The idea of moving the coach station and then moving the bus terminal at Picc Gardens to the Chorlton Street location, was mentioned on another thread, if this or some other similar scheme was followed through with, any ideas on how the Gardens could be developed as a result?

For a start, shift the tram lines as close to pic plaza as possible so the future gardens wouldn't be segragated. the berlin wall would have no purpose. lovely

I'm really beginning to fall in love with the gardens, as it is!

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Everything about it is just cool. A historic square lit with urbanity in skyscrapers in the background. The grittiness of it. How visitors pour on to it & the languages you hear. It's great. I especially love the view/experience you get when walking onto the gardens from piccadilly. Beetham looming over the plaza. Pure urban style.

Hello....there must be a fresh supply of skunk in town...;)

Nah, yer spot on kids. Diccapilly is our pier'ead...only with people!.....:)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2197/1578204077_52431f784a_o.jpg

That's the nicest shot of Piccadilly Gardens I've seen in ages - looks almost intimate and quite romantic...

(I think the reason for this is that it looks enclosed and bordered by the building in the background)

The problem with the gardens imho is that they are surrounded by buses and trams. Only one sneaks into that photograph.

This is why I have some sympathy with the old Berlin Wall, as it at least blocks off some of the noise from the buses and trams.

The discoloured stonework and paving is now starting to be sorted out some of it was dug up today and behind barricades.

That's the nicest shot of Piccadilly Gardens I've seen in ages - looks almost intimate and quite romantic...

(I think the reason for this is that it looks enclosed and bordered by the building in the background)

That's always been the square's achillees heel for me - the fact that surrounding buildings don't really enclose the vast area. Piccadilly Plaza doesn't address the square and the facing buildings are far too small in relation to the size of the square.

In that respect 1 Piccadilly Gardens and the pavillion (which i love) do a great job of making the square feel more like a place you want to spend time in, in that they both address and enclose the space extremely well. The extra investment in the public realm has further improved the area.

That's always been the square's achillees heel for me - the fact that surrounding buildings don't really enclose the vast area. Piccadilly Plaza doesn't address the square and the facing buildings are far too small in relation to the size of the square.

In that respect 1 Piccadilly Gardens and the pavillion (which i love) do a great job of making the square feel more like a place you want to spend time in, in that they both address and enclose the space extremely well. The extra investment in the public realm has further improved the area.

Thats never really occured to me before but (as usual) you are spot on.
Many continential squares that people love arent ringed by roads and the shop fronts address the square directly. Red Ken has gone some way in shutting off one end of Trafalgar Square and it really works. Is this just a British thing? Almost all major squares i can think of in UK cities have roads running all around at least three sides.

Thats never really occured to me before but (as usual) you are spot on.
Many continential squares that people love arent ringed by roads and the shop fronts address the square directly. Red Ken has gone some way in shutting off one end of Trafalgar Square and it really works. Is this just a British thing? Almost all major squares i can think of in UK cities have roads running all around at least three sides.

Campaign for another Berlin Wall on the opposite side anyone? :poke:

No, close off the road to the north of the gardens, It's only used by buses anyway which could go elsewhere instead.

Then expand the gardens to the shop fronts.

I wouldn't want to hang around the gardens anyway. The air is filth. Piccadilly Gardens has officially, the second most polluted air in Britain because of the buses. Only Marylebone in London is worse. I'd hate to live around there, god knows what future health issues could result.

The site of the old Pound Shop is back on teh market. I think plans for a building on the site where posted on here somewhere.

yep, somewhere :)

Meanwhile down the road at Piccadilly Gardens it’s time for Confidential to feel smug. Last Spring we predicted that the lawns expensively replaced from previous wear and tear would need it all doing again by winter. We were a few months out but apparently the special heavy-wearing grass has proved unable to cope with all the millions of feet tramping over it and the placement of structures upon it such as the ice rink. The fences are back up once more and men with spades out in force.

This is what we put previously and we stand by it: 'Manchester is confusing squares with parks and coming up with a compromise that pleases no-one. Given the nature and location of Piccadilly Gardens we should forget they ever were gardens (they've been rubbish as that for two decades) and redesign the space with hard paving throughout plus lots of really good seating. Piccadilly is too small an area for an adequate green space, it can never be a city centre park, but it is big enough to be our Piazza del Campo in Siena. Let's go down that road rather than up the garden path.'

http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw86IwxnKaqiNwF6IHqi&realname=Afflecks_mosaics_disappear_and_Piccadilly_lawns_dug_up

:applause::applause:http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw86IwxnKaqiNwF6IHqi&realname=Afflecks_mosaics_disappear_and_Piccadilly_lawns_dug_up

SPOT ON! And far cheaper to maintain, a proper 'long term' attractive solution.

Having that fecking ice rink on there for 4 months did'nt bloody help ,, cant they put that somewhere like Stevenson Sq next time

instead of having to keep replacing the grass around the edges that aren't protected by the raised stonework, wouldnt it be an idea to perhaps plant some bushes or a hedge row - it would stop people cutting corners overs the grass and would make the 'gardens' look more garden like imo!

Piccadilly Gardens: will the changes start here?

Jonathan Schofield, the Piccadilly Gardens walk-about and the problem of Manchester’s ‘council obsession’

Last Saturday a group of people bothered Piccadilly Gardens as part of a Confidential campaign to get the area sorted. After all Piccadilly Gardens…er…lawns…er… fences, have been concerning Mancunians for a long time.

Among those present were Councillor Pat Karney, from the City Council, Gary Ellis of CityCo, the city centre management company, Mark Ruby (and his dad) from Kro Bar, and the prospective candidates for the city centre ward Mark Adlard and Anthony McCaul, from the Conservatives and Labour, respectively.

Marc Ramsbottom, the current Liberal Democrat city centre councillor, didn’t turn up. This was either complacency, or he wasn’t bothered, or he didn’t know about the walk: which could also be interpreted as complacency.

Others present included Confidential folk, readers, and interested members of the public.

The purpose of the 11am gathering was to discuss and debate Piccadilly Gardens. It was agreed that the way they are configured at present isn’t working. The annual re-seeding of the lawns effectively puts them out of commission for two months out of every twelve, there is a lot of un-policed anti-social behaviour, and the fountain seems to spend as long being repaired as in operation – and when it is operating it does so at the wrong times. As for concrete wall containing Caffe Nero, not one person in the city seems willing to defend it.

The result of this mess is that an opportunity to represent the city in the best possible light to residents, tourists and investors has been lost.

Here's a list of the main ideas produced on the mini-tour – together with Council and CityCo initiatives which are already under way or in place.

