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Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,HotpixUK,IMG_0017,solar,PV,photovoltaic,arrays,panels,house,Thelwall,Warrington,Cheshire,England,UK,renewable,energy,electricity,rooftop,domestic,residential,property,home,green,technology,decarbonisation,net zero,efficiency,retrofit,generation,household,roof,low-carbon
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 3EDKYN2 - Twin solar photovoltaic PV arrays fitted to a brick-built suburban house in Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK. Roof-mounted solar panels are visible on both the main pitched roof and the lower garage or extension roof beneath a bright blue sky, with mature garden trees around the property. The photograph is suitable for editorial coverage of domestic renewable energy, rooftop solar power, household electricity generation, energy efficiency, home retrofitting, net zero, decarbonisation, green technology and residential property improvements. Solar PV installations allow householders to generate electricity from sunlight and can reduce reliance on grid power, particularly when combined with battery storage, smart tariffs or other low-carbon technologies. The scene can illustrate stories about installation costs, payback periods, energy bills, government incentives, home energy upgrades, planning considerations, property values and the growing visibility of renewable-energy technology on ordinary UK homes.
Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK
Description
Keywords: @HotpixUK,GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,IMG_9975,Just a few solar PV,Just,few,solar,PV,England,business,retail,property,commercial,local,services,consumer,urban,economy
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 3E9348F - Just a few solar PV, photographed in England, UK. The photograph is suitable for editorial coverage of retail, property, local businesses, infrastructure, consumer services, town-centre change and the everyday commercial environment. The image clearly records the visible subject, signage, branding, architecture, object or activity associated with Just a few solar PV. It provides useful documentary context for news, features, travel, social history and contemporary editorial coverage. Details visible in the scene help identify the place or subject and show how it appears in everyday use, making the photograph useful for stories about local identity, economic and social change, public services, transport, leisure, heritage, tourism, community life and the built environment. The photograph can also support retrospective or comparative coverage where the survival, redevelopment, reuse or changing role of the location or object is relevant.
England, UK
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,south,Cheshire,England,UK,church,Grappenhall Village,South Warrington,grave,yard,cemetery,bronze,green,Verdigris,solar,power,powered,clock,time,gnomon,point,pointer,horological,device,sun,dial,sunlight,bright,history,historical,historic,style,single point,nodus,decorative,decoration,printed,Gropenhale
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2K7NBNM - A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat plate (the dial) and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. As the Sun appears to move through the sky, the shadow aligns with different hour-lines, which are marked on the dial to indicate the time of day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, though a single point or nodus may be used. The gnomon casts a broad shadow
the shadow of the style shows the time. The gnomon may be a rod, wire, or elaborately decorated metal casting. The style must be parallel to the axis of the Earth's rotation for the sundial to be accurate throughout the year. The style's angle from horizontal is equal to the sundial's geographical latitude.
The term sundial can refer to any device that uses the Sun's altitude or azimuth (or both) to show the time. Sundials are valued as decorative objects, metaphors, and objects of intrigue and mathematical study.
The passing of time can be observed by placing a stick in the sand or a nail in a board and placing markers at the edge of a shadow or outlining a shadow at intervals. It is common for inexpensive, mass-produced decorative sundials to have incorrectly aligned gnomons, shadow lengths, and hour-lines, which cannot be adjusted to tell correct time
Church Lane, Grappenhall Village, South Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK
Description
Keywords: Manchester,city,centre,Greater,England,UK,tower,offices,office,block,building,solar,panel,clad,service,skyscraper,on,Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) by architects Gordon Tait and G.,architect,architects,Co-operative Wholesale Society,CWS,coop,M60,M60 0AL,history,historic,architecture,town,cities,towers,impressive,skyline,cityscape,sky line,towering,PV,panels
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JTD30P - The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. Designed for the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) by architects Gordon Tait and G. S. Hay, the building was completed in 1962 and rises to 118 m (387 feet) in height. As of 2022, the Grade II listed building is Manchester's 10th-tallest building and the second-tallest office building in the United Kingdom outside London after City Tower. The tower remained as built for over 40 years, until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation, which included covering its façade in photovoltaic panels.
