Urban Design

Boddington’s Brewery Site

Brief
The client required the identification of the opportunities and constraints relating to a 3 hectare brownfield site on the edge of Manchester City Centre, the results of which would be used to inform the creation of design concepts for its redevelopment.

The site has the advantage of being well connected by road, rail and metro, and lies within a 5 minute walk of the commercial heart of the city. Despite this however, because major physical barriers lie between the site and city centre amenities, it is considered to be remote from the city centre. The challenge was to show how this disadvantage could be overcome, to allow the site to be successfully redeveloped as a significant destination on the edge of the city centre.
Response
The neighbourhoods immediately surrounding the site are in a state of transition and consequently the new development must both act as catalyst for future development and as a new benchmark for design quality for the wider area. There is a need to establish robust structuring principles that can subsequently be extended into the neighbouring areas as they become available for redevelopment.

The analysis focused on issues such as the profile the development needed to project and the ideal mix of uses which could help to achieve this. Related issues such as synergies with adjacent facilities and uses, the quality of pedestrian connections to the site and the visibility of the site were also investigated.
Outcome
The analysis directed the architects towards certain key priorities for unlocking the full potential of the site. Key issues included the image and identity of the development, the range and nature of the proposed uses, and key elements that could be used to structure the development.

Team