1) The concrete wall/pavilion facing the bus station should be dressed with hanging vegetation to soften its ‘Berlin Wall’ effect. At the same time the wall should be evening lit to make it an attractive feature for at least part of the time. The roof is already set to be planted this summer with wild flowers.

2) Areas around the concrete wall, behind the weekend market stalls and around the Queen Victoria statue are all flash points for anti-social behaviour. The council are already acting on this: four ASBOs against persistent offenders have been issued, and the CCTV camera is now monitored twenty four hours a day. A commitment was made by the Council that in the next few months the area should be free of the worst culprits completely. Everybody wanted to see a much greater and more active police presence in the Gardens - talks with the Police are to be held.

3) Maintenance of the grass was acknowledged to be a problem. The next inspection is due at the end of April. The hideous fencing should be removed shortly afterwards. The re-turfing is costing £8,000. In terms of the future of the grassed areas Cllr Karney invited ideas – send these to jonathans@planetconfidential.co.uk

4) The damage to the white Portland stone in the gardens has been caused by the use of a borehole reaching to the water table. This would have been a nice ‘environmentally friendly’ idea if the water hadn’t been so heavy with iron, hence the orange staining around the Gardens. Apparently the iron deposits within the water are now declining. This should enable the cleaning of the monuments and their restoration to pristine white later this year.

5) The fountain - when working - only operates between 11am-7pm. It's turned off when people come to work, and during the evening when people are out in the city centre. When turned off we're left with an unsightly and huge piece of useless tilted paving. CityCo have promised to look into extending the hours of operation as happens in Continental cities.

After the walk it was agreed that Cllr Karney, CityCo and Confidential would lead another walk in June. Next time we’ll ensure that we get representatives from the big neighbouring property companies such as Bruntwood and Argent. We’ll get in some architects and planners too. After all, this was the beginning of a process of discussion and change for Piccadilly Gardens.

We'll also recruit more of the public.

This is vital. Recently in Manchester, we've expected the Council to take the lead. The result has been an unhealthy lack of civic engagement - something which was unthinkable before WWII. This has meant that key changes are usually the result of cosy agreements between the City, big business, or other government agencies, without any broader democratic debate. Confidential suggests this has to change.

Piccadilly Gardens is a mess: it’s a botch with too many agencies involved, too much street furniture, failing lawns and a cock-up of a concrete wall. The ambition for everybody should be to make it as well-managed and well-used as the best city squares in the world.

Rather than being carved up in a town hall meeting, a decision on how to achieve this should be open to all.

If people have any ideas on the future of Piccadilly Gardens, and how it might be improved, then supply them in the rant space below, or send them to jonathans@planetconfidential.co.uk We’ll turn them into visuals and display the ideas on the site. As an example we're keen on having the whole space paved aside from a few trees. What is your vision?

http://www.propertyconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwc6KDOrNwB6IaqiNwA&

Midsummer makeover

Piccadilly Gardens gets a little TLC

Piccadilly Gardens is undergoing a midsummer makeover as months of heavy use is erased by a new programme of improvements. Paths and statues are to be pressure washed, paths are being improved and new bins installed - complete with cigarette disposal trays. In addition, lighting is being improved, the fountain repaired and remedial planting undertaken.

Gordon Reid, Chief Executive of Manchester’s city centre management company, Cityco said, “Every year 17 million people walk through Piccadilly Gardens, making it one of the most visited pedestrian locations in the city centre. We want to provide a safe and welcoming environment to all its visitors and this cleansing work goes towards achieving that goal.”

It all adds up to a substantial makeover. Cityco, Manchester’s city centre management company is coordinating the conservation project to maintain and rejuvenate the area, including cleansing of the gardens public sculptures Queen Victoria and Sir Robert Peel. Carrying out work like this is an intensive project that could take up to 6 weeks to finish, but once complete will see the sculptures restored to pristine condition.

City centre spokes person Pat Karney added, “Piccadilly Gardens is always one of the most popular areas in the city over the summer and we want to make sure it looks its best.”

The works are being undertaken by Manchester City Council and will continue for a few weeks.

http://www.piccadillymanchester.co.uk/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwEjNwTlKHqiNwF6IHqi&realname=Midsummer_makeover

They can apply all the pressure washes they want but Piccadilly Gardens will still look like a big dollop of shit slap bang in the middle of a Turner masterpiece. Imo

This place is stunning, although I think it looks really tacky when it comes to christmas and they put that ice rink up...

http://1person1million.com/img/158/r08c1006bidc/biggrin.gif

Kiosk, Piccailly Gardens. More info below renders.

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http://www.hodderassociates.com/kiosk/?l0=2&l1=26&l2=93&l3=100

For crying out loud, how much more cluttered can Piccadilly Gardens get?

I tell you what, if the Tories really wanted to get elected in Manchester next local election time, they could do a lot worse than to promise to tear down and rebuild Piccadilly Gardens. (Not that they'd stick to that promise, mind.)

What the fuck are them , more shit .

Why are thay putting them there ,, surely the bottom of 111 Piccadilly would be a better location .

There are empty units under city tower...

The 2005 date on Jerb's link should give a clue as to whether this will happen.

Thank fuck it won't, they're bloody horrible.

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I think that girl in the bottom photo has a thing for you, markydeedrop. ;) Anyway top photos all round.

This place is stunning, although I think it looks really tacky when it comes to christmas and they put that ice rink up...

http://1person1million.com/img/158/r08c1006bidc/biggrin.gif

hate it too, also kind of stink ... the garden is definitely better in summer when greener grass

Get rid of that fucking wall and it would be 100 times better .

Why can't they have a word with themselves and actually admit that this Berlin Wall montrosity was wrong to be built in the first place, and no amount of arty farty makeovers will ever make anyone think otherwise.

Well said . It's a bloody eyesore .

Get rid of that fucking wall and it would be 100 times better .

It would also be about 100 time noisier. It’s primary function is a noise barrier.
Without it, the racket from all the busses would be horrendous. Ugly as it may be - it also serves to screen the gardens from much of the fumes, stench, and dirtiness of the bus area as well.
Aesthetically it’s not great admittedly - but I don’t actively dislike it. So long as it doesn’t get covered in graffiti I don’t mind.
Given that you need “something” there - what would you put in it’s place ?

Get rid of the bus station as well then ,,buses can stop somewhere else

Look at the wonderful photographs that marky is showing us and you're complaining!

I think now that removing the buses would be disastrous for the vibrancy of Manchester. at present the Gardens is the most brilliant and energetic part of the city.

If my bus didn't terminate at Picadilly I'd never venture near the place. It's just horrible (the people - not the architecture). If the train stopped at Droylsden I'd arrive at Victoria which is much more civilised. But hey, that's a whole forum in itself.