The tower is situated on Miller Street, which forms the Manchester Inner Ring Road, and stands adjacent to New Century House, a high-rise office building also designed by Gordon Tait and G. S. Hay and constructed concurrently for the CIS's parent company, the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS)
The office tower building rises above a five-storey podium block. Each of the podium floors is 75 m × 55 m (246 ft × 180 ft), providing 4,125 m2 (44,400 sq ft) floor space per storey. Each office floor in the tower is 18 m × 44 m (59 ft × 144 ft), creating 727 m2 (7,830 sq ft) floor space per storey. The tower element consists of the steel-framed main office building and a windowless reinforced concrete service tower. The service tower rises higher than the main office block and houses lifts and stairwells.
The building has a symmetrical plan, with the main tower rising up from the north-eastern end of the podium block and projecting at the front over the first two floors and the main entrance. The service tower is attached to the centre of the main tower's south-west side, forming a squat T-shape. In total, the building has 388,000 sq ft (36,000 m2) of floor area, with clear open spaces on the office floors.
Miller St, Manchester, England, UK, M60 0AL
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,North West,substation,Altrincham,Greater Manchester,England,UK,WA16,load,standby,limit,limited,fence,gas,coal,solar,wind,clean,output,domestic,energy demand,demand,national grid,cable,cables,sub-station,switchgear,transmission,GB,British,distributing,power,generated,national,grid,queue,delay,delays
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JH5D8H - The National Grid is Great Britain's electricity transmission network, distributing the electrical power generated in England, Scotland, and Wales, and transferring energy between Great Britain and Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway. Most data comes from the Balancing Mechanism Reporting System and is updated at five minute intervals. Solar data comes from Sheffield Solar and is updated at half hour intervals. - live info at https://grid.iamkate.com/
Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England, UK
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@Hotpixuk,Hotpixuk,CW9 6JR,CW9,signage,sunny,summer,blue sky,main,road,digital,PV,Road Closed,Here,Solar Sign,roadside,on,the,A49,to,from,eco,roads,close,closed,here,rd,hired,for,hire,kit,equipment,solar,signs,of,times,self-contained
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy 2JDRMXT - . Made at A49, Antrobus, Cheshire, England, UK, CW9 6JR in 2022, this photograph records a real place and moment, preserving details that may later be altered by redevelopment, rebranding, changing ownership or different public use. The photograph centres on Road Closed Here - Solar Sign on the A49 road to Northwich from Warrington, A49, Antrobus, Cheshire, England, UK, CW9 6JR. A broader reading of the photograph includes social history, public realm, local history, visual archive, urban change, changing streetscape, everyday life, changing land use, wayfinding system, directional marker, contemporary city life, street furniture, community life, and contemporary social history. The wider contemporary story combines inclusive design, public safety and the way signage becomes part of local visual identity. Viewed from the mid-2020s, the subject also connects with footfall, public-realm change and the documentary importance of recording everyday urban environments. Future viewers can use this scene from A49, Antrobus, Cheshire, England, UK, CW9 6JR to compare public access and movement with whatever follows after altered transport patterns. The subject also sits alongside route marker, urban social history, operational signage, community identity, public information signage, community noticeboard, instructional sign, and place identity. The combination of Northwich, Antrobus, Closed, and Solar anchors the frame to a recognisable activity, place or moment. The period setting at A49, Antrobus, Cheshire, England, UK, CW9 6JR helps place the main subject within real social and physical surroundings rather than isolating it as an abstract object. The setting also helps illustrate inclusive design and the importance of accessible information in hospitals, stations and public spaces as part of the longer story of A49, Antrobus, Cheshire, England, UK, CW9 6JR. The image fixes a trace of local identity before later change alters the scene.
A49, Antrobus, Cheshire, England, UK, CW9 6JR
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,HotpixUK,@HotpixUK,England,UK,GB,North West England,city centre,Vue,Imax,cinema,CIS,Insurance Building,Solar,PV,complex,venue,Land Securities,Panels,Solar PV,Manchester City Centre,City Centre,entertainment,M4,sunny,history,Mirror,heritage,historic,venues,pubs,bars,clubs,restaurants,central,city,centre
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy RPGEN3 - The Printworks entertainment venue is located on the revamped Withy Grove site of the business premises of the 19th century newspaper proprietor Edward Hulton, established in 1873 and later expanded. Hulton's son Sir Edward Hulton expanded his father's newspaper interests and sold his publishing business based in London and Manchester to Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere when he retired in 1923. Most of the Hulton newspapers were sold again soon afterwards to the Allied Newspapers consortium formed in 1924 (renamed Kemsley Newspapers in 1943 and bought by Roy Thomson in 1959).
