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28 October 2014

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You are in: Manchester > Features > Places > Can you hear it?

Can you hear it?

It’s been called ‘Manchester’s tuning fork.’ Despite design changes to the Beetham Tower to silence a hum, the city’s tallest building has developed a whistle in the wind. Did you hear it this week?

It’s the not the first time, the 47-storey Beetham Tower on Deansgate has caused a disturbance of the peace.

Geoff Edwards and the Beetham Tower

What's that noise? Geoff Edwards

In May 2006, engineers were sent to the top of the Tower to fix an intermittent hum that could be heard from as far away as Hulme. The noise was caused by winds hitting the the glass ‘blade’ on the top.

But then the problem returned. Residents across the city reported hearing a high pitched whistle as high winds battered Manchester during the night. (Monday 07 Jan 2008)

Geoff Edwards lives on the 46th floor on the south side of the Tower:

“It got me out of bed at 6am in the morning!" he said. "We had extremely bad weather on Monday night and I think it’s just a case of whistling down the wind. The wind was in the right direction at that particular moment and it was causing that kind of havoc.

"But it did sound like hell was banging on the door at the top. I’m only 20 yards from the top and there are quite a few residents up there."

‘A³¾²¹³ú¾±²Ô²µâ€™

But, as Geoff says, living 500 feet up above the ground is a huge compensation for the occasional broken night’s sleep.

clouds seen from Beetham Tower

Views: above the clouds

"It’s a minor inconvenience, at best. It’s disturbed me once on nine months and I find it almost quite exciting. You could actually hear the building creak a little!

"The weather patterns are fantastic. Six months ago, I woke up with a bank of fog below and clear skies above and it was just like taking off in an aircraft from Manchester Airport."

And, as Geoff says, the outlook is amazing.

"I see five counties from my bedroom. And a million lights in the morning. And at night. It’s just fantastic. It’s like nothing else! It’s like being in New York in the only skyscraper there."

last updated: 11/01/2008 at 18:45
created: 11/01/2008

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