Ian Simpson, SimpsonHaugh

Hi, my name is Ian Simpson, co-founding partner of Simpson Haugh Architects in Manchester and London. I was born in the mid-1960s and grew up in Heywood near Rochdale. I like tall buildings because I saw them on TV in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Manchester had the CIS Tower from 1962, which we're now refurbishing. Tall buildings are a challenge and a pleasure. I'm giving a tale of two cities: London and Manchester. Mancunians are brash but have embraced tall buildings. Our first building with an innovative double skin was Number One Deansgate, with winter gardens that became standard. At One Blackfriars, we used glass and concrete. If the world moves away from tall buildings, so be it, but many regions still build them. Number One Deansgate followed the 1996 IRA bombing; Manchester City Council wanted to reverse the flow of money to Cheshire towns. Crosby Homes built a mixed-use tower next to the cathedral. Beetham Tower was one of the first mixed-use residential/hotel projects, and for a time was the tallest residential building in northern Europe. Deansgate Square and Crown Street are providing 6,500 new homes for 20,000 residents, with 60% landscape. We've also worked on student housing at New Wakefield Street and a co-living scheme at First Street. One Blackfriars is an evolution of the residential tower typology—a singular, sculptural object on the South Bank, with full-height glazing and winter gardens. It sits within London viewing corridors and creates a pocket park. Tall buildings aren't a panacea but part of the offer; we practice and evolve, responding to well-being and green space. Architecture is the science of organized volumes and the art of delivering the necessary attractively. Every project is a prototype, often a leap in the dark—sometimes vertical as well as horizontal. Thank you.