Earlier names of the buildings associated with publishing that were incorporated into the development include Withy Grove Printing House, the Chronicle Buildings, Allied House, Kemsley House, Thomson House and Maxwell House. Kemsley House on the corner of Withy Grove and Corporation Street was developed gradually from 1929 and became the largest newspaper printing house in Europe. The site housed a printing press until 1986. Robert Maxwell bought the property and subsequently closed it down The building was left unused for over a decade and fell derelict.
27 Withy Grove, Manchester, UK, M4 2BS
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,HotpixUK,Solar,Panel,Solar Panels,Dalkeith,Lothian,Scotland,UK,Eco,ecological,renewable,energy,Solar Farm,electricity,power,carbon-free,carbon neutral,carbon free,solar pv,farm,meadow,field,power generation,Scottish,EH22,Scottish PV,Scotland Solar Power,generating electricity,from solar,photo-voltaic panels,SSE,Scottish Southern Energy,Steve Tinsley,Green Deal,Energy,Solutions,going green,green energy
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy R9GT5N - More than 35,000 homes and 600 businesses in Scotland have installed solar PV panels, but only because of lavish government subsidies. Now that these subsidies are being discontinued the question becomes whether solar PV in Scotland can stand on its own two feet. The data from operating PV arrays presented in this post show that the answer is a resounding no . With capacity factors of only 8-9% and seasonal generation ranges exceeding a factor of twelve, Scotland is in fact one of the worst places in Europe for solar, despite what its supporters claim.
Articles telling us what a great country Scotland is for solar PV continue to appear. The latest was this one from PV Magazine, linked to in Blowout Week 242. It had this to say:
Solar power is the fastest growing energy technology in the world, and works exceptionally well even in the U.K.'s northern location and climate ¦
According to the BBC solar energy works so exceptionally well at high latitudes that it could power all Scottish electricity supplies. The BBC even provided supporting evidence:
Data from WeatherEnergy showed that sunshine in Edinburgh in April (2015) generated more electricity than is used in an average home “ a total of 113%. In Aberdeen the figure was 111%, 106% in Glasgow and 104% in Inverness.
But while Scotland's solar potential, which according to Herald Scotland is staggering ¦.
Rooftop solar provides an exceptionally cost-effective, popular, community-based solution with the potential for a staggering 40GW of rooftop capacity across Scotland.
¦. it's not being realized because Scottish solar is being unfairly punished :
Solar deployment on Scottish rooftops lags far behind both national and European deployment. One of the reasons for this is the particularly harsh tax treatment of rooftop solar on Scottish businesses and public sector buildings, including schools and hospitals.
Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, UK, EH22 3JY
Description
Keywords: GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,HotpixUK,services,Lower Wick,panorama,Gloucestershire,Motorway services,GL11 6DD,Dursley,Waitrose at Michaelwood Services,M5 services,M5 motorway,electric charging point,GL11,green,electricity,solar,wind,power,renewable,renewables,low,lower,carbon,footprint,climate change,Tariff,Michaelwood services,sunshine,WelcomeBreak,motorway services,service,breaks,bench,benches,take,blue sky,break,table
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy P4HWKW - . This scene at Michaelwood Services M5, Gloucestershire, South West England, UK in 2018 forms part of the visual history of the locality, documenting the named subject together with aspects of how the area looked and functioned at the time. The frame specifically shows Waitrose at Michaelwood Services, M5 services,M5 motorway,electric charging point, GL11 , Dursley. The subject also carries associations with period detail, documentary photography, changing streetscape, public realm, conservation interest, before-and-after reference, heritage landmark, adaptive reuse, urban fabric, visual archive, architectural detail, period building, place identity, and cityscape history. Viewed from the mid-2020s, the subject also connects with redevelopment pressure, adaptive reuse and keeping older buildings useful without erasing their distinctive character. The archival value lies partly in recording street furniture and boundaries around Michaelwood Services M5, Gloucestershire, South West England, UK before refurbishment alters the character of the place. The subject also sits alongside built heritage, architectural character, social history, historical comparison, historic streetscape, everyday life, archival record, and historic townscape. Elements such as electric, motorway, Dursley, Waitrose, and point add documentary specificity and may become increasingly useful when compared with later records. By fixing the subject within Michaelwood Services M5, Gloucestershire, South West England, UK, the image preserves more than the headline object or building: it records part of the locality's everyday history. The wider significance includes redevelopment pressure and the value of architectural landmarks to local identity and tourism within the specific setting of Michaelwood Services M5, Gloucestershire, South West England, UK. It also preserves evidence of changing use within the wider story of Michaelwood Services M5, Gloucestershire, South West England, UK.
