Standing 72.5 metres (238 ft) tall, the building forms the centrepiece of the £800 million NOMA development in the Angel Meadows area of Manchester city centre.

[19] Takeovers of Somerfield and the Britannia Building Society fuelled impetus for new head offices to accommodate the growth.

[20] In December 2008, the group announced it would remain in Manchester city centre and would regenerate land opposite its Miller Street base.

[24] New Century Hall, home to Co-operative Food,[25] the Dantzic, Hanover, Redfern and Federation Buildings were subsequently vacated and renovated for let.

[29] Work soon began on assembling the 3,300 tonnes of steel and 1,948 coffered concrete floor slabs which make up the structure of the building.

[30] Specialist services were supplied by Buro Happold for structural and fire engineering[10] and Austrian-based Waagner Biro was commissioned to build the double skin façade.

[34] An estimated £17m of building materials out of the total £100m cost was locally sourced, reducing embodied energy and minimising environmental impact.

[4] In July 2012, the Co-operative Group announced One Angel Square was on the market for £150 million on leaseback terms so it could gain capital to invest in Phase Two of the NOMA development.

[16] A focal point is the diagonal slice which creates a nine-floor high atrium with its glass roof tilted towards the south, maximising daylight and passive solar gain.

[9] The building's exterior has a double skin façade, with a cavity between its inner windows and the outer glass panel structure.

The double skin façade is for sustainability and aesthetic reasons - and allows for greater control of heating and ventilation, and accentuates the three curved corners of the building.

To accentuate the form further, the exterior aluminium structure holding the glass panels in place has been anodised in a bronze-coloured finish, so it will shimmer in the sun.

In winter, louvres atop the double-skin façade are closed to maintain the warm air generated in the building.

In summer, the opposite occurs and louvres atop the double-skin façade open and consequently expel hot, rising air from the building to reduce overheating.