Getting rid of the buses from Piccadilly Gardens would help a little but the existance of the tram lines will always cut this public space in two.

However the biggest issue has always been the oppressive feel of City Tower. That horrendous piece of sixties power architecture and the ugly still Picc Plaza.

That and the general tardiness of some of the shops and pubs on the north side. London Road appears to be returning to its former shabbiness with an unwelcomed rash of Pound trash shops.

High Fi having they been campaigning for a stop at Littlemoss for two decade has Clrs Cooney, Middleton and Hollands given up on this one?

The old Droylsden station at Littlemoss is 400 metres from my front door. If it were to ever re-open I'd be delighted. Waiting for that trio of useless muppets to sort anything out though is painful. I live in Tameside though, I should be used to things not happening.

I've really warmed to 1Piccadilly over the years - there's something very Berlin-esque about it, and the new trams will add to that Continental feeling. It's got a bit of warmth to it with being brick, and goes well with a blue sky and the greenery of the grass.

However, the Ramada NEEDS to go! Why they retained it and refurbished it I'll never know, it is worse than Elisabeth house by miles and completely brings the area down, replace it with a couple of buildings akin to 1Piccadilly, yes it would be a bit generic but it'd be a massive imrpovement.

However, the Ramada NEEDS to go! Why they retained it and refurbished it I'll never know, it is worse than Elisabeth house by miles and completely brings the area down, replace it with a couple of buildings akin to 1Piccadilly, yes it would be a bit generic but it'd be a massive imrpovement.

I must be one of the few who actually likes this development. In fact, I was annoyed when the new Piccadilly Place development hid the view of it from Picc railway Station! As you were approaching the exit it used to loom large in the distance, announcing one's arrival in the capital of the north.

It does dominate the most public of city centre spaces, but also reminds people they are in a city to be reckoned with..

New city centre wheel to join Exchange Square "little brother'
12:00 a.m., Mon - A “monster” ferris wheel, much bigger than the current Wheel of Manchester, is being planned as a way to attract more tourists to the city centre.

(Posted in Official Manchester thread also. This thread could discuss the issues of it being located there with the Official Manc thread dealing specifically with the general issue of a new and bigger wheel).

The Ramada does look better since it's refurb, but it really does feel like half a job. The original architecture is certainly daring enough IMO and I too think, it just needs a more polished finish to fit in with the modern & clean city that Manchester has become.

New city centre wheel to join Exchange Square "little brother'
12:00 a.m., Mon - A “monster” ferris wheel, much bigger than the current Wheel of Manchester, is being planned as a way to attract more tourists to the city centre.

(Posted in Official Manchester thread also. This thread could discuss the issues of it being located there with the Official Manc thread dealing specifically with the general issue of a new and bigger wheel).

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/6867/biggerwheel.jpg

Not another wheel.....lack of imagination comes to mind. Why go to all the effort to create a public space with appropriate buildings surrounding it only to fill it with naff ferris wheels?

Because Delores, public space in a capitalist society. Especially in the Dicky Leese Torremolinas model for Manchester, is merely another revenue stream.

Having said that, this is a better place for this than the Exchnage.

Someone should stipulate that the design has as small a footprint as possible.

some of these temporary wheels look like the are built on an old oil rig.

It's 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall I wonder how long it will take to rid us of the Piccadilly wall?

Piccadilly is now a scruffy shit heap, the pavements are covered in gum and litter and the there appears to be a permanent population of dossers and nutters hanging around the place.

What a bloody disgrace, and as for the area around the so-called bus station.....:ohno:

Let's be honest much of central Manchester is grim it's no use pretending otherwise fuck knows why anyone from elsewhere would actually want to visit the place?

That's it. I'm only going to visit nice clean, safe, tramp-free big cities from now on.

Nowthen, where's me map...

is merely another revenue stream.


That wheel makes so little money for the council i just about covers the cost of emptying the bins in exchange sq. The reason they have it is status and tourist's like it.

http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm469/carlf18/Manchester%2012%2012%2009/IMG_1515.jpg

Is an embarrassment to this great City. Walking through it today and something that should be beautiful that is unique in this country felt dirty and horrible and not even the beautiful blanket of white stuff could make it any more prettier.

Is there anything going to be done about it, any new developments?

Is there anything we can do about it? A facebook group of something (it worked for the xmas number 1:lol:)

Like alot of things in Manchester, it has alot of potential but at the moment it looks horrid and is an insult to the centre of town IMO.

I dissagree.

I think Piccadilly Gardens is actually quite a nice public space. Yeah it could do without that horrible Ramada (or whatever it is) towering over it, but overall I think it's quite nice.

The recent construction work that has been going on in the square recently may have resulted in it looking a little grimy - but that's finished now and I think the square looks really good.

It's come a very long way from what it used to look like in the 70's, i'll tell you that !! :lol: I think having the busy roads all around the perimeter of the square give it an urban feel, and I find that there's nothing better (in summer) than sitting in the square with a Burger King and some friends and discussing things, whilst watching the fountains.

Plus, if you're like me ( :) ) then you might even go for a run in the fountains :|

I have often thought Piccadilly Gardens was a poor public space to say it was renovated not so long ago.

I made a post about this some time ago saying that Piccadilly Gardens didn't work because it contradicted the urban space around it. Instead of the spaces corresponding to the surrounding buildings, they tried to create new shapes- in other words, it's a mess.

It's good that they have tried to introduce green space into the centre but it is poorly done. And who thought it was a good idea to rebuild the Berlin Wall. Something that really brings it down is the arrangement of the tram lines and bus point. The whole thing is just a mess- needs redesigning.

yeah I think the square itself is ok, certainly not what I would prefer but it's functional and can be a relaxing place to sit for a few minutes on a hot summers day. It's what surrounds it that blights it really, said hotel and just other general tackiness here and there, as a whole it doesn't really gel but Rome wasn't built in a day and all that, I'm sure it will get a redesign fairly soon.

^^

I agree with both of you, it is tacky, but, lets face it, we aint getting much better in these times, are we ?

I have a feeling that when the NEW big wheel is going to be placed in the gardens. There will be a design change. It is only a feeling so don't quote me on it.

yeah I think the square itself is ok, certainly not what I would prefer but it's functional and can be a relaxing place to sit for a few minutes on a hot summers day. It's what surrounds it that blights it really, said hotel and just other general tackiness here and there, as a whole it doesn't really gel but Rome wasn't built in a day and all that, I'm sure it will get a redesign fairly soon.

I don't think the square itself is okay though. Fair enough, the fact there is grass and fountains is good and you can relax there, but it's hardly been integrated into the overall design well.

To be fair, it is an awkward and difficult space to work with for several reasons, but it's been made worse by the use of different paving materials and paths criss-crossing it in no real order.

