Alan Turing Building

The Alan Turing Building is named after the mathematician and founder of computer science Alan Turing.

It is located at the University of Manchester, in England, where Turing himself read mathematics. It houses the School of Mathematics, the Photon Science Institute and the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, part of the School of Physics and Astronomy.

The building was designed by architects Sheppard Robson, incorporating the ideas and suggestions of many of the School’s staff and students. It was completed in 2007

It has a steel frame, reinforced concrete stair wells and grey zinc exterior cladding. It consists of three four-story ‘fingers. The northern two fingers are joined by an atrium, which is spanned by a series of bridges. The southernmost finger was designed to hold low vibration laboratories, and is joined by a glazed bridge at third floor level to the middle finger.

An ‘over-sailing’ roof structure connects the three fingers acting as a suspension system for a photovoltaic array/solar shading using thin film technology. This photovoltaic array is designed to produce nearly 41 megawatt hours per annum, a saving of 17,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide each year. At the time of completion this was the largest photovoltaic array in North West England, and helped the architects to win an award for ‘Business Commitment to the Environment’.

Visiting

The building is located in the Chorlton-on-Medlock district of Manchester, on Upper Brook Street, and is adjacent to the new University Place.

See also…

• University of Manchester
• Wikipedia article on the Alan Turing Building

The Museum building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse (who also designed the Natural History Museum in London) and reflects Charles Darwin‘s evolutionary principles.

Sorry, the rest of this article hasn’t been written yet.

Would you like to write it for us?

Humanist Heritage relies on contributions from users so if you’re interested in helping us please drop us a line.

Would you like to write it for us?

Humanist Heritage relies on contributions from users so if you’re interested in helping us please drop us a line.

Alan Turing plaque at Hollymede

Alan Turing, pioneer of computer science, lived and died here.

On 8 June 1954, Turing’s cleaner found him dead; he had died the previous day.

A post-mortem examination established that the cause of death was cyanide poisoning. An inquest determined that he had committed suicide, and he was cremated at Woking crematorium on 12 June 1954.

To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, a memorial plaque was unveiled on 7 June 2004.

Visiting

This is a private building and is not open to the public.

Ullet Road Chapel © Mr John Taylor

The Ullet Road Unitarian Chapel is known as the English ‘cathedral of Unitarianism’. It was built between 1896 and 1898 to a design by the Unitarian architect Thomas Worthington and his son Percy.

Although founded as a non-conformist Christian faith, Unitarianism has historically been characterised by a rationalist and individualist approach to spirituality, which encompasses diverse religious views. In its anti-dogmatism, it has come to include atheist views, particularly under the banner of Unitarian Universalism in the twentieth century.

Built to accommodate the growing congregation of the Renshaw Street Chapel in central Liverpool, the Ullet Road Chapel is in the Neo-Gothic style, and also incorporates a number of decorative elements in the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts styles.

The vestry ceiling features four painted roundels by the English mural painter Gerald Moira, representing the virtues of Justice, Prudence, Temperance and Charity, while the library features a mural, also by Moira, depicting ‘The Pursuit of Truth’.

The adjoining church hall was built in 1901 and contains monuments to some of the Chapel’s former attendees. These include a bust of the historian and patron of the arts William Roscoe, and memorials to the merchant and philanthropist William Rathbone and to Unitarian minister and scholar Charles Beard.

Visiting

Now Grade I listed, the Chapel is still operating as a Unitarian centre where ideas of faith and spirituality are actively explored.

Also see…

• Ullet Road Unitarian Chapel on English Heritage’s ‘Images of England’
• Ullet Road Unitarian Chapel on Wikipedia
• Unitarians in Britain