Sunlight House

Sunlight House is a Grade II listed building in the art deco style on Quay Street in Manchester, England.[2] Completed in 1932 for Joseph Sunlight, at 14 storeys it was the tallest building in Manchester, and the top floors of turrets and multiple dormer windows and mansard roofs create a distinctive skyline.

Sunlight House
Sunlight House
General information
StatusGrade II
Architectural styleArt deco
AddressQuay Street,
Manchester, England
Completed1932
Renovated2023
OwnerKarrev and Kinrise
Height135 ft (41 m)
Technical details
Floor count14
Design and construction
Architect(s)Joseph Sunlight
Other designersAnomaly Architects
Website
sunlighthouse.co.uk
References
[1]

Description

Sunlight House is a 14-storey steel and concrete structure, clad in Portland stone. The building is almost square in plan, with three street frontages, and a large central light-well. There is a basement swimming pool below a leadlight domed skylight at first floor in the centre of the lightwell.[3] Each of the three street façades are seven bays, with the two street corners expressed as three sided towers, which each rise to a four level octagonal turret, topped by a domed lantern and finial.[2] Behind and between the turrets, the top four floors are expressed as a mansard roof with multiple setback square dormer windows, which together with the turrets create a distinctive skyline and a major feature in the city.

Quay Street facade in 2023.

History

20th century

Sunlight House was completed in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, and was built by architect and developer Joseph Sunlight as the headquarters of his property business, with offices and shops to let. It was originally intended to be 40 storeys high, but this plan was scaled down due to opposition by the city council. On completion, at 14 storeys and 135 feet (41 m), it was the city's tallest building until the 1960s (excluding towers and turrets of other buildings),[3] and claimed to be Northern England's first skyscraper. A 40-storey extension proposed in 1948 was never built.[4]

The building was renovated in 1997 when it was found that bolts holding the cladding had rusted through.[5] It now houses offices, shops and a health club. The health club uses the original basement swimming pool.[3]

21st century

CIS bought Sunlight House from Gadaricus in 2002 for £27.5 million and sold it in 2005 to Warner Estate Holdings for £40 million.[6] In 2014, it was bought by Scottish Widows Investment Partners' Property Trust for £34.5 million.[7] In 2018, Aberdeen Standard Investments commissioned a £4 million refurbishment of Sunlight House.[8]

In 2022, the building was acquired by Kinrise in a joint venture with real estate fund Karrev for £42 million.[9] In 2023, plans for the refurbishment of Sunlight House were approved by Manchester City Council.[10]

CGI image showing furniture in a naturally lit reception area as part of the work carried out of Sunlight House.
CGI of proposed Reception in the refurbished Sunlight House, 2024.

See also

References
  1. "Sunlight House". skyscrapernews.com. Skyscraper News. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. Historic England. "Sunlight House, Quay Street (1270915)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  3. Hartwell, Clare (2001), Manchester, Pevsner Architectural Guides, Penguin Books, p. 252, ISBN 978-0-14-071131-8
  4. Kadish, Sharman (2004), "Sunlight, Joseph (1889–1978)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, retrieved 26 December 2009
  5. Parkinson-Bailey, John (2000), Manchester: an architectural history, Manchester University Press, p. 144, ISBN 978-0-7190-5606-2
  6. Thame, David (12 January 2013). "New era for Sunlight after £159m deal". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  7. Graham, James (27 January 2014). "Sunlight House changes hands in £34.5m deal". thebusinessdesk.com. The Business Desk. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  8. "First phase of £4m Sunlight House refurb completes". placenorthwest.co.uk. Place North West. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  9. Whelan, Dan (18 August 2022). "Manchester's Sunlight House sold for £42m". placenorthwest.co.uk. Place North West. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  10. Whelan, Dan (25 July 2023). "Kinrise's Sunlight House revamp given go-ahead". placenorthwest.co.uk. Place North West. Retrieved 25 July 2023.

53°28′43″N 2°15′02″W

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