Oh god that hideous wheel isn't going ahead is it :bash: ?

Not only will it make Manchester's skyline look like a fairground (what with the wheel in Exchange Square and now a bigger one poking above the skyline in Piccadilly, too), but it'll also look really tacky !! :ohno:

I've often wondered, why is there such an odd arrangement of the tram lines in Piccadilly Gardens? Essentially it's a T-junction, so what's the purpose of the line that links eastbound trams from Market Street to Piccadilly Gardens? Is there a particular reason as to why it can't just be part of the T-junction? I haven't explained that very well- I'm sure you'll know the part I mean though.

If this tram line was removed there would be quite a significant extension to the 'usable' space.

Just get rid of that fucking wall! Or cover it with some greenery at least.

Would be a good start, even if the rest of the square is left as it is.

The fountains are particularly embarressing of late, hardly ever working and when they are on, squirting in all different directions, parts of it literally boarded up. What maintenence does it receive? Even re-turfing doesnt last long and it often just feels very tatty around there. Not a lot you can do about that I guess but eh, they should probably just pave the whole area. The wall is a joke, but a consequence of the chuffing big bus station- which also needs to go!

Beautification of the Wall is much needed, it doesn't make a statement, just looks like a replica of the Berlin wall or something, minus context and artwork. Perhaps artificial grass would be a plus, I think it'd be a shame to get rid of the lawn as a paved area would stop people using the space as they do - it's hardly been an unsuccessful space has it?

I disagree with everyone's points.

Yeah the wall is pretty darn ugly, but in summer Piccadilly Gardens really comes to life. It doesn't look as dull and wet as it does at the moment.

That said, as I said up there, it's the best public space we have, we either have it, or pave it over (which would look disgusting). It's your' choice ...

I don't think the square itself is okay though. Fair enough, the fact there is grass and fountains is good and you can relax there, but it's hardly been integrated into the overall design well.


That's what I said, it's ok but not what I would prefer, I also said overall it doesn't gel.

I was walking past with my parents at the start of December and my father complained about the Ramada shrinking the space, they remember it as a garden but say that even back then it was pretty bad and muddy.

Lack of decent maintenance by MCC hasn't helped! none of the wooden seating has been woodstained (for weather protection), lack of lawn maintenance, complete lack of litter bins, no sense of ownership, it main purpose seems as a green lung for bus exhausts!

Where are the play facilities? Where are the litter bins? Where are the wardens?

'Friends of Piccadilly Gardens', anyone?

to me the worst bit is the walkthough by cafe nero, it feels very dirty round there

Piccadilly Gardens is hideous - FACT!

There have been numerous threads written on the subject of Picc Gdns & the majority of folk who commented dislike the space.

The 'wall' was erected to keep the public space separate from the transport side. While it does exactly what it says on the tin, the wall is an ugly piece of (dare I say it) architecture, which echoes the ugly buildings surrounding the gardens (City Tower, Ramada Hotel, etc.).

The garden itself is merely made up of patches of turf, which need to be relaid every spring. I actually preferred the gardens as they were prior to the refurb (granted that smackheads weren't nice to walk past, but a bit of decent policing could have easily sorted that out). The only reason for the refurb was so they could erect the GMPTE office building, drastically reducing the size of the gardens.

I avoid that part of Manchester like the plague. It's an embarrassment. When you look at other public gardens & spaces in other cities (both in the UK & Europe), they put Piccadilly to shame.

It wouldn't be a bad idea for us to make a few suggestions on how it could be drastically improved...

anyone seen the state of the windows of Rice? Above the doors its.. eeuuurrghhh!

Piccadilly Gdns was best when it was below the street level with the old style garden and beautiful flower displays. Now its looks a fucking disgarce and the turds who "designed" the current monstrosity deserve the gulag!

Who designed it anyway?

The wall - it's concrete - was it not meant to be cladded with brick or stone? Did the money run out? :nuts:

Who designed it anyway?

the pavilion was designed by Tadao Ando, the fountains and gardens by EDAW

As part of the ongoing, post-IRA bomb regeneration of the city centre, the city council had set up an international competition for the redesign of Piccadilly Gardens. The winners – announced in 1998 from a short-list that had been whittled down to six – were the landscape architects EDAW and its partners, consisting of: the engineers Arup; renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando; local architects Chapman Robinson; and lighting engineer, Peter Fink. The square was finally revamped in 2001 – 2002, to include new green space and fountains (by EDAW), and a pavilion (by Tadao Ando) which partially functions to shield the gardens from the transport interchange. The resulting space was radically different from the old gardens, and the only links to the past that remained were the original statues. The redesign was part of the massive construction process that covered Manchester in the build up to the city hosting the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Previously the square was becoming increasingly run down and was considered unsafe. At a contract cost of around £10 million Piccadilly Gardens was renovated and ended up being shortlisted in 2003 for the Better Public Building Award. Part of the area was built on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadao_Ando

And I love it - raw concrete is a glorious buiilding material; sculptural, strong, uncompromising. There are better recent structures in the City: CoMS for one, but not many.

Who designed it anyway?

it was mostly designed by EDAW, but the pavilion wall was designed by the very famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

for those not familiar with Tadao's work:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Azuma_house.JPG/450px-Azuma_house.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Galleria_%EF%BD%81%EF%BD%8B%EF%BD%8B%EF%BD%81.JPG/450px-Galleria_%EF%BD%81%EF%BD%8B%EF%BD%8B%EF%BD%81.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c6/Church_of_Light.JPG/450px-Church_of_Light.JPG

Horrible...clinical and totalitarian.

Good architect. Bad creation.

More importantly, as complete lack of respect for history. As argued by Farsight back in the day.

I suppose one of the problems with concrete here is that is already is quite common- we don't really need any more concrete in our cities.

I agree that concrete can look beautiful, but it weathers terribly. It works best indoors.

As for Piccadilly Gardens, I feel the best option would be a simple grass lawn lined with trees to separate it from the bus station/tram lines/road. I hope they move the bus point out of Piccadilly Gardens eventually- it's a complete mess. I expect some paths would be needed so that it didn't become a muddy bog, but they should be minimal and most importantly, uniform. The mix of surfaces at the moment doesn't help the situation.

I suppose one of the problems with concrete here is that is already is quite common- we don't really need any more concrete in our cities.

I agree that concrete can look beautiful, but it weathers terribly. It works best indoors.

