The Toast Rack, Manchester: The Complete Guide

The Toast Rack is one of the most recognisable buildings in Manchester. Officially known as the Hollings Building, it sits on Old Hall Lane in Fallowfield and is the kind of structure that tourists stop to photograph and locals point out to anyone they're showing around the city. Its distinctive curved parabolic shape — which looks like a rack of toast slices, hence the nickname — has made it one of the most photographed pieces of post-war architecture in the UK.

The building

The Toast Rack was built between 1958 and 1960 as a teacher training college for the Manchester College of Domestic Science, which later became part of Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). The architect was L.C. Howitt, city architect of Manchester at the time.

The design is a series of concrete parabolic arches, each supporting a separate floor that curves into view from the street. The effect is striking: the whole building looks like a geometric exercise made real. It was ahead of its time when it was built, and has aged into a genuine architectural classic.

History and use

For decades the Hollings Building housed MMU's Faculty of Food, Clothing and Hospitality (later the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care). It was an active teaching building until MMU consolidated its campuses in the 2010s and sold the building.

Its future has been uncertain since MMU left, with various redevelopment proposals floated. Its Grade II listing means the parabolic exterior cannot be altered, but the interior has been the subject of multiple development concepts, including residential conversion and mixed-use redevelopment.

Where it is and how to see it

The Toast Rack is on Old Hall Lane in Fallowfield, central South Manchester. The easiest way to see it is on the 142 bus from central Manchester towards Didsbury, or the 43 from the University via Oxford Road. Get off at Platt Lane and walk a couple of minutes.

You can't go inside (it's not open to the public), but the exterior is the whole point — walk around to see it from multiple angles. The curved south face is the one everyone photographs.

Why it's loved

The Toast Rack represents a moment in Manchester's post-war architecture when the city was genuinely experimenting with modernism — not just building utilitarian concrete boxes, but trying to create something visually distinctive. It's one of the few buildings of its era that people actively point to with pride rather than apologising for.

It's also just strange and beautiful in a way that modern buildings rarely are. Worth a visit if you're in the area.