It is, by a lot of people’s standard, quite an attractive corner of Greater Manchester – waterfront buildings, ultra-modern construction, landmark museum architecture.
But MediaCityUK was once given the brutal title of being the ‘ugliest building in the UK’.
For more than a decade, Building Design hosted the ‘Carbuncle Cup’, an award that celebrated not architectural excellence – but the complete opposite.
The Carbuncle Cup picked out the ugliest building that had been completed in the UK in the last 12 months.
Winners over the years included 20 Fenchurch Street in London (better known to most as the ‘Walkie-Talkie’ building that reflected sunlight in such a way that it could melt cars), Liverpool Ferry Terminal (which spoiled the waterfront), and Lincoln Plaza, also in London.
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But twice in the Carbuncle Cup’s 13-year history, it was buildings in Greater Manchester which were deemed the ugliest in the UK.
One year – the award’s final year, actually – it was Redrock in Stockport that took the crown. A surprise to precisely no one.
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Redrock in Stockport, which won the Carbuncle Cup prize for UK’s ugliest building in 2018. Credit: Geograph
Redrock was described as ‘a sad metaphor for our failing high streets’ and an ‘absolute monstrosity’.
The leisure complex, home to a cinema and restaurants, is easily visible from the M60 as you approach Stockport and is a huge warehouse-like block with a patchwork of blue cladding on the outside.
The judges said in 2018: “This is why the Carbuncle Cup was invented. Wrong in everything that is important and to a degree that makes one wonder what were the designers and planners who worked on this abomination thinking?”
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They also said: “I’ve seen better-looking prisons.” Ouch.
More brutal still – and arguably more surprising – was the 2011 winner of the Carbuncle Cup, which went to MediaCityUK.
It might not be to everyone’s taste, but the waterfront hub of office buildings has got to be one of Greater Manchester’s most-photographed locations.
MediaCityUK, the UK’s ugliest building according to the Carbuncle Cup judges. Credit: Unsplash
But according to the Carbuncle Cup judges, it’s a ‘crazed accumulation of development in which every aimlessly gesticulating building sports at least three different cladding treatments’.
They also said: “Quite how the BBC has stooped this low is hard to fathom.”
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One judge said of MediaCityUK: “If you’re going to spend £600m on a complete city district that is also the home of one of the nation’s leading cultural institutions as well as other high-profile media and university tenants, then it’s a bit of a shame not to pay more attention to the quality of the architecture.
“It would have cost very little more to make this place really special.”
Building Design’s editor Ellis Woodman wrote: “Whatever urban aspiration may be indicated by its name, a city is the last thing one would mistake this development for.
“There is no urban idea to speak of whatsoever – no space that one might recognise as a street; no common architectural language; no difference between the fronts and backs of buildings.
“There is no distinction made between civic and private buildings either.
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“Visiting MediaCityUK, it is hard to see how the corporation could set their aspirations any lower. How uncreative can a ‘Creative Quarter’ be?”
Savage.
The Carbuncle Cup winners over the years
2006 – Drake Circus Shopping Centre, Plymouth
2007 – Opal Court, Leicester
2008 – SAS Waterfront hotel, Saint Helier, Jersey
2009 – Liverpool Ferry Terminal, Liverpool
2010 – Strata SE1, Elephant & Castle, London
2011 – MediaCityUK, Salford, Greater Manchester
2012 – Cutty Sark Renovation, Greenwich, London
2013 – 465 Caledonian Road, University College London
2014 – Woolwich Central, Woolwich, London
2015 – 20 Fenchurch Street (‘The Walkie-Talkie’), City of London
2016 – Lincoln Plaza, Isle of Dogs, London
2017 – Nova Victoria, City of Westminster, London
2018 – Redrock Stockport, Stockport, Greater Manchester
You can get a mobile massage treatment in your office – just like us
Thomas Melia
We’d like to introduce you to the pioneering personalised service offering massage treatments on the move at practically any location including direct from your office– including to those of us here in Manchester.
In a world where you can get practically anything delivered straight to your door, it wasn’t going to be long until some genius invented a way to get a massage from the comfort of your own office.
