It was great to see Tom at Chips last week when he and I visited the building with Stephen Bayley from the Observer.
For me as the architect it is very important to be with the client. The building has turned out as I hoped with joy, colour and delight. I hope the locals enjoy it. The only thing missing is the possibility of a glass in the Raw Bar and a large bowl of chips with lashings of ketchup.
Read the Observer article from mine and Tom’s visit here
Just stumbled across Dezeen, not only does it feature a nice article on our Chips scheme at New Islington but I think this will be a real classic magazine.
Magazines for me are symbolic of different periods of my life. As a teen in the mid 1970s NME was the one I’d look through for punk gigs, or for buying stay-press trousers from the classifieds at the back or eagerly picking up what was happening with my pop star heroes. Every Thursday I couldn’t wait to get my hands on its dirty newsprint.
As I got older into my late teens, The Face took over as the magazine of choice; filled with its glossy pictures, snaps of Paul Weller’s latest hairstyles or reviews of new bars and clubs which I aspired to visit.
The next iconic magazine was probably Wallpaper. When it first came out there was a real freshness for beautiful buildings, shops or objects to buy and a reverence for lost and forgotten towns and cities. Not just trendy places like London, Paris and New York but obscure Icelandic airports, Scandinavian hotels and Latin American shops.
Perhaps now Dezeen is the magazine for today. Its free(!), clean, easy to get in your inbox and there are images of wonderfully designed objects, buildings and things from right across the world – most of which I haven’t seen before.
If I had to make a criticism of it, it’s a lack of critical comment – or indeed any comment – but I can live with that. It’s a bit like the old Smash hits, great pictures, simply laid out and easy to consume.
Thanks to Marcus Fairs and his team. I hope that this magazine might have the same impact on me as NME, The Face or Wallpaper did many years ago. I love people who try new things.
Met up with some of our partners for a meeting over at Chips, New Islington yesterday to show off our new apartments, they all loved them! Took some pics of the views, I wish we had brought our deck chairs to sit out in the terrace to catch the sun whilst it hung around in Manchester. A nice cold beer would have topped it off too, however the meeting could have turned out to be a little less productive!
Our Rent to HomeBuy offer at Chips is certainly generating a lot of interest. Not surprising really as it’s a great way to be able to save money on rent and build up a deposit by paying 80% of the market rent. Then you can buy shares of your apartment from a minimum of 25% of the apartment price until you fully own it. At the meeting we were chatting about the Homes and Communities Agency’s ‘Key Event’ (www.thekeyevent.org ) they are hosting at Urbis on Monday 22nd June to help people understand how they can own their own home. We’ll be there serving up Chips (sorry not the greasy sort) along with other developers, independent financial advisors and lenders. It’s free to attend and there will be plenty of advice on hand, definitely one for the diary if you’re looking to buy a home.
This week the Architects Journal published a long article on Chips, our apartment building in New Islington. I am pleased to report that they liked it and recognised the tremendous effort that everyone has put into this area. It is sad that the bar is not occupied at the moment as it represents one of the central features of the master plan. i.e: to be able to sit near your home in the centre of the city with a glass of something in your hand and look South over a strip of water and observe people.
We have all tried to create a place where anyone will be happy to sit and do nothing. I think we are well on our way to achieving this and when we have I hope you will come and join me and Tom to watch the world from a cosy urban retreat.
Will Alsop, Alsop Architects
www.alsoparchitects.com
So Google StreetView has launched. I wonder if there’ll be a surge to the confessional? Come on, I know you’ve been peaking in your neighbour’s windows…
It’s great to see some of our projects cropping up on there. The famous Urban Splash Loft Shop in Manchester looks good.
It’s also interesting to take a glimpse back in time at the Chips building during the early stages of construction – just the top layer of writing can be seen.
How far we’ve come – this is how she looks now!
Anyone passing Ancoats over the last few days and weeks will have noticed that Chips has been a hive of activity. Our very own Will Alsop building - his first ever residential project - is nearing completion, and our customers will soon be moving in.
Our vision for New Islington is taking shape… although with funding hard to come-by, we’re working closely with the government to make sure that the next phases move forward as quickly as possible.
Our show apartment will be opening later in March… call our sales team to arrange a viewing - customers get priority!
0333 666 9999
www.urbansplash.co.uk/chips
03 numbers are charged as landline calls
Well done Urban Splash. You’ve done it on this side of town too. Chips is fab! Thanks for putting a big fat stamp on the area. I too look forward to a local pint. A bar is much needed around here. Could also do with your attention to detail and high management standards too.
More interesting Chips reading… Today Dezeen have posted this blog about the building: http://www.dezeen.com/2009/06/02/chips-by-alsop-architects/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=online&utm_campaign=twitter02jun09_ch2
Looking forward to that pint with you in the bar, Will ,(preferably of decent wine !), hope to get ground floor taken soon ,we have a number of possibilities we are working on ,but if anyone out there has some wonderful ideas give us a shout!