PART 2 MANCHESTER BUILDING BOOM 2021 | 20 sites Toast Rack Groundscraper Cheesegrater Tower
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- #ManchesterConstruction #BuildingBoom #ManchesterUniversityConstruction
In Part 2 of my survey of new buildings in Manchester, planned or under construction, we look at Manchester University construction projects as well as upcoming Manchester Metropolitan University buildings. Another aspect of construction is the renovation of old buildings, the biggest project of which is currently the renovation of Manchester town hall. Chapter headings are below.
00:53 - 01 The Toast Rack renovation plans
02:03 - 02 Royal Infirmary renovation
02:12 - 03 Man Uni Students Union
02:22 - 04 Renovation & extension former NatWest Bank
02:49 - 05 New Brunswick low rise housing construction
02:56 - 06 Man Uni Engineering Building groundscraper
03:55 - 07 Projekts Skateboard Park Mancunian Way
04:06 - 08 New Park, Mayfield Depot
04:36 - 09 Piccadilly Point recladding
04:55 - 10 MMU Institute of Sport Oxford Rd
05:22 - A View north along Oxford Road
05:36 - 11 Student residences Mancunian Way recladding
06:07 - 12 MMU Faculty of Science and Engineering
06:26 - 13 Controversial new tower on former car park
06:46 - 14 Circle Square former site of the BBC
07:13 - 15 Whitworth Street apartments next to the Village
07:32 - 16 Kampus Manchester next to the Village
08:09 - B Preview visualisation of York House
08:26 - 17 Clayton Hotel + Brooklyn Hotel Portland Street
08:50 - C Preview of upcoming Manchester / Manhattan video
09:05 - 18 Motel 1 hotel + StayCity apartments
09:28 - 19 Reform Club King Street exterior renovation
09:44 - 20 Manchester Town Hall renovation project
In this video I also try out a new idea - incorporating my architectural drawings into the video. I present my first attempt, a visualisation of the remarkable York House, built 1911 and demolished scandalously in 1974. This is a preview of another video on groundbreaking buildings in preparation. There's also a preview of a video about the parallels and echoes between Manchester and New York. The Manchester Building Boom theme is highly popular and I am planning a further video, provisionally entitled Salford Building Boom 2021.
Please share your thoughts on any of the projects featured. Your comments are always welcome.
Used to walk this route nearly everyday from my digs in Withington to the Univ Hist Dept - and often on into town
Yes, it will be familiar to many people. I know it well as I went to Xaverian College when it was a grammar school.
Really well put together video!
Many thanks for the positive feedback!
I live in New Brunswick( formerly Chorlton on Medlock. All the green spaces have mostly been built on. We hardly have any left. The houses are a few hundred thousand pounds too. Just right for the ordinary working man! Enjoy your informative videos.
Sorry to hear that. I've been keeping an eye on the renovation north of Brunswick Street and the remodelling of the park. Some empty grassy spaces have been built on, like the one at the east end of Grosvenor Street. A while back I met one local resident and she wasn't happy about it. I live out in Stockport, not far from I grew up and I like it, as you will see in my Stockport Dawn to Dusk video!
I understand the dislike when green spaces are built on. From my understanding though, most of those green spaces were temporary empty plots that always were planned to build on and not actually 'parks'. While that is still a disappointment, there is a reason for it and it. Also, density is super important for cities, so while it is nice to have low density everywhere, that also drives a car centric society - you only need to look at the mess of many American cities to see how horrible it can get (here's looking at you Houston).
@@joc6516 Coventry is a good example in the UK of a very car centric city.
This reminds me of the building boom currently happening in East London, particularly around Stratford. I wonder how the two compare.
I definitely think there are some similarities here. I stayed in a hotel in Stratford a couple of years ago and was impressed with the redevelopment going on. It's good to see that needed high-density housing is being built that can also rejuvenate and enliven an area.
Thanks for highlighting this. I feel a trip to London might be coming on! It would be interesting to compare the two and to see to what extent London enjoys higher budgets and other advantages over places. I'd like to combine it with a visit to the Royal Iris of the Mersey, which is rotting away near the Thames Barrier on the south side of the river.
Yes, I've visited that area a few times in the past. It's impressive how it's been transformed. I'll definitely go and visit soon.
Yeah, London's boom is also very interesting. It is much larger than Manchester's and the quality of buildings are higher, along with more office space compared to MCR which is predominantly residential, but they are still work comparing.
