Current and future construction projects
Building Boom
Our cycle ride to view construction projects will take us north on Wilmslow Road
along the so-called Oxford Rd corridor and into the heart of Manchester city centre. We'll look at plans for the Toast Rack, visit a new groundscraper and on this site, I'll conjure up an architecturally significant building, constructed in 1911 and needlessly destroyed in 1974
Please support what I'm doing, please hit the like button, subscribe if you haven't done so already and if you've got opinions or information to share, please comment. Universities are often trendsetters in architecture. They often have the vision and the budget to bring groundbreaking buildings into reality. The Toast Rack building or Hollings Building is one of the most famous modern buildings in Manchester and was built in 1960.
Architect was Leonard C. Howitt at Manchester City architects department. Due to its shape, it was called 'The Toast Rack and its neighbouring circular low-rise building was named the 'Poached Egg', very appropriate, as it was constructed for use as a catering college. It was part of Manchester Metropolitan University, then the site was sold. Refurbishment is partially completed. The circular building is already in use as a gym. The Toast Rack will house apartments. Also, new apartments will be constructed above the workshop buildings and a new residential tower will appear at the front with a distinctive design.
I'd describe as a 'curving stack'. Architects Ollier Smurthwaite state that the retrofitting of the workshop and gymnasium buildings will be reversible if it's decided to return the building to its original use. Heading north along Wilmslow Road we can see some refurbishment of the Manchester Infirmary building near Whitworth Park. The buildings were designed by Edwin Hall and John Brooke and officially opened in 1909. Manchester University students union building was renovated some years ago, further work is in progress at the corner of the building. Across Oxford Road, work is in progress on what used to be NatWest bank which closed in 2017. At the rear, it looks like an extension is being built, though there are no displays to provide more information. Manchester University is investing £1 billion over a 10 year period to provide an even better campus.
I'll be featuring the university in another article. At the eastern end of Dover Street looking across upper Brook Street new lowrise housing is under construction. This is part of the New Brunswick development area. I featured in my German Influence article. Further along on Booth Street, we find what must be Manchester University's biggest and most ambitious construction project for many years. It's the new engineering campus designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo. The Manchester Engineering Campus Development or. MECD must qualify as a groundscraper.
Measuring via the Google map, the building is around 200 m or 650 feet long and the width is 42 m or 140 feet. If it was up-ended it would stand as tall as. Deansgate Gardens South Tower.
It's said to be the size of
11 football pitches.
It would take me about a minute to cycle from one end to the other on my Brompton. There's an entrance at the southern end on Booth Street and at the northern end on Grosvenor Street. It seems to have been under construction for ages and it's certainly one of the most impressive new buildings in Manchester. Neighbouring buildings are also part of the development including, on the left, Oddfellows Hall, former English Language Teaching Centre, where I once taught English language.
Not far away on Downing Street is Projekts. Skate Park and Cafe. It recently benefited from a new extension. Just to the north of here, a new park is under construction next to the River Medlock. They say it's the first park in Manchester city centre for 100 years, though Hulme Park was completed about 20 years ago. I can't wait to see how the river Medlock is incorporated into the project. The name of the park? Mayfield Park. Mayfield Depot is the name currently given to the former station building which served as an overspill station for London Road Station, now Piccadilly.
The building was disused, but in recent years it's served as an arts and night club venue. Piccadilly Point student residences were originally brown, but have now been re-clad in blue. I understand that although the building is said to be safe for occupation, they just wanted to give a fresh aesthetic. Back on Oxford Road on the site of the former MMU Students Union building, the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport is under construction and is set to open in 2022. The building will provide research, teaching and support space for students and staff. It's part of MMU's Estates Master Plan Investment Programme which mirrors that of the neighbouring MancBuilding Boom hester University. Executive architect is Chapman Taylor. Let's pause to look north along Oxford Road, a scene I've captured many times in photos and now on article.
It's seen huge changes over recent years not least the BBC moving to Salford Quays. Just to the right, off the frame is the new development on the site of the BBC building. But first we'll go over to the Mancunian Way roundabout. Re-cladding is in progress on the Parkway Gate student residences next to the Mancunian Way. These three towers of uneven shape were designed by Simpson Haugh Architects. Currently, a major operation is underway to reclad the facades. Whether it's for safety or aesthetic reasons. I'm not clear at the moment.
If you can offer any information please write in the comments. On the nearby site north of the Mancunian Way, a new MMU building is in its early stages of construction. It's the new home for the Faculty of Science and Engineering, opening in 2023. It's quite remarkable, the amount of construction that's been going on at both city centre universities. In my estimation, it's unprecedented, when I look back over the past few decades.
On the site of this former multistorey
Car park on the corner of great marlborough street and.
Hulme Street, a so-called tombstone skyscraper has
Been approved by manchester city council, despite what's described as a tsunami of opposition and the threat of legal action.
Just one vote on the planning committee secured the go-ahead.
And so we arrive at the replacement for the former BBC building on Oxford Road. It's Circle Square, a group of tall buildings arranged around a central open area, offering a mixture of residential, commercial and public space, "a fully integrated residential and commercial neighbourhood" and those were the words of Chris Oglesby, CEO at Bruntwood, that quote taken from an article on Manchester Confidential.
A few blocks to the north of Circle Square, we find New Square another SimpsonHaugh development, consisting of three residential buildings situated right next to the Rochdale Canal and the Gay Village. They are grouped around a central courtyard and square which is open to the public. There's space for restaurants and a small supermarket. Just a short distance along the canal on Chorlton Street, we find the Kampus development, where older buildings have been incorporated into a new development that has contrasting architectural styles including these distinctive house-shaped elements, with gables at the top of the building. This is the site of part of the former MMU campus. This is how it looked before.
The development incorporates a whole street, leading to a courtyard which looks across the water to Canal street. It contains a garden with an exhibition area. If you fancy living here, there are apartments for rent. I think Kampus is great. It's a project of Capital and Centric. Now we move to the north side of the village by the car park between Bloom Street and Major Street. On this site once stood a groundbreaking building that was needlessly demolished in the 1970s. Here's a rough sketch of the building, named York House.
I'll be featuring it soon in another article. Looking from Bloom Street we see the rear façade of our next development. This was the view in the past. I remember reading that the original plan was to refurbish the 13-storey 1960s office building, but later it was decided it would be demolished. The address of the Clayton Hotel is 55 Portland Street. The Brooklyn Hotel is said to offer a taste of Brooklyn in the heart of Manchester. And that reminds me, I have another article in preparation, looking at the similarities in architecture and other aspects between the two cities on either side of the Atlantic. Close by, next to Saint Peter Square, another building is under construction on the site of a 1970s office block.
It will house both Motel One and StayCity Apartments. I remember the first Motel One appearing on the site of the Twisted Wheel club on. Whitworth Street. Like the Clayton Hotel, it features a decorative pre-cast concrete façade. Many buildings are being newly created, others are being renovated. Scaffolding surrounds number 81. King Street, also known as The Reform Club. It's one of the most magnificent buildings in the city centre inside and out.
In 2007 it became Grand Pacific, a colonial-style bar and restaurant.
And finally, we come to the biggest
Renovation project in the city, the town hall.
First opened in 1878, it's one of the biggest and most magnificent buildings in Manchester and it's many people's favourite building in Manchester. Over the years, the structure was steadily deteriorating, so it was decided to give it a complete renovation from top to bottom, taking several years. The information boards tell the story. These are the best information boards on any construction site around.