Daily Express Building, Manchester

Former Daily Express Building
Art Deco facade visible from Great Ancoats Street
General information
Architectural style	Art deco / streamline moderne
Town or city	Manchester
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	53°29′06″N 2°13′53″W / 53.484991°N 2.231351°W / 53.484991; -2.231351
Completed	1939[1]
Technical details
Size	75,600 square feet (7,023 m2)
Design and construction
Architect	Sir Owen Williams

The Daily Express Building,^[2] located in Ancoats, is a Grade II* listed building built in 1930s art-deco style. It was designed by Sir Owen Williams to house one of three Daily Express offices; the other two located in London and Glasgow. The building was purposely built to resemble that which was located on Fleet Street.^[3] It features typical Art Deco elements: rounded corners, setbacks and a simple contrasting clear and black glass curtain wall. The Express began printing there in 1938 having been on the same site since 1927.Construction had to take place in stages so publishing could continue without interruption.

History

The building was Grade II* listed on October 3, 1974.^[3][4] The initial clients of the building, the Daily Express, left Manchester in the late 1980s,^[5] possibly because other buildings in the area were in a poor state of repair.^[4] However, after the Daily Express decided to leave the city, there was no new press which expressed interest in continuing the building's role as a printing centre, so instead this was discontinued; but printing does still continue in the area.^[6]

Recent history

The building has been extended four times in its history, the most recent being between 1993 and 1995.^[7] Now converted into apartments and offices for the Expressnetworks company, the former printing press was refurbished in the late 1990s and finished in 2000. This was only able to be done through funding by the Express Group and regeneration grants. The structure was sold to Washington DC-based A&A Investments in 2006 for £20.5 million, after previous owners Stockbourne had occupied the building for 12 months.^[7]

Notes

1. ^ Urban Memory :History and Amnesia in the Modern City. Mark Crinson. 2005. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QqEePPX52b0C&pg=PA64&dq=Daily+Express+Building,+Manchester&ei=NUhnSdLINJW6NqDgse0D#PPA63,M1. Retrieved 2009-01-01. 
2. ^ "Picture: Expressnetworks former Daily Express Building Manchester". Aidan O'Rourke. 2006-03-23. http://www.aidan.co.uk/photo5797.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Great Ancoats Street, Daily Express Building". Images of England. 2002-04-14. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=388153. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "TDEB". CUBE. 2001. http://www.cube.org.uk/ftp/City/Tours/cube_tours_ancoatsandneweastmanchester.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
5. ^ "Daily Express Building, Manchester". Andrew Goudie. 2007-04-26. http://www.pbase.com/andrewgoudie/image/77832724. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
6. ^ "Ancoats and its building today". Manchester City Council. http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=511&documentID=1216&pageNumber=3. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Express building is sold to US group for £20m". Manchester Evening News. 2006-09-26. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/224/224035_express_building_is_sold_to_us_group_for_20m.html. Retrieved 2008-07-06.