I think the biggest difference between the two is actually transport connectivity. The Metrolink is great (although rly slow in the city centre) and it falls far short of the tube, and Crossrail which both stop at Stratford. Interestingly nearly all the last major rail improvements in London have included Stratford. JLE, DLR extension, Crossrail.
Very informative as always, Aidan. Looking forward to the Mini Manhattan video, would be interested to know which areas have been used in films as stand-in locations for New York.
Many thanks for your comment, I missed it earlier. I did the Mini-Manhattan video
The Toast rack is an inspirational building. It is such a shame it is not more Central.
Yes, it is, I used to talk about it with my parents as a child. It's not very centrally located but it is within the 'university corridor' of south Manchester, unlike another interesting building I've featured in the past: Hexagon Tower in Blackley, former home of ICI.
@@AidanEyewitness My Sister worked at the Hexagon in the early 60s for ICI in the laboratory. Interesting building.
@@paulwild3676 Always interesting to hear about people with a direct connection to a building. Thanks
I studied in Holling campus from 2004-07, as a Bsc student, still had fresh memory while chilling in the egg shape canteen at noon break, god,, time flys
Very interesting and looking forward to hearing about the uni plans over the next 10 years. The eng building, GEIC etc are a significant investment as they will look at advanced materials like Graphene and hopefully will include Graphene enhanced concrete which is better environmentally
That's interesting. The Graphene Building is on the opposite side of Booth Street to the new Engineering Building. I included the Graphene Building in my weekly photo feature in the Manchester Evening News (2014-2016). The campus is certainly impressive with some remarkable buildings and open areas. Many thanks!
@@AidanEyewitness they did a Graphene concrete pour in a lay-by / loading area the other week and I’m hoping it has additional properties that might prevent Ice but that’s to be seen
Thanks for your video tho
@@andrewusher1115 That's very interesting. You seem to have some professional knowledge of graphene?
As you implied, I'm thinking that some of these buildings that aren't that old and are being re-clad, are being done in the wake of Grenfell.
That's it, I didn't want to mention Grenfell but that is the reason. At least one local developer, Artisan, has had to call in the administrators because of cladding issues www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/2085542-ainscow-hotel-owner-artisan-calls-in-administration
Circle Sq looks great, I think. Bit puzzled by the amount of money budgeted for the Town Hall restoration though. Initially well over 200 million As far As I know. THX for sharing this Report.
I think it’s because it’s a very prominent, historic building and home of the council. The renovation had to be done sooner or later and will secure the building for many years into the future. It’s one of my favourite buildings in Manchester. I miss not being able to go inside. Many thanks for your prompt comment!
It's a lot of money but not surprising when you consider that £80 million is being spent, just on the Elizabeth Tower in Westminster. I wonder what the budget is for the renovations being done to the rest of the Houses of Parliament. I think it's impressive that the Victorians were able to build these building so cheaply when they didn't have all the advanced tools we have today. It could only be cheap labour I suppose.
Yeah, I think the costs are really because so much needs crafts people to hand repair so much rather than just come in and pour fresh concrete. Restoring old buildings is always expensive compared to building new, but something as significant and detailed as the town hall will cost a fortune
I am disappointed with the green space at Circle Square, it looks better in pictures than in the flesh. Manchester is hopeless at green spaces. Mayfield is a start but why is it surrounded by offices?
@@paulwild3676 It is a bit small, but at least it's something. Agree that MCR is not good at green spaces. Even the big ones in the suburbs are poorly maintained. As for Mayfield, the reason it's surrounded by offices is simple - it's an office park first. The developers offered to turn part of their land into a 'public' park. They didn't have to, they could have turned the lot into offices, so we are lucky to have that park as it is. But that's the reason. The good side is that because the 'public' park will be privately owned, it will be in better condition than most council run parks and squares in MCR.
Good to see the city is so vibrant. I think urban development is good as long as it doesn't involve knocking down beautiful pre-existing buildings. I especially like to see beautiful old buildings being renovated and given new uses. I think my favorite of the new ones is the "curving stack" residential building. It's visually interesting. Unfortunately some of the new buildings are rather bland and may not age well.
Yes, the 'curving stack' (my name!) is distinctive and not like the 'off the peg' residential architecture we see all over Manchester and far beyond. Unfortunately, many beautiful pre-existing buildings have been demolished in Manchester. That's something I intend to focus on as I have a score to settle!
