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Manchester Architecture Tours

Mancunian Architecture Guides – Exclusive Lancashire Building Walks, north west England tailor made for groups of visitors.

post updated 4 August 2024

Contact e-architect for your walking guide on isabelle(at)e-architect.com

Manchester Architecture Tours: Exclusive Guided Walks

Our Manchester guided tours are all tailored to suit each booking, we do not allow for bookings to be joined. Our guided tours in Lancashire are all exclusive to each client.

If you wish to plan a trip in North-West England please contact us and we can arrange a guide or guides for your visit.

The Whitworth Gallery Extension in Manchester – south of city centre, building design by MUMA architects:

photograph : Alan Williams Photography

Manchester Architecture Walking Tours

Manchester Architecture – Introduction

The city is located in the north west of England, on the River Irwell. The city is famous for historic architecture such as the Manchester Town Hall, Victorian warehouses and the Castlefield canal area.

Modern architecture works notably include the towering Hilton Hotel Manchester – Beetham Tower, the Imperial War Museum North, Lowry Centre (in Salford, the adjacent city), Piccadilly Gardens redevelopment, Trinity Bridge, Civil Justice Centre and Manchester Science Museum building.

Chetham’s Music School Building on the north side of city centre, building design by Stephenson: ISA Studio:

photograph © Daniel Hopkinson

Famous architects with buildings in the city include Santiago Calatrava, Daniel Libeskind, Tadao Ando, Mecanoo, Ian Simpson Architects, and Australia’s Denton Corker Marshall Architects. Other key architects with work in the city include Alsop Architects, Hodder + Partners, BDP, Arup Associates, Benoy and Aedas. Historic architects with work in the city include Alfred Waterhouse and Basil Champneys.

Manchester Arts & Cultural Centre building design by Mecanoo, based in the Netherlands:

photo Courtesy of Mecanoo

This northern English city is easily walkable with lots of good new public spaces. There is a tram system but it is limited in coverage, cutting diagonally across the city centre.

Manchester Civil Justice Centre west city centre, building design by Denton Corker Marshall Architects:

photograph : Tim Griffith

We would suggest a 3 to 4 hour walking tour to get a feel of the city but with so many major buildings a day’s visit is recommended.

If you only have one day to spare we suggest seeing the major city centre buildings, namely the historic Town Hall by Waterhouse, the new Picadilly Gardens design by world-famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, Manchester Civil Justice Centre by DCM and Urbis by Ian Simpson Architects. Along the way you can take in the delightful Victorian Barton Arcade, Manchester Town Hall, the large circular Central Library building, the conference centre (located in a massive converted railway station), the concert hall by RHWL, the Deansgate apartments by Ian Simpson and the intriguing Hilton Tower.

Maggie’s Oldham Building design by dRMM architects, located north of the city:

photo © Alex de Rijke

If you have two days available in Manchester we suggest you also take time to visit the industrial heritage of the city in Castlefield, a lovely coming together of canals and railway bridges, with a sprinkling of pubs and cafes and a few contemporary style interventions. Also worth a visit is the area to the north of Picadilly Station where there is housing from the early 21st century by FAT architects.

Between New Islington and the city centre is Oldham Street which contains record and clothes shops, and the Dry 201 bar which was designed by Ben Kelly. His Hacienda nightclub no longer exists, but recorded only in the title of the apartments on its site. West of the city is the Imperial War Museum North at Trafford Quays, by Studio Daniel Libeskind.

The Manchester University area is about 15 minutes walk south down Oxford Road and has a real mix of buildings. The Whitworth Art Gallery and the main Victorian buildings are of interest.

Manchester Architecture : key buildings to visit in the city.

Some recent architecture south of the city centre – Manchester Metropolitan University Student Union Building design by FCBStudios:

photo : Hufton & Crow

Manchester Walking Tours

Manchester Architecture Tours can provide an introduction to the city’s key buildings or it can focus on say contemporary architecture or for example museum buildings. e-architect can assist in preparing a good itinerary for your group.

Manchester Architectural Walking Tours

Contact e-architect to arrange your architectural tour in Manchester on mob. / isabelle(at)e-architect.com

KAMPUS Development by world-famous Dutch architects Mecanoo

photograph © Uniform

Architecture Tours

e-architect organise British architecture walking tours in other cities such as Liverpool, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. We also have walking tour guides outside Britain in cities such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen and Paris.

Architecture Walking Tours – design city walks by e-architect.

Manchester Building News

images courtesy of architecture office

Location: Manchester, north west England, UK

European Building Tours

Edinburgh Architecture Walking Tours

London Architecture Walking Tours in southeast England

Liverpool Architecture Tours in northwest England

Glasgow Walking Tours in western Scotland

Manchester Buildings

Citylabs in Manchester, Oxford Road
Design: Sheppard Robson

image from architect
Citylabs in Manchester Building
The Grade-II listed Edwardian building that wraps around Citylabs 3.0 is to be modified and refurbished, creating smaller office suites to complement the accommodation in the new buildings. An atrium will connect the heritage building with the new structure, allowing the facility to share resources that include shared meeting areas as well as spaces for dining, public exhibitions and conferences.