MEDIACITY | Photo Journal

[BeardedGenius]

Originally Posted by Ozzy

This is one of the most biggest and exciting builds i can remember we should be proud to be getting this its going to be amazing once finished!

Builds of what exactly though?! I doubt anyone is sure as to what buildings are specifically under construction here!

[Manchester Planner]

It's the mystery build! Makes it more exciting...

[NonStopMark]

The current status of the development site as of the 14th November :

Artists Impression :


Actual View :


More pictures available at the link below :

[Comdot]

Originally Posted by Ozzy

This is one of the most biggest and exciting builds i can remember we should be proud to be getting this its going to be amazing once finished!

Main BBC buildings have topped out though haven't they? Obviously no floors on there but the cores aren't going to get any higher are they? All in all it's just looking like a development that's only a fraction of the size of Spinningfields (I could've said that much earlier). It's just more illustrious due to the London connection and the BBC. Remember we don't have any garuntee yet that the whole site is going to be developed.

[Comdot]

[QUOTE=NonStopMark;16494072]The current status of the development site as of the 14th November :

Artists Impression :


QUOTE]

Hate to break it to you but that doesn't even resemble what is being built. The plans were changed dramatically from that. Personally I'm furious, as Peel have done everything they could to try to keep people believing that their "old plans" are their "current plans". Hogwash!

[Comdot]

Originally Posted by NonStopMark

Looks like the official Media City : UK Web Site will be updated in early 2008. This may provide more of a clue as to the eventual look and feel of the buildings. Thanks for the good comments JRB and fellow Media City:UK watchers.

I hope it will, as the look and feel of the buildings in the artists' impressions on the website currently do not represent the look and feel of the artists' impressions that they have made that respresent the look and feel of what they are actually building.

What I'm saying is they are intentionally witholding (from that website at least) their latest artists' impressions. I have a copy, not sure if many of you guys have seen it. I might upload it later. I'm not saying this is a bad thing that Peel have done but I will say that their current artists' impressions are incredibly underwhelming in comparison to all their previous ones, particularly the lack of a significantly modified waterfront!

[NonStopMark]

MediaCity:UK on Flickr and YouTube :

Flickr MediaCity:UK Group

YouTube MediaCity:UK Group

[Potato Man]

To the best of my knowledge these are the most recent render of the building actually being built.

[Chogmook]

Seems pretty much the one, pillars and all.

[NonStopMark]

Thanks for the insight guys... As artist impressions go, the last post seems to pretty much sum up my expectations based on the actual development site... a flatter curved building reflecting the war museum and surroundings with 3 or 4 taller, slimmer buildings to the left, each one taller than the last the further left you go (although in reality they maybe kept the same height but ascending towers would look more interesting).

As for the rest of the development site, certainly their is a lot of hardware on show and plenty of digging but will it be as flat as depicted in the artists impression. Plenty of tall buildings lining the back of the site but I am not sure how much of this development is in phase 1 and how much will be in subsequent phases (if any). Hopefully the new look official website will shed some light on that.

At this early stage, I see it as just another place to grab a coffee in 2011 beyond the 5 or 6 offerings currently available in the Lowry, Designer Outlet and War Museum combined (West One is also another coffee option at W H Smith, Eccles). Certainly beats the drive to the Stretford Arndale at 12pm. Anybody fancy a wager on the number of cranes on site by 31st December? I'll start the bidding at 9.

[andysimo123]

Am looking at that thinking.... who owns them boats?

[Isaac Newell]

Originally Posted by andysimo123

Am looking at that thinking.... who owns them boats?

Well if they depend on central government money you can expect them in about 2150.

[spoonsbeatfish]

Think it would be great if they developed a proper boat stop/station/port (what would you call it in this circumstance?) right next to the centre of the media city, built next to with an interchange with the metrolink!

Then have a water taxi/boat service running up the Irwell with stops on both sides, running up through into the city centre and then out again up to the other end of city park. Have it fully integrated with metrolink and busses e.g. Pomona Victoria, with a variety of other interchanges along the way. Would be popular with tourists, connect the city more, reduce road congestion and give life to the waterways!

Anyway back to the renders though, yeah will be rubbish if they get rid of the modified water front, looks much better in the original renders!! As for the square next to main BBC building, the last two renders look very different to me so will wait till the website comes out or the area gets built before I make any judgements as I get the impression its probably not fully decided how that area will go.

[highriser]

Originally Posted by Isaac Newell

Well if they depend on central government money you can expect them in about 2150.

Issac i always get a very negative vibe from you matey ,, we know your from Oldham and now living in pastures new down south , but you stalk the Manchester forum to put down anything that dos'nt resemble the cobbles you left .

