Buttress Architects

The 13,4000 msq headquarters building for the Energy and Automation division of Siemens plc became a local landmark as soon as it was completed. One of the first overtly modernist buildings to be built in Manchester for 20 years, three decades on its sculptural qualities still command attention.
The building combines office accommodation with management and conference facilities, training school, exhibition areas and restaurant, in a four and five storey building around a courtyard. Semi-mature trees were planted to the full perimeter of the site, incorporating 4,000 shrubs and trees. The plan, formal articulation and materials embody the themes of clarity, lightness and transparency.