Hollings Building At Manchester Metropolitan University

The Hollings Building at Manchester Metropolitan University is an educational building, formerly known as Hollings College, constructed between 1957 and 1960. It was designed by Leonard C. Howitt and features a concrete frame with brick infill for the tower and restaurant block, along with glass curtain walling for the workshop block. The building has flat roofs and consists of a seven-storey range of classrooms with a distinctive hyperbolic paraboloid frame. The classroom block narrows as it rises, with the frame expressed on the walls and open above the top storey, earning it the local nickname "The Toast-rack." The ground floor is partly open, and it has original slim white-painted window frames that are single glazed, with brick spandrels below.

To the west, the semi-circular restaurant block is two-storeyed and features an expressed concrete frame with boomerang-shaped members that rise and thicken towards the top, curving over the roof. This block has replacement UPVC windows and brick horizontal strip spandrels. A recent extra storey was under construction in 1995. The workshop block includes a deep horizontal band of windows with original vertical slim-sectioned white painted glazing bars, a broad panelled upstand above, and a red brick plinth. Originally, the restaurant block was intended to serve meals prepared by the students for the public, while the curved space provided a catwalk for products from the tailoring workshop. The Hollings Building is a distinctive and memorable structure that showcases the architect's passion for structural gymnastics and reflects the popular values of the Festival of Britain in regional architecture.