First Street

[thecityofgold]

It's very cheap looking, but for the location it's fine. Big improvement on the current wasteland.

[Seasonedbest]

Originally Posted by highriser

Get it built , its a thousand times better than what is there now .

Oh you’ve returned. Did you enjoy your holiday? At least you’re sticking to your guns.

[AJD1984]

Originally Posted by Seasonedbest

One of the best designed, impressive and functional buildings I’ve seen ever proposed in Manchester. My mouth is literally watering with effervescent and excitable juices. Absolutely fantastic.

Is that sarcasm Seasoned I can't tell lol (jw). To be honest I'm liking the colours however I'm not struck on the design. In all fairness though and probably thankfully the red won't really be seen until your close up as there are future developments earmarked immediately in front on this proposal.

Regarding the proposed hotel, can't make out if the colours are blue and green (holiday inn) or purple and a mirky yellow (premier inn - surely they can move from that window barred disaster from across the road).

The supermarket I think is also Morribobs or at least i hope so cause I'm fed up of Tesco and Sainsbury.

And Voldy do you ever go to work/uni/whatever cause the amount of random posts you do and the times you never seem to be off here.

[Seasonedbest]

..

[jrb]

This whole proposal is a.........



Bookend.

It says. There is no need to go any further than this. There is nothing of interest beyond this point.(Mancunian Way, etc)

Instead, park your car, do some grocery shopping, fill the free plastic carrier bags on offer, and then make your way along the boulevard to the First Street cultural quarter, carrier bags in hand.

[MancKnight]

As previously said it looks like something proposed for Leeds. Horrible.

[jrb]

Originally Posted by MancKnight

As previously said it looks like something proposed for Leeds. Horrible.

Correct.

These are not 'Manchester buildings' in any sense of the word.

It seems MCC have become lazy and are allowing anything through due to the on-going economic downturn, as long as property developers guarantee a start on the proposal.

[Nathan Dawz]

Looks absolutely fine to me. The facilities for culture/arts events will be far better than what we have now, and it's a massive improvement on the current wasteland.

This looks far nicer than anything Leeds could produce.

[GShutty]

A rather like this. Stating the obvious, it accommodates a car park, supermarket, budget hotel and student accommodation. Now with three of the four and often 4/4 you would get individual, crappy plot-hoggers and there are many examples close by.

This is a depressing forgotten portion of the city centre and there can surely be no debate that this will be a huge improvement and in dire times.

Also good to note that with this phase, there will be new public gardens, First St will be completed in its entirity and the pedestrian crossing on in to Hulme should get the same treatment. Also the roads in this little neighbourhood will be re-thought which will hopeful make this a more permeable are for city dweller and visitors to inhabit, or pass through. There are certainly more people on the artists drawings (of course) and that is one thing that this area lacks, because there is literally nothing here.

I actually think the buildings too have a certain modern European feel to them. I can't really justify that statement, it's just what it makes me think.

[10123]

First time I ever venture into the Manchester thread after seeing plans on the city talk forum and all you see is bashing of Leeds. LOL

Anyway..

The building looks fine. Considering the initial plans it is disappointing, however judged solely on face value the cladding and irregular shapes does make it an interesting build(s).

It's pretty clear though that the popularity of development will rest solely on the cladding.

Considering the context though it's a damn site better than whats surrounding (council housing) .

[10123]

To add I think some of you are underestimating the interaction on street level.

There appears to floor to ceiling glass on ground level which in itself makes the development highly sought after. How many many new builds act as a barrier to the street? Many do, just by having attractive frontages will help the area massively. The average person doesn't even know whats above them on street level.

Good example below.


Street level = Excellent high quality
Tower = Awful plastic blandness

[spoonsbeatfish]

AJ - http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/n...contentID=3169

Ian Simpson and Mecanoo's First Street plans approved

Mecanoo’s proposed new home in Manchester city centre for The Cornerhouse cinema and the Library Theatre Company has won planning permission

The £20 million competition-winning, ‘cultural centrepiece’ of ASK’s First Street development will sit next to a new four-star Innside hotel by Ian Simpson Architects today which was also given the green light by Manchester City Council.

The £25 mllion project for Meliá Hotels International will house 208-bedrooms over 11 floors.

Mecanoo’s plans feature a 500-seat theatre, a 150-seat second theatre space, 500m² double-height gallery space, up to five cinema screens, learning spaces, digital and broadcast production facilities, a café bar, restaurant and workshop spaces.

