The Manchester Civil Justice Centre is a governmental edifice in the English city of Manchester. The building houses the Manchester District Registry of the High Court, Manchester’s country court, Manchester’s family proceedings court, the district probate registry and the regional and area Offices of the Court Service.
The Manchester Civil Justice Centre was the first court complex building built in the United Kingdom since the construction the Royal Courts of Justice in London in 1882. The building’s distinctive design has made it one of Manchester’s focal landmarks. It is also because of its architecture that the edifice is nicknamed as “the filing cabinet” by the locals. The most fascinating feature of the building are the cantilever floors at the end of the building. The justice centre was designed by the renowned Australian architectural company Denton Corker Marshall. The architects of the building said to have drawn inspiration from the Expressionist architectural style which they have amalgamated with the 1920s futurist movement.
The construction of the Manchester Civil Justice Centre was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice which at the time was called the Department of Constitutional Affairs. The construction of the building was funded as a public-private partnership and is the focal building in the Spinningfields development. The opening of the building in 2007 was met with great praise and acclaim by architectural experts and critics. The edifice was credited for is dynamism, high-quality design and environmental credentials. In May 2008 the justice centre was nominated for RIBA’s Stirling Prize and in 2011 was named by the prominent Blueprint magazine to be one of the “Best British buildings of the 21st century”.
Since its opening the building has won numerous awards including the Gold Award, the Architecture Grand Prix Gold Award and Major Project of the Year Award in 2007 and the RIBA Award, the Project of the Year by Building magazine, the Project of the Year by Constructing Excellence and the Project of the Year by National Constructing Excellence Awards in 2008. The Manchester Civil Justice Centre was officially inaugurated on the 28th of February, 2008 by her majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The edifice has a total of 17 floors and a floor area of 35.160 square meters. The justice centre is 80 meters tall and with the Manchester One is the 7th tallest building in Manchester. The total cost for the construction of the Manchester Civil Justice Centre was £113 million.
As mentioned above the justice centre is located in the area of Spinningfields. The area is located in the central parts of the city and has been in development since the year 2000. Today the area is one of finest business, retail and residential areas of the city. Spinningfields provides to its local an easy access to numerous public services such as man and van services. In fact some of the city’s finest professional moving companies are based in the area. So if you are about to move to or from Manchester have no worries that you won’t be able to find top quality man and van company. In fact you will be able to benefit from some of the finest moving services in the country.
Also note that the area of Spinningfields is home to several other notable local landmarks which are worth visiting.