GALLERY | Piccadilly’s overhaul for HS2 era revealed
Manchester City Council has unveiled further insight into its plans for Piccadilly station and its surrounds, in an updated Piccadilly Strategic Regeneration Framework document that allows for a hike in development volume along with passenger improvements.
Last week, Place North West revealed the desire of the city to develop a boulevard around Piccadilly station that will provide an enhanced sense of arrival, as well as improving access, transport options and wayfinding for what is expected to be at least a doubling of passenger numbers by 2043, to 57.3m people a year.
The council has now made public the full extent of the SRFs scope in a document authored by Bennetts Associates, with Mott MacDonald providing transport engineering advice and BuroHappold sustainability advice. The SRF offers indicative images of the redesigned station and sets a context for planning decisions in the immediate area around Piccadilly, bringing it up to speed with more recent frameworks including Mayfield, North Campus and Portugal Street.
The alignment of HS2, Northern Powerhosue Rail and future-proofing Metrolink’s expansion have all been factors in the need to update the SRF.
The SRF now sees the quantum of development increase by 10%, including close to 2.9m sq ft of office space, 261,000 sq ft of retail space, up to 5,000 apartments and 250 hotel rooms.
Much of the development is to be to the north of the station, in areas designated as East Village, Piccadilly North, Piccadilly Central, and Piccadilly Heights.
The intention is for tall buildings at the arrival point of HS2. East of the station, a new park will be created, with further buildings, continuing the anticipated developments at Mayfield.
Key to the Piccadilly plan is the “One Station” notion, meaning that HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail will be fully integrated into the existing station area, with the station’s undercroft areas utilised to link the different networks and provide retail services – HS2 will be at the northern edge of the station, with the ‘Northern Hub’ links on the other side.
The public spaces to be developed as part of the boulevard will provide access to each level of the new central concourse that will be created.
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Who knows, in the next 20 years or, so we might be half as good as some places in the likes of Germany! We are so far behind and held back by an over centralised system.
By Schwyz
Gravy train to feed the Capital .
By Dan
There is little imagination in this if any. Is it not supposed to be the gateway to the North! A world-class arrival point. The design is ‘standard’ at best and the visuals are of a low quality for the level of funding going into this project!
By Can we be done with practicality?
A sense of arrival!! Who are they kidding? The station interior is soleless, bland and depressing. hopefully its not too late for a total revamp
By david stafford
The St Pancras of the north! A very similar design. Surely some active frontage alongside the new HS2 station and the new ‘Boulevard’ would be a great addition?
By AnRog
Very very poor! The entrance, that could be anywhere in the world, so generic.The whole scheme is a rip off from RSHP schemes. Why Bennetts they are just not good enough!
By an ordinary architect
Where is this boulevard??
By Town Planner
Crap!
Bland!
Pretty poor in comparison the other European Termini
Where’s the scope for potential future Eurostar services?
Need at least another 2 platforms as well as passport control
By Kayla Bibby
How fitting .
By Liz
Nice, IF it ever happens……
By Craig Earley
The layout is sensible but it could use a lot more style, especially that entrance.
By Lin
Is the new entrance behind Gateway House/ Station Approach? I can’t see Seifert’s wiggly building on the overhead image, probably an optical illusion.
By @architectural
The canyon effect of the boulevard and the tall buildings is going to cause very high winds at ground level.
By Slaw
Looks like the plans show the entire old undercroft of Piccadilly opened up for the first time to the public, surely that’s great? The boulevard will have loads of active frontages, and seems like the new big open space at the front will be amazing compared to what the current entrance is.
Isn’t this for the council rather than HS2 so it’s what Manchester want, therefore limited budget I’d sssume
By Another architect