Ridyard, S., Griffin, P.G., 2015.

UWE / Moleskine Reportager Award 2015 (shortlisted)

You May Look at a Building tells the story of One St. Peter’s Square, a new iconic commercial office development in central Manchester (architect Glenn Howells). The drawings are made on location and illustrate views from and around the building, placing it clearly within its city context. The accompanying words draw on the recent past. They are not a history lesson, more an atmosphere. They speak of a grand hotel, theatre, library; the incidents and attitude that make St Peter’s Square such a significant place in the city. Regeneration and refurbishment work best when they reflect and echo the past, through history and anecdote. You May Look at a Building attempts, in sketches and words, to draw identity as this vital space undergoes upheaval and change. Together they acknowledge that place always exists between past and future.