As for Piccadilly Gardens, I feel the best option would be a simple grass lawn lined with trees to separate it from the bus station/tram lines/road. I hope they move the bus point out of Piccadilly Gardens eventually- it's a complete mess. I expect some paths would be needed so that it didn't become a muddy bog, but they should be minimal and most importantly, uniform. The mix of surfaces at the moment doesn't help the situation.
I agree - there are times when the wall can look good. At least it provokes a response but the problem is that the local context is that bare concrete = depravation and squalor.
The grass - I don't know how you can make grass work in such a frequented place (see Urbis - and its not just the (largely harmless) goths) but I would thought that intelligent footpath design would be a start so that they direct the user away from the grass.
For example (and apologies for the sound of sucking eggs here) if two paths intersect at an angle and the user's route turns through more that 90 degrees they will inevitably trample the grass - so construct the intersection so that the V of the junction is paved.

I'm sure someone, possibly in this thread, said the wall was partly there as a safety measure in case of tram derailment.

Piccadilly Gardens could be improved massively by removing the fountain, either replacing it with a pond or just grassing over the area, or perhaps sticking some more trees or benches there.

It takes up far too much space, is rarely on, and even in the middle of Summer it doesn't really add anything in terms of ambience.

I'm sure someone, possibly in this thread, said the wall was partly there as a safety measure in case of tram derailment.

I highly doubt this. If this was the reason, why would there not be a wall on Market Street for example, or any other place for that matter?

If anyone has been to New York and seen how something like Bryant park can be so successful in an Inner City area, then they would know that this is what Manchester and Piccadilly needs. A protected seasonal lawn, tree lined boundaries, closing times, night security etc. However, Piccadilly seems to be surrounded by tat - amusement arcades, fast food, things which won't improve the area, whatever is done.

Piccadilly Gardens is pretty much the busiest public space in the city. It has huge footfall, and serves as a bus terminus, and is very close to a major train station. The design of the space should reflect this, but it doesn't.

In my opinion grass is wholly inappropriate. If greenery is desired then trees are the way forward; they can't be trampled to dirt. The wall and One Piccadilly Gardens break both the eyeline and the route through the square for the thousands of pedestrians that use it everyday. The fact that neither of them are particularly visually appealing, or in keeping with the architecture and space around them, does little to help.

I think that, given the diverse range of businesses around the square, and the way it has developed over time, means that the kind of coherent identity that spaces such as St Peter's Square or Albert Square have is not a possibility in the foreseeable future. It is a mess, and it will be that way for a long time. What is necessary is to achieve a design that works as well as possible within that constraint. It probably won't be pretty or neat, but there is no reason it can't involve striking architecture, public art, greenery, and a layout of pavement that is as functionally useful as possible for people crossing the space.

Thought this might be a nice video to put in this thread, for those who haven't seen it. It's a short film about Lord Roberts' visit to Manchester in 1901 where he unveiled the Queen Victoria Memorial in Piccadilly Gardens, and he gave out medals to local Boer War veterans.

I find it amazing to see how smart everyone looked back then, and then you see the scruffs who hang around todays Piccadilly Gardens! It really looks like a different world. Enjoy! :)

lcwlth9xwVM




And one of Cross Street / Corporation Street from 1901.

z0QkJNqYpFM

People just used to scrub up good. King George V visit to Wigan, 1913 (Makinsons Arcade)

http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/images/wig8l.jpg

Meanwhile off the same street:
http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/images/wig9l.jpg

to me the worst bit is the walkthough by cafe nero, it feels very dirty round there

Those plastic urinals really lend the area an upmarket feel, too. They're like monuments to poor planning.

I really like some of Tadao's concrete work, but the wall is horrible. The shape of the curve is nice, but it's far too austere; we're not far enough away from the seventies to love concrete that much. If anyone's seen the plans of Piccadilly Gardens from above it's easy to see why the council went for it, though - it looks brilliant. But that's the problem. To really enjoy the layout you need to be hovering 30ft above it. :)

To keep the shielding it gives, but reduce the awfulness, I'd replace the wall with huge, thick translucent glass shards in two shades of green, a grey and a 'white'. It looks great in my head, anyway. ;)

Hasn't green glass been done to death over the past 5 years? If anything is going to look dated very soon then it is green glass.

Piccadilly looks great. The wall shields the gardens from the bus/tram station and the fountain is the most popular place in Manchester for kids in the summer.

the fountain is the most popular place in Manchester for kids in the summer.

Due lack of fuck all else to do :ohno:

Queen Victoria

Personally my life's work would be complete if I was the one to demolish that fatty arse symbol of corpulent Monarchism in a city that cares little for German royal families.

Queen Victoria

Personally my life's work would be complete if I was the one to demolish that fatty arse symbol of corpulent Monarchism in a city that cares little for German royal families.

*smirks*

The problem with the wall is that it was designed without the architect ever coming to Manchester to see the space it was meant for , which is not a good sign to begin with ! We might have had something very different if he had actually visited the area first ,however good his work is ,it is just too cold and brutal , amongst the surrounding buildings ! It should be made into a "green wall" , there is too little planting to really call it Piccadilly Gardens anymore

One of the problems is it has become a quite useful public space for events, and heavy planting isnt compatible with that.

http://i47.tinypic.com/5b1cpf.jpg

...................is a disgrace and an embarrassment to mancunians all over the world.

I am ashamed of the place. Is there nothing we can do? A petition? anything?

Piccadilly Gardens closed for five weeks - to let the grass grow

March 24, 2011

Manchester's main public gardens will be closed over the bank holiday run – to regrow the grass.

Anyone hoping to bask in bank holiday sunshine over Easter will have to find another spot as Piccadilly Gardens will be out of bounds for five weeks from April 18.

While footpaths will remain open, the green areas will be fenced off while new grass grows throughout Easter weekend, the royal wedding bank holiday on April 29 and the May Day holiday on May 2. The council said the city centre gardens had undergone significant wear and tear at the feet of millions of visitors each year.

It will take around a week for the new seeds to be planted following St George’s celebrations on the gardens, over the weekend of April 15, 16 and 17.

It will then take another four weeks for the grass to bed in before the spaces can be re-opened to the public.

City centre spokesman Coun Pat Karney said: “Piccadilly Gardens is a popular and extremely well-used space.

“More than 18 million people a year walk across it and it hosts dozens of events. Understandably there is significant wear and tear which means that periodically we need to replace sections of the grass with more durable, harder-wearing turf.

“Ideally we would have liked to have started this work earlier but we decided to delay it to accommodate the St George’s festival celebrations which are taking place on Piccadilly
Gardens. I know how important Piccadilly Gardens is to Manchester people and I will be reviewing progress on a weekly basis to ensure the gardens are restored to use, greener than ever, as quickly as possible.”

Some re-seeding work took place in 2009 but it is the first time the grass has been re-laid since 2007. Council officers say they are confident that harder-wearing grass will mean a longer wait until the next lot of maintenance is needed. They said the work could not be done in winter because the new grass would die.

