Next Store Glass Facade, Manchester City Centre

5 October 2019 · Manchester

The curved glass frontage of Next's Manchester city centre store pushes up against a heavy, cloud-laden sky. A sandstone tower peeks above the arched steel canopy — two very different decades of architecture stacked into one frame. Tram lines cross the foreground; pedestrians and cars navigate the junction below. The building commands the corner as retail architecture that means to be noticed, and the overcast light flattens nothing — it sharpens the contrast between the reflective glass and the dark clouds rolling in.