@@AidanEyewitness The 60's and especially the 70's have a lot to answer for in regards to smashing down old amazing buildings and infrastructure then replacing it with blocks of beige concrete with tiny slats for "windows". So little natural light! You see a great contrast between 70's and modern side by side in the Arndale going from the old original section to the extension built in the early 00's. Even though the actual space is pretty much the same, it being so open and brightly lit with natural light makes the newer section feel so much more inviting.
@@TalesOfWar You are absolutely right. And you are aware that when the main Arndale centre was renovated after the bomb, they put in ceiling windows to allow in natural light. There was none before. The Arndale Centre has been a commercial success but architecturally, it has ruined an important part of the city centre, where the Market Place was and the Shambles in their original location. All the varied façades on one side of Market Street were destroyed. Many traders were forced out of their shops. I’ve seen old photos where you can see signs in the windows protesting against having to move. The Arndale is and always has been far too big and as for its exterior - those tiles… I’ve said enough! Many thanks for your comment!
I agree, those info boards around the City Hall are super. I had no idea it was being renovated, which is great news. By the time I get to Manchester it will probably be completed and will be looking its best. Also, projects like this help maintain the skills of craftsmen that would otherwise be lost since we, unfortunately, don't build buildings this beautiful anymore.
It's going to be completed in 2024. Such a long time, but the Central Library was at least 3 years and it eventually re-opened again. Yes, it's important to keep skills going, though there are very few buildings being built today that require craftsmen experienced with gargoyles, medieval kings and griffins!
Once again, an excellently informative video!
Thank you very much for your comment, much appreciated!
It'll be interesting to see your video on NY comparisons. From my point of view, this is sort of limited to some architectural elements. Knowing NY quite well, there is little in common with the urban fabric between the cities. NY is on a grid and famously avoids alleyways and has huge density, whereas MCR is not on a grid (though not as chaotic as say London), has few skyscrapers (especially old ones) which is a defining factor of NY, has no subway, no real parks in the city centre, no grand avenues etc. Many of the scenes we see in movies use a huge amount of CGI and props to cancel out pretty much everything but closeups of some small buildings to represent a NY of the past rather than present day NY.
That video is almost ready. It's a very personal view. Let me know what you think! Many thanks!
I'm not sure that I love the new engineering campus groundscraper. I think it's a bit bland - black and boxy. Especially when you consider what an overwhelming presence it has. Still, much better than any brutalist building from the 60's. I much prefer the Google groundscraper at King's Cross by Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels. Though, I know they basically had an unlimited budget.
I've heard about that one at Kings Cross, though there was another in in the City of London that was heavily criticised for creating a huge, impenetrable wall. Personally I find the Engineering Building impressive. I like the colour and the detailing is interesting. It's like a huge plastic tool box. Mecanoo also designed the HOME arts centre, which I think is superb.
@@AidanEyewitness that may have been the UBS Building which is the example they give of a groundscraper in Wikipedia. It's one of the largest building in the City of London. To me the UBS building is too institutional. Looks a bit like a prison.
@@ians3586 Apparently UBS have left the 5 Broadgate building, which won the Carbuncle Cup. I must go and have a look myself. A trip to London is in the offing! www.makearchitects.com/projects/5-broadgate/
What are your thoughts on graffiti in Manchester …visited there a few months ago and could not believe my eyes it was everywhere …I live in Redditch not far from Birmingham .. and all I see here is lovely green trees 🌲🌲🌲🌲
Well Redditch - not to be confused with Reddish in Stockport - is a pleasant town but Manchester is a big bad city and one of the features of a big bad city s a proliferation of graffiti. Manchester also has a problem of rubbish. Some of the graffiti is actually quite gooo, artistically. But generally it doesn't give a good impression. New York had a terrible problem with graffiti on the Subway but they managed to clean things up with increased security and other measures. Well graffiti is just a fact of life in a big city, we just have to live with it. Luckily I've seen very little offensive and racist graffiti. Many thanks for your observations.
Plenty of money Manchester University it would seem
Universities seem to have a lot of money to spend on buildings and they are sometimes the most groundbreaking.
debt boom / collapse cycle in progress.
Let’s hope the crisis stalls!
@@AidanEyewitness it has to run its course as the trillions of debt have been spent already. i wont be working in the future, so its down to the debtors to work.
Greengate HJ, viadux, three60 and the blade, there is so much going on!
Yes, many thanks for highlighting those projects, I will soon be doing a Building Boom 2022 video, I'll leave it a while longer until those projects are further advanced. Many thanks for your comment!