This is the 23-storey hotel set to bring a slice of Tokyo to Piccadilly station.
Japanese brand Toyoko Inn will open its first hotel in the UK in Manchester after previous European ventures in Frankfurt and Marseille.
The 356-bedroom hotel will occupy a landmark site on the approach to Piccadilly between Chatham Street and Gore Street.
It will see the grade-two listed Union Bank of Manchester refurbished and make use of a vacant patch of land used as a car park next to the Waldorf pub.
A planning application for the land on 12-16 Piccadilly was approved in January, but Toyoko has recently submitted a variation to change the design of the external cladding.
They would now like the hotel to be encased in Corten, a weathered steel, that is corrosion resistant.
"The amended scheme more appropriately seeks to reflect the richness of the red brick/ terracotta buildings adjacent by means of a Corten metal clad facade and projecting fins measuring 50mm wide by 150mm deep to accentuate the vertical expression of the tower," the application says.
"In time the tectonic weathering qualities of the material will allow the tower to blend into the surrounding character of Piccadilly."
Toyoko's logo on top of the hotel will mean huge Japanese lettering becomes a feature of the city centre skyline.
The current design is an adaption of a similar hotel scheme by Yotel that was approved in 2013 but never went ahead.
Toyoko bought the site in 2014 and said in their original application: "Launched in 1986, the concept of modern, Japanese style inns located near railway stations has led to rapid growth inside Japan and worldwide expansion.
"Toyoko Inn now own and operate over 270 hotels, with a total of 50,000 guest rooms across six countries."
As part of the Toyoko scheme, Union Bank will be refurbished and linked internally to the new element.
Work on the building will include restoration of the ornate bank ceiling, currently covered by a suspended ceiling, the removal of non-original features, and the relocation of the stained glass windows, which will form a feature in the ground floor bar.
