An inspired design by Tonkin Liu and remarkable engineering feat, the Tower of Light reveals Manchester’s vision of a low carbon future.
The tower marks the Manchester City Council’s commitment to provide sustainable energy to the Civic Quarter including some of Manchester’s most beloved landmarks such as the Town Hall and Bridgewater Hall music venue. To camouflage a dispersion flue which sits on top of VitalEnergi’s new district energy centre, the structure deploys Tonkin Liu’s and ARUP’s 12 year collaboration of shell-lace structure - a mathematical feat of bio-mimetic, super lightweight, single-surface structure that stands 6mm thick and 40-metre tall. From street level, a bespoke white-ceramic tiled facade encloses the combined-heat-and-power (CHP) facility including a viewing window to reveal co-generation technology to passers-by.
In conjunction with Tonkin Liu and wider project team, SEAM is honoured to design the lighting and light programming for an iconic structure for Manchester.