Michaelwood Services M5, Gloucestershire, South West England, UK
Description
Keywords: Panorama,Pano,London,England,UK,Tower Place,glass,office,Foster,partners,Foster + Partners,Norman Foster,Marsh and McLennan Companies,Marsh,and,McLennan,Companies,company,Lord Foster,gotonysmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,EC3R,3,building,architecture,wide,energy,efficient,solar,shaded,shading
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy EC2T1Y - Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal today opened the seven storey offices of Marsh and McLennan Companies designed by Foster and Partners.
The development provides 42,000 square metres of highly energy-efficient office space in two blocks, broadly triangular in plan, which are linked by one of the largest glazed atriums in Europe. This semi-public space allows pedestrians to use it as a sheltered thoroughfare.
The building replaces a sixteen-storey 1960s office development which obstructed important view corridors between Greenwich and St Pauls Cathedral and between the Monument and the Tower of London. The new buildings restore these views and open up this historically important site, creating a new public plaza with trees and water features.
The engineering of the atriums glass walls in excess of twenty metres in height is technically highly advanced: they are hung like curtains from tension cables stretched between the two buildings. They terminate one storey above ground level, creating an open space through which the public can move freely.
In order to prevent the faades from swaying under wind loads, they are tied back to the columns that support the glass roof with glass needles bora-silicate glass pipes, more commonly used to transport corrosive chemicals. Each needle consists of two layers of glass an inner structural tube and an outer protective layer. A PVB interlayer holds the two together. The tubes have been pre-compressed in order to overcome the inherent weakness of glass when under tension. Each tube takes the wind load of almost 50m2 of facade. The tubes have been tested to three times their design load. They have never been used in an architectural application before.
The building is highly energy efficient, incorporating blade-like aluminium louvres for solar shading, displacement ventilation and high insulation levels. The lobbies incorporate two large wall paintings by the renowned American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt.
3 ,Lower Thames Street, London, England, UK, EC3R 5BT
Description
Keywords: Edinburgh,Scotland,UK,red,tile,roof,solar,panel,eco,ecofriendly,modern,GoTonySmith,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,new,on,an,estate,near,PV,eco-friendly,Viscount Drive,EH22 3FX,EH22,development,houses,detached,render,rendered,Photovoltaic,panels,offer,renewable energy
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DRH8CT - . New build houses, on an estate Viscount Dr, Eskbank, near Dalkeith, Edinburgh Midlothian, Scotland, UK, EH22 3FX. Photographed at Viscount Dr, Eskbank, near Dalkeith Midlothian, Scotland, UK, EH22 3FX. The photograph was taken on 20 October 2013. This editorial stock image documents the subject as it appeared at that time, preserving a clear record of the place, its appearance and the everyday details surrounding it. The scene is closely associated with Eskbank, Dalkeith, houses, build, development, Midlothian, detached, homes, panels and Edinburgh, adding specific subject detail and useful search context without losing the documentary focus on the main subject. The image is relevant to architecture, the built environment, urban heritage, streetscape and the way historic and modern buildings contribute to a sense of place. It can illustrate editorial coverage of architectural detail, conservation, listed buildings, planning, regeneration, tourism, civic identity and changing uses of older properties. Facades, windows, entrances, masonry, decorative elements, signage and neighbouring structures provide documentary evidence of the building's appearance and setting. The dated view also gives the photograph archive value for future comparison if the property is restored, altered, rebranded, repurposed or redeveloped. Search themes include architecture, historic buildings, facades, interiors, conservation, listed buildings, planning, regeneration, heritage, streetscape and urban change. A precise location image is useful for comparing later restoration, alteration, redevelopment, rebranding or changes in the use of the building. The combination of a named subject, precise location and capture date gives the image particular value to editors who need a real, identifiable place rather than a generic illustrative photograph. The view is firmly rooted in a real location rather than a constructed studio setting.