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1415352_piccadilly-gardens-closed-for-five-weeks---to-let-the-grass-grow

edit

During the day it is depressing and dull and during the night it is depressing and dangerous.

Sounds like someone on this forum... :lol:

Piccadilly Garden's will always attract the riff raff of society as long as its next to the bus terminal , iv'e always said that probably half the buses that go through Piccadilly don't need to be there , why cant buses coming in from the north terminate at Shudhill
( most do anyway) buses from the east termnate at London Rd buses from the west terminate at Oxford Rd ect ,
Pedestrianise the whole Piccadilly area apart from trams ,

As for the grass , why not plant shrubs at strategic points to stop them walking straight onto the grass , we live in a country of lazy people so walking across the grass to save 1min's time is just the norm , a lot of people who live in Britain don't give a shit if it dos'nt belong to them .

Piccadilly Garden's will always attract the riff raff of society as long as its next to the bus terminal , iv'e always said that probably half the buses that go through Piccadilly don't need to be there , why cant buses coming in from the north terminate at Shudhill
( most do anyway) buses from the east termnate at London Rd buses from the west terminate at Oxford Rd ect ,
Pedestrianise the whole Piccadilly area apart from trams ,

As for the grass , why not plant shrubs at strategic points to stop them walking straight onto the grass , we live in a country of lazy people so walking across the grass to save 1min's time is just the norm , a lot of people who live in Britain don't give a shit if it dos'nt belong to them .

Walking across the grass isn't lazy, it's efficient and the grass does belong to them, they pay for it.
Agreed about the buses though. Piccadilly (and Oldham Street) shouldn't be used for buses at all. Bus stations have no place in main public squares.

Really ? so its ok to snap a branch off one of the new trees on Whitworth St ? i have paid for it .

Piccadilly Garden's will always attract the riff raff of society as long as its next to the bus terminal , iv'e always said that probably half the buses that go through Piccadilly don't need to be there , why cant buses coming in from the north terminate at Shudhill
( most do anyway) buses from the east termnate at London Rd buses from the west terminate at Oxford Rd ect ,
Pedestrianise the whole Piccadilly area apart from trams ,


This ignores the fact that Piccadilly Gardens is a bus interchange, i.e. lots of people who don't live or work in the city centre have to change buses in the city centre. If buses coming from different parts of the city terminated in different parts of the city centre, it would put a lot of people off traveling by bus.

I don't understand why they can't keep it simple in Picadilly Gardens instead of having that hideous wall that looks like something from the entrance to a Soviet bunker. But I agree with Highriser, as long as the bus station is there and the tacky arcades are nearby, the riff raff will always be around to make things look even more depressing...

The walls a sound barrier to keep the bus noise from the main square, could do with being more attractive yes but it has a function.

http://www.teslasociety.com/pictures/engineers/bryant_park.jpg
This please.

Fair dos Seasoned, but pray tell where is that?

And if it leads to the demolition of the lard Queen in stone then more of it.

Moving Albert and Victoria statues next to each other would be.... Romantic?

Bryant Park in NY. Nice foliage. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Multifunctional. Secured at night by 24 hr guards. Dot on.

Not a particularly useful comparison though if my memory of Bryant Park is correct. Union Square or Madison Square Park might be better comparisons.

I've posted this before, but 5plus have added it to a competitions (http://www.5plusarchitects.com/work/competitions) section on their site with a bit of info on it, also a few other random old proposals on there,

http://www.5plusarchitects.com/work/project/piccadilly-culture

Piccadilly Gardens spring clean complete

26 May 2011, 10:42

Work on replacing the turf at Piccadilly Gardens has been completed following a six week project carried out by the Piccadilly Partnership.

The 26, 909 sq ft public space is now fully open to the public in time for the May bank holiday.

Alex King, Piccadilly Partnership manager, said: "This green space is becoming increasing popular with more than 80,000 people walking through every day. It's important to create the right environment for everyone to enjoy. We've chosen a particularly durable grass that requires little water to maintain its colour and is used in other public places with a large footfall such as Chester Zoo."

Piccadilly Partnership is managed by CityCo, Manchester's city centre management company.

CityCo works in partnership to manage and market city centre Manchester. CityCo is an independent, not-for-profit, company funded by both public and private sector.

The project cost was not disclosed.

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/9124-piccadilly-gardens-spring-clean-complete.html

I think the wall has an international touch to it. Can be better with some nice graffiti on it. Banksy style!

Some footage here of Piccadilly 70's style .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-13566567
Proper gardens . Good stuff.
And is that Richard Beckinsdale and Paula Wilcox rehearsing for 'The Lovers' ?

Simples....wherever you have grass, raise the previously flat area into mound, then 2 things happen.
1)It is nice to sit on...you are higher and have a better view, and more importantly,
2)Human beings (like water) will always choose the easier path (literally!), and walk around. A 'short cut' over a hump is not a short cut!
See Media City grass 'zones'
:)

I dissagree.

I think Piccadilly Gardens is actually quite a nice public space. Yeah it could do without that horrible Ramada (or whatever it is) towering over it, but overall I think it's quite nice.

The recent construction work that has been going on in the square recently may have resulted in it looking a little grimy - but that's finished now and I think the square looks really good.

It's come a very long way from what it used to look like in the 70's, i'll tell you that !! :lol: I think having the busy roads all around the perimeter of the square give it an urban feel, and I find that there's nothing better (in summer) than sitting in the square with a Burger King and some friends and discussing things, whilst watching the fountains.

Plus, if you're like me ( :) ) then you might even go for a run in the fountains :|

But the problem is there is nothing to do except doing shopping.

I have seen a lot European cities and if I compare the difference is much than distinct visible. Those cities have spirit, Manchester hasn't.

For Piccadilly gardens could be nice but I just crossing there without hesitation. Nothing distract me in my fast walking.

But the problem is there is nothing to do except doing shopping.

They've just re-laid the grass in Piccadilly Gardens for a reason. There were hundreds of tourists and Mancunians sitting on it today. And why wouldn't you? It's a lovely little vibrant area, and the sun is shining, so why not?

Picc Gardens is so close to being decent, days like today show that.

The elephant in the square must be that bloody wall though. Remove that and open up the sqaure to the tram tracks and it'd be much better.

Picc Gardens is so close to being decent, days like today show that.

The elephant in the square must be that bloody wall though. Remove that and open up the sqaure to the tram tracks and it'd be much better.

It really wouldn't. The wall may be ugly (especially from the south side) but it serves a very useful purpose of segregating the gardens from the noisy and dirty transport interchange and controlling pedestrian flow into the square from the south.

