Tower Block Tour

During this years Architecture Week, Apartment took part in The Institute of Urban Dreaming’s, collaboration with CUBE, where invited members of the public attended a tour of Manchester residential tower blocks. Artists John van Aitken and Jane Brake lead the tour on behalf of the Institute of Urban Dreaming, offering their own unique perspective on the history, present and future of the tower block. Just a few of the many highlights of the day included Thorn Court in Salford, with a beautifully kept communal garden, Stretford Tower in Stretford with fabulous views of Manchester, a new development in Collyhurst by Urban Splash, and ‘How to live in a Tower Block’ by Maureen Ward; an invaluable pamphlet with handy hints on tower block etiquette. Each participant was given a Polaroid camera to document the day an example of which is shown above. The day culminated at Apartment where selected Polaroids where then presented to the group. There are some useful links below for more information on tower blocks and architecture week.

www.architectureweek.com
www.sustainingtowers.org
www.3towers.co.uk
www.c20society.org.uk
www.cube.org.uk
www.webelongeverywhere.co.uk

The above picture shows Megan; one of the participants looking through the selected polaroids from the tour which were shown at Apartment at the end of the day. (Photograph Adam Murray).