Viscount Dr, Eskbank, near Dalkeith Midlothian, Scotland, UK, EH22 3FX
Description
Keywords: Mph,sign,Lymm,Warrington,Cheshire,England,UK,LA,WBC,borough,council,local,authority,PV,photo,voltaic,photovoltaic,photo-voltaic,cell,cells,power,powered,eco,friendly,ecofriendly,eco-friendly,sustainable,low,voltage,LED,light,lighting,modules,panels,panel,road,array,50mph,pole,mount,mounted,standalon,gotonysmith,Silicon,Boule,&,Solar,Cell,solarcell,Monocrystalline,tracker,tracking,track,tracks,standalone,device,devices,side,of,road,near-maximum,power,collection,near,maximum,route,signs,routesigns,signlights,ultra,low,power,lighting,ultralow,ultra-low,LUA,energy,storage,system,no,mains,cable,light,Simmonsigns,Limited,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DDXT50 - . Solar powered street furniture road speed 50 mph sign , Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK. The photograph was taken on 05 September 2013. This editorial stock image documents the subject as it appeared at that time, preserving a clear record of the place, its appearance and the everyday details surrounding it. Signage, lettering, logos, numbers or other visible information form an important part of the record, helping identify the subject and capture contemporary branding or public messaging. The scene is closely associated with Solar, powered, street, furniture, road, speed, sign, Mph, Lymm and Warrington, adding specific subject detail and useful search context without losing the documentary focus on the main subject. The photograph gives particular emphasis to signage, lettering, public information, branding or graphic communication in a real-world setting. It can support editorial features about wayfinding, advertising, local identity, warnings, public information, business branding, typography, street design and the visual language of towns and cities. Words, symbols, colours, materials and the physical setting of the sign provide useful documentary detail for researchers interested in how information was presented at the time. Because signs and branding are frequently replaced, repainted or removed, the image also has useful archive and social-history value. Search themes include signs, lettering, typography, advertising, wayfinding, public information, warnings, branding, street graphics and local identity. Because signs are frequently replaced or repainted, a clear dated photograph of wording or graphics can acquire strong archive and social-history value. The combination of a named subject, precise location and capture date gives the image particular value to editors who need a real, identifiable place rather than a generic illustrative photograph. The view is firmly rooted in a real location rather than a constructed studio setting.
Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK
Description
Keywords: building,architecture,office,skyscraper,Miller Street,miller,st,street,Grade II listed building,grade,two,Co-operative Banking Group,Cooperative,Banking,retail,Group,store,photovoltaic,panel,panels,Solarcentury,Solar,century,Building-integrated photovoltaics,M4 4AH,M44AH,Miller St,Miller,Street,Gotonysmith,Gordon Tait,of,Burnett,Tait & Partners,Tait,Conference Hall,Corporation Street,integrated,photovoltaic,photovoltaics,tall,tallest,60s,70s,concrete,town planning,disaster,Miller Street,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DE9B14 - The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. It was completed in 1962 and rises to 387 feet (118 m) in height.
The Grade II listed building, which houses the Co-operative Banking Group, is Manchester's second-tallest building and the tallest office building in the United Kingdom outside London. The tower remained as built for over 40 years until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation which included covering its facade in photovoltaic panels.
CIS Tower,Miller St, Manchester M4 4AH, England,UK
Description
Keywords: building,architecture,office,skyscraper,Miller Street,miller,st,street,Grade II listed building,grade,two,Co-operative Banking Group,Cooperative,Banking,retail,Group,store,photovoltaic,panel,panels,Solarcentury,Solar,century,Building-integrated photovoltaics,M4 4AH,M44AH,Miller St,Miller,Street,Gotonysmith,Gordon Tait,of,Burnett,Tait & Partners,Tait,Conference Hall,Corporation Street,integrated,photovoltaic,photovoltaics,tall,tallest,60s,70s,concrete,town planning,disaster,Miller Street,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DE9B1K - The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. It was completed in 1962 and rises to 387 feet (118 m) in height.
The Grade II listed building, which houses the Co-operative Banking Group, is Manchester's second-tallest building and the tallest office building in the United Kingdom outside London. The tower remained as built for over 40 years until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation which included covering its facade in photovoltaic panels.