The Elephant is the bus station. You simply can't have a pleasant public space with a huge bus station in it. Get rid of it and you could get rid of the wall, but keep it and it's a vital component of the space.

It really wouldn't. The wall may be ugly (especially from the south side) but it serves a very useful purpose of segregating the gardens from the noisy and dirty transport interchange and controlling pedestrian flow into the square from the south.

The Elephant is the bus station. You simply can't have a pleasant public space with a huge bus station in it. Get rid of it and you could get rid of the wall, but keep it and it's a vital component of the space.
Yeah, I think this post makes a lot of sense. I must admit, now that I think about Piccadilly Gardens, one of the strongest images I have of it is the dismal sight of a dingy Piccadilly Amusements fronted by cheapy Magic Buses trundling past. We have that right next to the "gardens" (not really a suitable term but hey) and it degrades them.

The trouble is though, where would you move the bus station? Shudehill doesn't have the capacity for a dozen new services, the other end of Pic Gardens is similarly unsuitable, and none of the nearby streets would have the capacity for this kind of operation. You could disperse the stops around the nearby streets but that would make interchanging an absolute mess, and would confuse newcomers and tourists, as well as residents!

Split the bus station and move the smaller segments around the place.

Buses from the Oxford Rd direction go to Chorlton St (coaches moved to a new coach station near Victoria).

All other buses do not have the terminating in the city - do not provide the provision for them to finish here instead try to make places like Ox Rd & Salford Central railway stations as places where buses head to (from the opposite side of town).

Wherever you move the bus station in Manchester you would have to have it adjacent to a Metrolink stop.

Split the bus station and move the smaller segments around the place.

Buses from the Oxford Rd direction go to Chorlton St (coaches moved to a new coach station near Victoria).

All other buses do not have the terminating in the city - do not provide the provision for them to finish here instead try to make places like Ox Rd & Salford Central railway stations as places where buses head to (from the opposite side of town).

The problem is that Picc gardens is a really useful interchange point. In the absence of common cross city bus services (something that commercial operation pretty much guarantees) having so many bus services terminate at one point provides the best bus/bus and bus/tram interchange the city can hope to achieve. Moving the buses to Chorlton Street and smaller interchanges will break this without providing an alternative site for convenient changing of services.

If the city could control the routes then interchange possibilities could be preserved, but as it can't specify routes then its unlikely that they would be.

Why does Manchester mainly have terminating routes? Other cities such as Newcastle, York and Milton Keynes run mainly cross city routes despite having a privatised system the same as Manchester.

York and MK are smaller so perhaps aren't a fare comparison but Newcastle has a system that runs like this:

Buses from outside of Newcastle to the North and East (run by Arriva and Go mainly) terminate at Haymarket Bus Station.

Buses from outside of Newcastle to the West and South (run mainly by Go but also Arriva) terminate at Eldon Square Bus Station.

City route buses (mainly ran by stagecoach) run through the city centre without terminating. Running either E-W or N-W mainly. None of Stagecoach's buses terminate in the city centre.

If you pair up routes in Manchester (for arguments sake say the 216 and 42) you could run services up Portland Street without the need for a bus station at Piccadilly. Moving the terminating services to an improved Chorlton Street or bus station behind Piccadilly Station.

Why does Manchester mainly have terminating routes? Other cities such as Newcastle, York and Milton Keynes run mainly cross city routes despite having a privatised system the same as Manchester.

York and MK are smaller so perhaps aren't a fare comparison but Newcastle has a system that runs like this:

Buses from outside of Newcastle to the North and East (run by Arriva and Go mainly) terminate at Haymarket Bus Station.

Buses from outside of Newcastle to the West and South (run mainly by Go but also Arriva) terminate at Eldon Square Bus Station.

City route buses (mainly ran by stagecoach) run through the city centre without terminating. Running either E-W or N-W mainly. None of Stagecoach's buses terminate in the city centre.

If you pair up routes in Manchester (for arguments sake say the 216 and 42) you could run services up Portland Street without the need for a bus station at Piccadilly. Moving the terminating services to an improved Chorlton Street or bus station behind Piccadilly Station.

I'm no expert but I'd guess it has a lot to do with the GM buses north and south split (i.e. that Stagecoach and First have an interest in preserving their geographic monopolies) and that there is an imbalance in demand between north and south Manchester that you don't get in those other cities. A less dense population in the inner city north and east means that running services through means running them empty. But even if you only ran half the buses through there's unlikely to be any extra profit for Stagecoach from offering journeys from say Fallowfield to Openshaw because very few people want to make that journey. They can get more efficient use from their buses by turning them around in town and sending them straight down Oxford Road again.

LTP3 talks about a "cross city bus package" blames the bottle neck in the city centre for a lack of through-services. It reckons that by improving bus priority routes in the city centre, it will improve reliability and make it easier to run through-services. It only appears to be promoting 3 specific cross city routes though (possibly due to the fact that Greater Manchester is carved up by different operators?)

Love these fantasy land plans from 2007...

http://oi52.tinypic.com/2hehe3a.jpg

Very interesting find there NQ, especially with the fact the designs were done for John Lewis in mind for a department store in the base of the tower.

I don't mind having the Interchange there but think it could use a canopy over the bus waiting area.

The Ramada needed its improvements and looks half decent, as good as you can make an eyesore of a building like that.

Overall, I quite like the current layout of the Gardens, and the wall doesn't bother me at all. The only thing I dislike is the number of charity people pestering me as I walk across the Square.

Loose the grass in the gardens, they have just re seeded it and it will be knackered within a few months.
If you want green stuff then grow something on the side of that hideous monstrosity of a wall

Passed through the gardens yesterday, as you do.

In glorious sunshine, fountain full pelt, kids splashing in the water, hundreds of people chillin on the grass on all sides.

City Tower looming, bustle everywhere.

Stunning.

*smiles* :)

Passed through the gardens yesterday, as you do.

In glorious sunshine, fountain full pelt, kids splashing in the water, hundreds of people chillin on the grass on all sides.

City Tower looming, bustle everywhere.

Stunning.

*smiles* :)

Aye it is brilliant this time of year. Some recent pics taken from flickr:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2441/5796437986_d7d4590946_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3410/5796441182_47a299fe55_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2330/5795881757_ea34e1be32_z.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deltrems/

:cheers:

I really cant think of anything else that would do the job of cutting the noise, and sight and pollution from the bus stop and cheap shops as well as the wall. Which you don't really notice from the gardens side anyway. Trees wouldn't work, they do very little sound wise. Maybe a red brick wall, very mancunian, but not very modern.

The key as we know it is to remove most if not all of the buses, then get rid of the wall and turn what was the bu station into new space thereby providing an even bigger gardens.

