Tower of Light

Tonkin Liu's award-winning Tower of Light is one of the most ambitious and quietly beautiful infrastructure projects in the UK. A 40-metre landmark for Manchester's low-carbon energy future, whose elegance lies as much in its materials as in its engineering.

We were proud to manufacture the 1,373 glazed ceramic tiles for the adjoining Wall of Energy, a 63-metre street façade designed by Tonkin Liu with characteristic ingenuity. The tessellated interlocking lozenge pattern, 31 different tile types producing subtle undulations across the surface, was conceived to evoke the movement of ocean waves, with the glaze itself reflecting the shifting light of clouds, car headlights, and the city in motion. 

It's the kind of brief that demands precision at every stage, and exactly the kind of collaboration we relish: a visionary architect with a clear idea, and a tile that had to work hard both technically and aesthetically.