Fresh images of £1.7bn ID Manchester unveiled
Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Manchester have published a 106-page document that will guide the long-awaited redevelopment of the former UMIST campus into a 4m sq ft innovation district.
View the £1.7bn ID Manchester vision in full
Place North West reported last month that a revised strategic regeneration framework for the area was in the works. A public consultation on the proposals has now launched and will run until 8 September 2023.
The SRF has been drawn up by architect Allies and Morrison, SLA, Stanhope, Deloitte, ARUP, Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture, Useful Projects, Ekosgen, and Arcadis.
The newly published draft SRF sets out the scale, ambition and opportunities that ID Manchester brings to the city and includes a series of place-based principles aimed at guiding detailed plans for development and future planning applications.
Illustrative images of what the district could look like are shared in the SRF, including a new civic square, a revitalised Vimto Park, and the repurposing of key heritage assets such as the Sackville Street and Renold buildings. Jackson’s Mill could also be refurbished into innovation space.
Bruntwood SciTech also wants to ensure that ID is connected to the city centre in all directions, funnelling people into the site in line with its vision of creating a “human collider”.
The idea is to “concentrate movement through the central shared spaces, making them the focal point for social interaction”, according to a Manchester City Council report from June.
A critical mass of people is needed to make ID Manchester a “genuinely world-class innovation district, with a vibrant, inclusive, 24/7 community, that can deliver the anticipated benefits to the city”.
The scheme features a new civic square. Credit: via Citypress
Speaking on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech, Lou Cordwell, ID Manchester director, said: “As well as becoming a world-leading tech and science location that helps to put Manchester on the global innovation map, we want to create an exemplar for inclusive innovation.
“Close collaboration with local residents and businesses will be integral to ensuring communities across Greater Manchester benefit from the future success of ID Manchester.”
John Holden, associate vice-president for major special projects at the University of Manchester said the scheme would “breathe new life into the site with a renewed purpose to drive positive economic, social and environmental change through innovation”.
“For over a century, the site has been a centre for science, teaching and innovation, and ID Manchester will build on that history. We look forward to engaging with the public and the University’s stakeholders to hear their views on how ID Manchester can benefit residents and businesses across Greater Manchester.”
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- Credit: via Citypress
- Credit: via Citypress
- ID Manchester being named an investment zone just makes good business sense. Credit: via Citypress
- Credit: via Citypress
Glad to see the Renold building being retained! Those rooftop extensions to the Sackville Street Building don’t look great.
By Mike A
I walk through this area every day, if this became a thing it would be fantastic as currently the area is a real dive, not a pleasant space to commute through.
By Anonymous
Agree with Mike A.
Looks great although I would like even more greenspace, a lot of what is shown is existing and pretty much unusable.
Not sure about the Sackville rooftop extensions either, there’s already extensions there so hopefully it will be an improvement. They are Manc’s bread and butter, don’t fluff it up.
By Anonymous
This looks great glad they are keeping Vimto park, and retaining part of the existing buildings. Hope they don’t include a “mobility hub”.
By Anonymous
Oh for goodness sake, just leave the Renold Building alone. What’s with that stupid extension? If the Renold were listed, which it should be, there’s no way they’d get away with that. It completely obliterates the glass stair tower which is integral to its architectural expression.
It’s bad enough that they’re clearing all the rest of the cool modernist buildings such as the Barnes Wallis with its futuristic, space-age, expressive features but to mutilate the best of the lot in the Renold is just unacceptable. This is an iconic set of modernist buildings that deserves more respect.
Finally, a comment on Allies and Morrison. This is the practice responsible for 1 Piccadilly Gardens, who I recall, justified the look and choice of brick based on their perception of Manchester as a place of mills and factories despite the fact that none of our great, predominantly stone-clad, Victorian and Edwardian commercial buildings look remotely like that. A London-based practice who don’t seem to have a great understanding of our city.
By Anonymous
They need to flatten it and start again, what’s the point of retaining the rubbish 60s buildings?
By Gilly
They’d better be VERY careful with the Sackville St building, it is very much loved, especially the paper roofed observatory.
The Renold building is in a terrible state rn. So looking forward to it being completed
By Bernard Fender
We’ll that looks better than I thought it would. I have no idea what a world leading tech and innovation hub will actually do but Manchester should have one.
By Anonymous
I hope they are planning to reinstate Retro within that plan. Long live cultural protection?
By The music scene of Manchester
This all sounds lovely and great but my god if we don’t invest in the infrastructure as well, this city is going to be bursting at the seams!
By Josh
Looks very good, but can’t help feel it’s missing a landmark building. A skyscraper in the Eastern part of development zone C would work brilliantly!
As for the Sackville, it’s an incredible building, I’m skeptical, but if done right, the residential apartments could be incredible. Most floors are double height if I remember my uni days correctly, so there could be some really nice 2 story apartments built.
By MC
Retro, cultural? lol
By Gilly
A great ambition for Manchester! With Mayfield leading the charge, with Mayfield park and the River Medlock, Escape to Freight Island at The Depot and the forthcoming two office buildings, car park and residential building, the whole area near Piccadilly staton is set to transform and elevate. Mayfield looks more exciting, ID Manchester has the obvious link with the university. Between them, something special is about to happen!
By Bob
If they achieve what they intend then this will be absolutely transformative for this area. Fingers crossed.
By Anonymous
I will give them the benefit of my 2 cents worth at the public consultation which they will duly ignore as what the hell do I know about planning public spaces I’m a bus driver. I shall be satisfied to have pretended to have made a difference.
By Selnec Sid
I like that they want to keep the Renold Building- I wish they could just retrofit and upgrade some of the other current buildings as well. They’re a poignant reminder of the site’s history when walking through the campus and it would be a shame to knock down and waste what just needs renovating. I hope the redevelopment can pay homage to some of these architecture styles and the history of the site whilst modernising the area.
By Lily Taylor
None of the current buildings should remain, they are awful. There are several post-war buildings in Manchester that need to be replaced.
By CR
I feel sad that the project will include demolishing the Pariser building where I did my PhD.
By Hamad rahal ,brazil