviva Studios/Factory International.

Before building work commences The Museum for Tall Buildings will be housed in a bungalow in Cheetham Hill, that's very difficult to find, during an extended consultation period open to everybody.

2024 04 01 Bungalow In Timperley — **A Cheetham Hill bungalow will temporarily house the Museum of Tall Buildings** Image: Government department for Levelling Up and Down

Get the latest news to your inbox

Get the latest food & drink news and exclusive offers by email by signing up to our mailing list. This is one of the ways that Confidentials remains free to our readers and by signing up you help support our high quality, impartial and knowledgable writers. Thank you!