Memorial unveiled to influential city architect

A GLASS memorial has been unveiled at Allied London’s Spinningfields event in memory of Manchester architect Andy Robson.

The artwork is etched with the specially commissioned poem ‘Architect’ by local poet Adam O’Riordan.

Mr Robson, who worked for Holford Associates (which later became Abbey Holford Row and is now part of AEDAS), is acknowledged as being at the forefront of the city’s design renaissance, working on schemes such as Lincoln House, Deansgate, in the mid-1980s.

He was responsible for the design of over two million sq feet of Manchester’s contemporary buildings, including 201 Deansgate. The last project he worked on was Allied London’s Spinningfields scheme.

After his death at the age of 44 in 2003, senior representatives of the city’s property and development community supported a dinner hosted by Sir Howard Bernstein at Manchester Town Hall to raise money for the Andy Robson Charitable Trust. Some £65,000 was raised, which has been used to finance the memorial.

The memorial piece is made from recycled glass and based on architectural formats; height of a door, length of a stride, and the theme ‘framing a view’, which is a hallmark of Robson’s conceptual approach to design.

Kim Ebling, a former colleague and fellow architect was chosen to design the memorial, which was unveiled earlier this week by another former colleague. Vic Basil.

Ken Knott, chief executive of Ask Developments and Trustee of the Andy Robson Charitable Trust, said: “Andy is widely acknowledged as one of Manchester’s greatest talents.   We are grateful to all those who donated funds to the Trust which has allowed the creation and installation of this stunning piece of artwork.”

The memorial will remain at Hardman Square but will be relocated to the new Irwell Footbridge when it is completed next summer.