Taking its lead from New York, Manchester was a pioneer in the loft movement in Britain. Conran & Partners, with its track record of breathing new life into redundant historic urban fabric, were co-opted early on as designers of a number of loft ventures. 25 Church Street, the 78 apartment development converted for City Lofts, was a former telecommunications building. Being able to create high quality living space of this kind means knowing how to spend tight budgets in service of a wider urban vision, so that the schemes do not exist purely as isolated 'Shangri-Las', but add an aesthetic generosity alongside the practical and cosmopolitan facilities they contain.