A major part of Manchester’s inner city area is being transformed for the 21st century, thanks to Piccadilly Place, a multi-faceted mixed use development of a previously derelict and abandoned brown field site. Two Piccadilly Place, the first of five buildings planned for this project, has now been completed using bricks supplied by Hanson Building Products.

Piccadilly Place, a large-scale project being developed by Argent Estates Ltd, will eventually provide 675,000 square feet of business, leisure and residential facilities. This significant development, located on a prime site adjacent to Manchester Piccadilly Station and one of the city’s primary artery roads, has been designed to inject new life into an area currently lacking in terms of hotels, restaurants and residential accommodation.

Two Piccadilly Place, the new 57,000 square foot office headquarters of the Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive (GMPTE), has been designed by architects, the Weedon Partnership, working with brickwork contractor, Carillion. Hanson’s Albinoni and Midnight Blue bricks were specified to provide the calming effect needed to balance with the busy interchange of pedestrian and vehicular flow.

This calming effect has been achieved by restricting the use of external materials to Hanson’s Albinoni, a cream coloured smooth modular brick in 290x90x65mm featuring capless glazing. The simple yet effective detailing uses a limited palette of building materials, further reflecting simplicity and restraint.

Hanson’s contribution to the successful completion of the GMPTE headquarters was recognised at the recent 2007 Brick Awards, where Two Piccadilly Place was voted the winner in the Best Commercial Building category.

The other buildings that will make up the overall development include One Piccadilly Place, a 284-room hotel with conference facilities, plus a 120-cover restaurant and bar. Three and Four Piccadilly Place will be commercial office buildings, complete with retail and restaurant units at ground level. Five Piccadilly Place will provide affordable residential housing, also with retail units at ground level.

Fronting onto a new landscaped civic area is a new bridge connecting Piccadilly Station with Piccadilly Place. This link continues on to take in the Crown Court and university campus buildings. The new development also rises above a three-level underground car park which provides 600 much needed parking spaces.

The shape and location of the land have proven particularly challenging in making the Piccadilly Place development a reality. The new GMPTE building, in particular, stands on a complicated, wedge-shaped site bounded by the main London Road, as well as tram lines and the newly built City Inn Site. There is also a level differentiation of three metres between London Road and the main entrance.

Ambitious and futuristic, the Piccadilly Place development is an impressive example of a degenerated site, once occupied by Victorian cotton mills and warehouses, being brought back to life for generations to come.

Email: bpspurley@aol.com

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