The CIS Tower, Manchester

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 25 Feb 2014

The Co-operative Insurance Tower, or CIS Tower, on Miller Street is Manchester's second-tallest building and the tallest office building outside London (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-operative_Insurance_Tower ). The tower was designed as a prestige headquarters to showcase the Co-operative movement in Manchester. Construction began in 1959 and the tower was completed in 1962 becoming the first building in Manchester taller than the Town Hall Tower. At 387 feet (118 m) in height, the CIS Tower overtook the Shell Centre as the tallest building in the United Kingdom, a title it retained for a year until it was replaced by the Millbank Tower in London. In 2006 the Beetham Tower became the tallest building in Manchester. The tower, which houses Co-operative Financial Services, a part of The Co-operative Group, remained largely as it was built for over 40 years until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation which included covering its facade in solar cells; it is now home to the largest commercial solar facade in Europe and the largest solar power system in the UK. The CIS Tower is a Grade II listed building.

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