The problem is the buses can't be moved until there is somewhere for them to go and I expect that now the TIF bid (which included this to be done by moving the coach station to mayfield area and create a new enlarged bus station similar to shudehill by chorlton street) failed it wont happen any time soon.

Has anyone seen this as a priority to be done by MCC, GMPTE etc anywhere? Even if its for 5 years away?

Its the same problem with Stevenson Square, it can't be improved until the busses are removed and I believe moving the buses will cost money which again due to no TIF is no longer available. I hope that gets sorted soon though also as that square could be a key anchor part of the N4 rather than a shitty empty space!

How we used to live:

There's some great 70's footage of Piccadilly Gardens on the BBC website as part of the forthcoming Reel History of Britain series (mentioned elsewhere by jrb):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-13566567

Not sure about the music though...

^^That footage is fantastic. The gardens looked fantastic! Reminds me of the gardens from the early scenes in The Conversation with Gene Hackman

Keep the wall for now, but just turn it into a massive vertical planter filled with climbing and trailing plants (passion flower, clematis, honeysuckle etc)

Taken to people watching on victoria monument in the evenings, took these around 8pm tonight -

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/284618_10150245430397643_511687642_7596752_6100341_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/284313_10150245430667643_511687642_7596755_6745216_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/282280_10150245430852643_511687642_7596758_2988880_n.jpg

My least favourite part of the city centre is the North west corner. We should be showing tourists St anns square, St Peters Square, Peter Street, King Street, Deansgate, Castlefield, Whitworth Street and Oxford Street, not Piccadilly/ Market Street/ High Street.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/england/manchester/map_of_manchester.jpg

You mean North East?

Not even the Northern Quarter? Some of the best preserved districts of Manchester round there.

You mean North East?

Yeah :)

I need to brush up on my ordinal directions :shifty:

I though you would like all the old buildings there though :D :D :D

Yeah :)

I need to brush up on my ordinal directions :shifty:

:lol: You mean cardinal directions?

NQ has some incredible buildings, but it's not an area I ever like to stop in for some reason :dunno:

Fortunately you're not a visitor to Manchester. Manchester's not picturesque, it's a living/breathing/vibrant/dirty minor world city, and the sort of people who visit it are likely to appreciate those qualities and places like the Northern Quarter and Piccadilly Gardens. Go elsewhere if you want the picturesque.

Edit

Some piccadilly Gardens propsals, one already seen before.


Piccadilly Culture

http://www.5plusarchitects.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PiccadillyCulture_3.jpg http://www.5plusarchitects.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PiccadillyCulture_2.jpg

Invited by Bovale Developments to submit design proposals for a mixed use scheme on the site of the current concrete retail pavilion at the junction of Piccadilly Bus Station and Piccadilly Gardens.

The sensitive nature of this site calls for a world class building. It is intended that the new building will become an integral part of the Piccadilly composition, mending all the problems of the current pavilion.

Client
Bovale Developments

Sector
Architecture - Mixed Use

http://www.5plusarchitects.com/work/project/piccadilly-culture


Piccadilly Markets

BCO Northern Region Awards 2008 – Winner of Un-Built Commercial.

http://www.5plusarchitects.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PiccadillyMarkets_1.jpg http://www.5plusarchitects.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PiccadillyMarkets_2.jpg

Conceived as a series of urban lanterns, these translucent market stalls serve to illuminate the dark space of Piccadilly Gardens with their glowing cubic form.

Hinged along a vertical spine, the cube folds open to reveal two internal planes that are erected to provide shelter from the elements. Internally the stalls provide a small amount of on-site storage reducing the volume of goods being brought to and from the stalls daily.

Through reducing the time spent erecting the stall and by providing on-site storage, the stalls aim to reduce the work for the market vendor and make a positive contribution to the markets environment.

Client
Piccadilly Partnership

Sector
Architecture

Value
£200,000

http://www.5plusarchitects.com/work/project/piccadilly-markets

Some piccadilly Gardens propsals, one already seen before.



http://www.5plusarchitects.com/work/project/piccadilly-culture





I don't know ... it just feels as though Piccadilly Gardens is slowly being eaten away. First the bus station, then One Piccadilly Gardens, and now this? ...

Well... the glass-walled thing above would mostly be on the site of the existing concrete bunker, so wouldn't really take up much more space of the gardens. That would have to be the limit though.

I think covering the 'Berlin Wall' in a mosaic would look great. Something bright and colourful and meaningful to the city perhaps.

And I'd love to see the fountain fully working again... ALL the jets (at the correct heights and working fully, not spritzing left and right), the waterfalls, the mist jets, the lights the lot! It used to be great!

Curiously, does anyone know who decides when the fountains come on, what sequences they do and when etc?

Also the state of the wooden benches is terrible, a lot of it has totally rotten away!

Gone to seed: £25k ‘supergrass’ laid at Piccadilly Gardens wears out for second time in a year

Exclusive by Deborah Linton

April 03, 2012

Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens is to be re-laid for the second time in a year – at a cost of £15,000.

The city-centre gardens were fenced off for several weeks last year while a new, hard-wearing lawn was put down.

The ultra-tough grass, which cost more than £25,000 to lay – including £7,000 to fence off the space – was meant to withstand the wear-and-tear inflicted by the millions of people who walk across the gardens every year. But it was left in need of re-seeding again after being flattened by a funfair at Christmas.

It was suggested earlier this year that the operators of the funfair would be asked to pay if the area needed re-laying - but the council could not confirm whether this would be the case.

The council is planning to draw up a code of practice to improve the management of events and better protect the grass.

A town hall spokesman said: "Piccadilly Gardens is a very well-used public space. More than 18m people a year walk across it and dozens of events are hosted there.

"We’re spending this money as part of ongoing maintenance to ensure that this important part of the city stays looking its best so that people can continue to enjoy it, particularly as summer approaches."

The gardens were closed for five weeks while re-turfing took place last spring. The council had last re-planted the grass in 2007, at a cost of just under £25,000, as part of a re-design of the area. Some re-seeding took place in 2009 but it was hoped that the new grass, laid last year, would last longer before needing maintenance work.

Marc Ramsbottom, leader of Manchester council's Lib Dem opposition and a city-centre councillor, said the council should consider taking the opportunity to change the layout of the gardens.

He said: "This seems to be throwing good money after bad. They need to go back to the drawing board and re-think the design.

"Sometimes you’ve got to spend to save and it may be worth spending a bit more now on re-planting and tackling some of these recurring problems, to save more in the long term."

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1490235_gone-to-seed-25k-supergrass-laid-at-piccadilly-gardens-wears-out-for-second-time-in-a-year

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