Manchester New Square, located on the corner of Whitworth Street and Princess Street, comprises three residential buildings, surrounding an attractively landscaped and tranquil square. The vision for the redevelopment of the site was to create a high quality new mixed use development, to complement and enhance the important existing historic context, and to carefully and sensitively reconnect the site to its surroundings, including Rochdale Canal.
At ground floor level there is a mixture of artisan restaurants and retailers, along with a private residents’ gym, lounge and 24 hour concierge. The apartments are all generously proportioned and larger than can be found in other new developments in the city. Secure basement car and cycle parking is also available.
A key constraint during design development was the site’s already constructed four storey basement, including the ground floor concrete slab, over its full extent. We had to carefully consider the positions of existing structural columns, vertical circulation cores, and other key constructed elements such as the basement vehicular circulation ramps, when determining the positions and layouts of the proposed buildings.
Our elevational approach created a contemporary reinterpretation of key characteristics of the façade treatments to contextual buildings within the conservation area. This way a modern architectural language is created based on the principles that give distinctive character to buildings within the area, in order that the new buildings integrate closely with their surroundings.