CIS Tower,Miller St, Manchester M4 4AH, England,UK
Description
Keywords: building,architecture,office,skyscraper,Miller Street,miller,st,street,Grade II listed building,grade,two,Cooperative,Banking,retail,Group,store,photovoltaic,panel,panels,Solar,century,M4 4AH,M44AH,Miller St,Miller,Street,Gotonysmith,Gordon Tait,of,Burnett,Tait & Partners,Tait,Conference Hall,Corporation Street,integrated,photovoltaic,tall,tallest,60s,70s,concrete,town planning,disaster,Miller Street,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DE9B23 - The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. It was completed in 1962 and rises to 387 feet (118 m) in height.
The Grade II listed building, which houses the Co-operative Banking Group, is Manchester's second-tallest building and the tallest office building in the United Kingdom outside London. The tower remained as built for over 40 years until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation which included covering its facade in photovoltaic panels.
CIS Tower,Miller St, Manchester M4 4AH, England,UK
Description
Keywords: in,spring,springtime,light,behind,young,fresh,life,revive,life,plant,tree,Horse Chestnut,with sun behind,Aesculus hippocastanum,Coming alive,GoTonySmith,@HotpixUK,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of,Images of,Stock Images,morning,low,sun,leaves,picked,out,picking,conker,flare,flares,solar
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy DGHEH1 - Horse chestnut is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to the Balkan peninsula.
Common name: horse chestnut
Scientific name: Aesculus hippocastanum
Family: Hippocastanaceae
UK provenance: non-native
Interesting fact: the leaf stalks leave a scar on the twig when they fall, which resembles an inverted horse shoe with nail holes. This association with horses could explain why conkers used to be ground up and fed to horses to relieve them of coughs, and could be the origin of the tree's name.
Cheshire, England, UK
Description
Keywords: The CIS Tower building,headquarters,of,the,Cooperative,Insurance,Society,Manchester,England,UK,coop,co-op,Insure,insured,group,solar,panels,sustainable,facade,in,photovoltaic,panels,PV,green,office,block,gotonysmith,prestige,headquarters,showcase,Co-operative,movement,1962,steel,frame,podium,block,Grade,2,II,listed,building,architecture,Gordon,Tait,of,Burnett,Tait,&,Partners,discipline,and,consistency,towers,design,influenced,by,Skidmore,Owings,&,Merrills,Inland,Steel,Building,Chicago,architects,1958,Interiors,were,designed,by,Misha,Black,of,the,Design,Research,Unit,Solarcentury,permanent,green,energy,solution,Renovation,Within,six,months,of,construction,some,of,the,mosaic,tiles,on,the,service,tower,became,detached,owing,to,cement,failure,and,lack,of,expansion,joints,in,the,concrete.,Although,the,tower,was,granted,listed,building,status,in,1995,falling,tiles,were,an,ongoing,problem.,English,Heritage,had,to,be,consulted,alterations,could,change,the,buildings,appearance.,In,2004,CIS,consulted,Solarcentury,575.5kW,photovoltaic cells towerblock concrete,gotonysmith,Mancester,Buy Pictures of,Buy Images Of
Description: Tony Smith image Alamy CEY8WK - The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. It was completed in 1962 and rises to 387 feet (118 m) in height.
The Grade II listed building, which houses the Co-operative Banking Group, is Manchester's second-tallest building and the tallest office building outside London. The tower remained as built for over 40 years until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation which included covering its facade in photovoltaic panels.
The tower's design was influenced by Skidmore Owings & Merrill's Inland Steel Building in Chicago after a visit by the architects in 1958. Interiors were designed by Misha Black of the Design Research Unit.
Renovation
Within six months of construction some of the mosaic tiles on the service tower became detached owing to cement failure and lack of expansion joints in the concrete. Although the tower was granted listed building status in 1995, falling tiles were an ongoing problem. English Heritage had to be consulted as alterations could change the building's appearance.
In 2004 CIS consulted Solarcentury with a view to replacing the deteriorating mosaic with 575.5kW of blue building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) cells which would provide a permanent green energy solution, generating approximately 180,000 kWh of electricity per year. The work was completed by Arup and at that time was the largest commercial solar façade in Europe.
The PV cells made by Sharp Electronics began feeding electricity to the National Grid in November 2005. The project, which cost £5.5 million, was partly funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency which granted £885,000 and the Energy Savings Trust at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) contributed £175,000.
The solar power project was chosen by the DTI as one of the 10 best green energy projects of 2005. Out of sight on the roof are 24 wind turbines generating 10% of the tower's electricity
CIS Tower, Miller Street, Manchester , Lancashire, England UK M60 0AL
