Tower Of Light, flue and wall, shell structure, of the Britons Protection pub, Manchester Central, Lower Mosley St, Manchester, England, UK, M1 5HA

The Tower of Light is a 40-metre tall tower supporting and enclosing flues for a new low-carbon energy centre in Manchester’s city centre. The biomimetic structure has built on the decade-long innovation and research, Shell Lace Structure, pioneered by Tonkin Liu and developed in collaboration with engineers at Arup. Learning from geometries in nature, the tower’s form is its strength. The super-light, super-thin single-surface structure uses the least material to achieve the most. The tower is constructed from 6 and 8mm thick flat steel sheets, tailored, laser-cut, then welded together to create a curved stiff strong surface. Modern methods of construction using advanced digital modelling, analysis, and fabrication, combined with principles of tailoring, have made the Shell Lace Structure innovation possible. This is the largest built Shell Lace Structure to date.