Manchester Civil Justice Centre, Manchester

The Manchester Civil Justice Centre was the largest civil court to be built since the Royal Courts of Justice in the United Kingdom. It is known for its distinctive architecture and has been nicknamed the “filing cabinet” due to its distinctive cantilever floors at the end of the building. The building was nominated for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2007 and has been widely praised. The Civil Justice Centre was constructed between 2003 and 2007 in the Spinningfields district to the west of Deansgate. The western side of the 80 meters (260 feet), 17-storey building faces the River Irwell, which marks the border between Manchester and Salford. It is currently the joint sixth tallest building in Manchester City Centre. Its entrance opens onto Bridge Street.

The tower was designed by Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall with engineers Mott MacDonald following an architectural design competition managed by RIBA Competitions. The building is notable for the "fingers" at each end that are cantilevered over the lower levels. On the western facade is an 11,000-square-meter (120,000 square feet) suspended glass wall, the largest in Europe. It is the first major court complex in Britain since George Edmund Street's Royal Courts of Justice in London's Strand, completed in 1882. Government and justice departments housed at the building have a 35 year lease on the building which was future proofed by the developers as an office in the case of a lease exchange.