With all the developments that are in the pipeline for the Quays , im sure there will be more boat traffic ,, unless god forbid Cental Government pays for better transport links .

[NonStopMark]

More pictures available for the 14th November at the usual timeline link below :

[Local Lad]

Thanks for the pictures NonStopMark.

Just had a scan through, I noticed those blue and white portacabins... They look too substantial for the site managers office etc. Could the BBC be moving into these portacabins,so that they can vacate the central Manchester site earlier than we thought? Then it would just be a case of moving across the road when construction was complete?

[Architecty]

Originally Posted by Local Lad

Just had a scan through, I noticed those blue and white portacabins... They look too substantial for the site managers office etc. Could the BBC be moving into these portacabins,so that they can vacate the central Manchester site earlier than we thought? Then it would just be a case of moving across the road when construction was complete?

It’s a big build, and they are going to be on site with several buildings for many years, its just a very serious compound set up that reflects the serious scale of the project.

[NonStopMark]

Originally Posted by Local Lad

Thanks for the pictures NonStopMark.

Just had a scan through, I noticed those blue and white portacabins... They look too substantial for the site managers office etc. Could the BBC be moving into these portacabins,so that they can vacate the central Manchester site earlier than we thought? Then it would just be a case of moving across the road when construction was complete?

I must say I was intrigued by those substantial, multi-storey cabins at the back myself. I am not familiar with the on site requirements of a development project of this scale in terms of the make shift offices required.



The MediaCity:UK development already appears to have taken ownership of one of the buildings on the other side of Broadway (across the road) for project concerns (opposite the Pie Factory on the same side of the development).





It seems that the attention to detail with these multi storey cabins goes beyond that for those originally put in place for the current cabin offerings near the City Loft flats car park.



Having said that, the projected completion for the first phase of the project is 2011 which means that on site staff might need more substantial, nearby headquarters than those current cabins for such a long development plan.



After all, the City Lofts flats have a dedicated make shift headquarters for just one building.

City Lofts Salford Quays

Is it that the on site workers will eventually move over to the cabins at the back of the site near Broadway to free up space currently occupied by the current suite of cabins. Is this normal development site strategy or an oversight since the land occupied by the current set of cabins is in fact needed? Pure speculation. All of the cabins maybe needed for a project of this scale. I wonder if anybody can elighten us further?

Good point though Local Lad and thanks for your reply.

[Architecty]

Originally Posted by spoonsbeatfish

Think it would be great if they developed a proper boat stop/station/port (what would you call it in this circumstance?) right next to the centre of the media city, built next to with an interchange with the metrolink!

Then have a water taxi/boat service running up the Irwell with stops on both sides, running up through into the city centre and then out again up to the other end of city park. Have it fully integrated with metrolink and busses e.g. Pomona Victoria, with a variety of other interchanges along the way. Would be popular with tourists, connect the city more, reduce road congestion and give life to the waterways!

Anyway back to the renders though, yeah will be rubbish if they get rid of the modified water front, looks much better in the original renders!! As for the square next to main BBC building, the last two renders look very different to me so will wait till the website comes out or the area gets built before I make any judgements as I get the impression its probably not fully decided how that area will go.

Peel have proposed a water taxi into town (and further to their proposed development out at Barton) so the ferries in the render are definitely there to reflect a genuine possibility; the yachts are just render filler. Will be interesting to see if these taxis do get set up or if its just Peel trying to bargain with GMPTE over their Metrolink contribution to Media City and Trafford.

The built out embankment in the earlier images would just have been very expensive for realistically little gain; it does seem a shame that they are building the main building quite so close up against the water side, but the amount of public space should balance it out somewhat.

Back to the cabins, I obviously could be wrong, but Id be pretty certain they were just part of the development infrastructure; admittedly they are particularly substantial.

[NonStopMark]

Originally Posted by Architecty

Peel have proposed a water taxi into town (and further to their proposed development out at Barton) so the ferries in the render are definitely there to reflect a genuine possibility; the yachts are just render filler. Will be interesting to see if these taxis do get set up or if its just Peel trying to bargain with GMPTE over their Metrolink contribution to Media City and Trafford.

The built out embankment in the earlier images would just have been very expensive for realistically little gain; it does seem a shame that they are building the main building quite so close up against the water side, but the amount of public space should balance it out somewhat.

Back to the cabins, I obviously could be wrong, but Id be pretty certain they were just part of the development infrastructure; admittedly they are particularly substantial.

Cheers Architecty for your input. Certainly the boats on show in the artists impressions look a little less realistic than this current offering :



But after all, they need to sell the look-and-feel so clean, white yachts look better.