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Ian Simpson Architects
/ Jefferson Sheard Architects

Manchester Transport Interchange - Building Images:
Daniel Hopkinson
Building PR from Jefferson Sheard Architects 2006:
Manchester Transport Interchange Development
Manchesters Shudehill Transport Interchange is a highly contextual
response to a complex brief for an intermodal (bus / tram / car) transport
facility serving the citys shopping and leisure quarter.
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive has developed the Interchange
on behalf of a number of organisations which includes themselves, Manchester
City Council, NCP and major local investors such as the CIS and Richardsons
the owner of the nearby Printworks leisure complex.
The Interchange was conceived as a solution to the widely varied transport
needs of Manchesters emerging Northern Quarter which includes a
growing residential component as well as the shopping, leisure and employment
activities which generate larger movements of people.

Manchester Transport Interchange - Building Images:
Daniel Hopkinson
Inserting a large building with all the attendant paraphernalia of its
transportation function into the fringe of the Shudehill Conservation
Area presented a planning challenge which became even more demanding when
the IRAs bombing of the area in 1996 increased the sites significance
as an opportunity to symbolise Manchesters self-confidence and its
will to show that the attack upon the city would be transformed into an
act which served only to strengthen it.
The architectural concept and scheme design of the Interchange was developed
by Ian Simpson Architects, emerging from the practices work upon
the masterplan for the rebuilding of the bombed core of the city, and
the post-planning implementation of the project was carried out by Jefferson
Sheard Architects, with selected design input from Ian Simpson Architects
and with GVA Grimley as the Employers Representative. Ian Simpson
Architects is celebrated for the practices defining contribution
to the making of modern Manchester whilst Jefferson Sheard are developing
an extensive portfolio of striking Interchange projects. Both architects
are highly pleased with the outcome of their collaboration at Shudehill.
There are, essentially, six components to the Interchange the main
passenger bus concourse which forms the ground floor of an eight storey
car park building; a so-called finger island of additional
bus facilities; a new Shudehill Metrolink (tram) platform; a spectacular
glass aerofoil canopy which visually marks the entrance to
the Interchange, an accommodation building beneath the car park access
ramp at the corner of Shudehill and Hanover Street and, finally, a boundary
wall to the 0.92 ha site, decorated in materials which reflect those found
within the Conservation Area.
The architects have sought to demonstrate that transport facilities of
this type can be highly symbolic public buildings which carry an important
message about their city and the importance of public transport within
its life. The largest of the six components the car park and concourse
is conceived as a crystalline glass box which contributes
to the visual appeal of the city by making use of the colour and movement
of the cars within, while the finger island and aerofoil are highly sculptural
compositions of glass and concrete.
Construction started in November 2003 and the Interchange was fully opened
to the public at the end of January 2006 at a cost of approximately £28
million. The car park provides 777 spaces, managed by NCP, for use by
the public and employees of the CIS, whilst, in the Interchange itself
managed by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive - there
is provision for 17 bus stops, parking layover for another 6 buses, plus
three retail units and a Travelshop within the main concourse.
Manchesters Shudehill Transport Interchange Photos:
Daniel Hopkinson Architectural Photography Ltd: Tel: 0161 273 3388
19 Junction Works, Paradise Wharf, Ducie Street, Manchester M1 2DF
Manchester building: PR from Jefferson Sheard Architects 260606
Manchester Transport Interchange building - photos © Adrian Welch
2006:

Manchester Transport
Interchange : Ian Simpson
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Transport Interchange : Jefferson Sheard Architects
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Manchester Shudehill Transport
Interchange - page : adrian welch / isabelle lomholt
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