Named ‘London’s first digital beauty concierge’, Ruuby have been pampering the nation’s capital for almost a decade before branching out to further locations.
The gorgeous set up provided by RuubyLook at that lovely branding on the towels.They did wonders with our otherwise plain downstairs office space. (Credit: The Manc Group)
In October 2024, the company expanded beyond its domestic reach in the likes of the capital, the Cotswolds and Surrey into Europe, making its first mark Switzerland: the perfect country for both luxury and essential beauty treatments with a tailored experience.
The month following saw the group moving up North and all the way to Manchester, where people can now book professional treatments best suited to them, right on their doorstep.
If you’re feeling scepticalstill, you can take it from us here at The Manc; we couldn’t tell you how relaxing and comforting these massages are.
There are a range of treatments available and we opted for two bespoke massages, a sports massage and a deep tissue massage.
Each experience is suited to your personal needs meaning each massage therapist will be able to fine-tune their relaxation abilities to what benefits you best.
After choosing the bespoke massage that I felt would work best for me, I went into this with no prior massage experience and I came out feeling taller, broader and more refreshed. Highly recommend.
Mid-day office massage? Yes, please.How relaxing. What a shame you have to go back to work after!Credit: The Manc Group
My masseuse guided me throughout the whole process and we soon discovered that I was able to tolerate much harder pressure than I thought which helped release tension I didn’t even know I had!
The same applies to how firm you’d like your session to be, as the masseuse can help with a brief overview of your time together, but the amount of pressure you like is down to personal preference.
It’s not just massages either: there’s everything from waxing, nails and hair to physio and IV drips; how about getting Marbella ready in less than an hour with a spray tan service set up wherever you are?
As Ruuby is a mobile and remote work environment, there are a number of at any time up and down the country, meaning your next beauty slot could be as little as an hour away, find out more HERE.
Farm shops are cool now – and Albion Farm Shop is the best of the best
Daisy Jackson
At some point in life, your idea of a great day out switches from drinking and clubbing to visiting a farm shop, or a garden centre, or something similarly wholesome.
And up in the hills above Manchester is surely one of the best in the UK – Albion Farm Shop.
This Saddleworth favourite is half-cafe, half-shop, with produce all either grown right outside, or sourced as locally as possible.
And while places like Hollies Farm Shop in Cheshire pull in seriously big, glamorous crowds (maybe it’s the Molly-Mae effect), there’s something much more charming and authentic about Albion Farm Shop.
Maybe it’s the tractors parked outside, the fact the produce section is in a drafty barn, the mismatched shelves and cabinets. It’s not curated like this – it just is.
The food in the cafe itself is up there with the best British grub in the North West, and I say that with my hand on my heart.
Whether it’s a full breakfast spilling over the edge of a plate, sandwiches served in a doorstop of bread, or a full menu of burgers made with British beef cap and smoked bone marrow patties, you can’t steer far wrong.
Rag pudding at Albion Farm ShopChips with a side of bone broth gravy Those huge burgers
There are chunky chips served with a full bowl of bone stock gravy on the side (hello, this is Oldham), onion rings so big you can wear them as a bangle, and big bowls of homemade soup.
And it would be remiss of me not to mention the rag pudding, a traditional dish from this neck of the woods. Famously, she’s not a pretty menu item, but this steamed suet pastry stuffed with braised beef shin is comforting and delicious.
If you want to stick northern fare but don’t fancy rag pudding, you can also grab a wedge of cheese and onion pie, lambs liver with mash, or any number of seasonal specials (for us, it was roast pork).
There are cracking views of the surrounding countryside, a resident cat who’s usually sleeping in the entranceway, and charm packed into every square foot.
Albion Farm Shop is at Oldham Road, Delph, Saddleworth OL3 5RQ.
The resident cat at Albion Farm ShopRoast pork in the cafeThe Albion Farm Shop cafeAlbion Farm ShopInside the shop itselfThe produce barn Local cheesesBakery itemsThe produce barn
Daisy Jackson -
8th October 2023 