Ken Knott, CEO of the Council’s development partner Ask Developments said: ”The momentum is really building now and our joint plans with Manchester City Council will soon become a reality.

‘First Street North will become a genuinely unique, colourful and vibrant place capable of attracting a wide range of leisure, hotel and associated activities. The new cultural facility will form the centrepiece of this new destination, creating a distinct feel and atmosphere in this part of the city.’

Enabling works are expected to start before the end of the year allowing the scheme to open in early autumn 2014.

Meanwhile a planning application covering the 2.6 acre plot at the southern end of First Street has recently been submitted for the mixed use, retail-led element of the scheme.

[Meadows]

Originally Posted by Nathan Dawz

Looks absolutely fine to me. The facilities for culture/arts events will be far better than what we have now, and it's a massive improvement on the current wasteland.

This looks far nicer than anything Leeds could produce.

Can we get out of this mindset please!?! We'll never be a global city if we keep comparing ourselves to Liverpool and Leeds. Think Munich and Helsinki!

[Cherguevara]

Originally Posted by 10123

First time I ever venture into the Manchester thread after seeing plans on the city talk forum and all you see is bashing of Leeds. LOL

Anyway..

The building looks fine. Considering the initial plans it is disappointing, however judged solely on face value the cladding and irregular shapes does make it an interesting build(s).

It's pretty clear though that the popularity of development will rest solely on the cladding.

Considering the context though it's a damn site better than whats surrounding (council housing) .

10123 - That's not council housing, I think it's social services offices/facilities.

I'm not exactly happy with it, although I don't think it's that bad. Part of whether it will succeed is in terms of how well it's linked to Hulme via Hulme Street and Wilmott Street and whether it can draw pedestrians from Oxford Road down Hulme and Chester streets.

I think people are expecting too much of this really. First Street isn't an organic streetscape but a created one, and as such expecting it to produce Mancunian buildings (which are really just buildings that fit our peculiar street plan) is artificial and unrealistic. The city council want a supermarket, but they're never going to be able to attract one to the site if they put controls on it that will effectively prevent it being viable for a supermarket operator. The plan appears to have a mix of uses to keep it busy throughout the day, has space for small retail stores and at least appears to understand that the public realm needs to encourage pedestrian links into the site. Where it does turn its back completely is Hulme roundabout, which is hardly likely to be the source of many pedestrians or a route that people would choose to take out of the city centre.

I'm sure a more creative or ambitious solution could have been found, but all in all it isn't too bad.

[Farsight]

I like it. A lot of thought has gone into this, and it's got 21st Century written all over it.

I reckon this will be the sort of project that some guys start off disliking, then when they see it, they end up saying hey, that's not bad.

Shame the tower's not a bit bigger though.

[rolybling]

I'm weeping at the thought of that cladding. The whole tower looks extremely cheap to me, what's with the tiny windows and that strip/stripe? clearly there to add a bit of detail and detract from that fact the cladding is cheap and nasty and incredibly bland. Looks like the sort of building that would be lucky to last 20 yrs. Good grief.

[TheFly]

Love it. It is your destiny.

[pixel2006]

Just had a virtual drive around First Street South site on Google Street View. For me it put the development into perspective. This is a peripheral site and the design makes more than a passing nod to the Parkway Gate development in shape and cladding and PG seem to have worked out reasonably well. And the colours are linked to the First Street North proposal. They seem to have put attention into the public realm as well.

First street will be a bit like travelling down Ashton Old Road where the new housing gets less impressive the further you get away from Manchester. But even at its worst, it is still reasonable quality.

I think we live in a different world to the original master plans that have driven so much of our expectations. The scheme is part of the First Street jigsaw, which looks more elegant than say the Green Quarter and looks like it learning from Spinningfields in terms of not potentially needing the ad hoc stuff that is being retro fitted to make the whole work (e.g. Oast House).

Anyway, just some thoughts.

[Nathan Dawz]

Originally Posted by Meadows

Can we get out of this mindset please!?! We'll never be a global city if we keep comparing ourselves to Liverpool and Leeds. Think Munich and Helsinki!

I only mentioned Leeds because everyone kept harping on about how much it looks like a Leeds-style of building!

[delores]

If it didn't have a stupid diagonal stripes going down it, the cladding was not randomised and the building was simpler in form I would prefer it. I think architects who are obsessed with garish colours to hide architectural quality are kidding themselves.It just looks cheap in my eyes.