Ian Simpson Architects / Jefferson Sheard Architects


Manchester Transport Interchange - Building Images: Daniel Hopkinson

Building PR from Jefferson Sheard Architects 2006:
Manchester Transport Interchange Development

Manchester’s Shudehill Transport Interchange is a highly contextual response to a complex brief for an intermodal (bus / tram / car) transport facility serving the city’s 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 Manchester’s 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 IRA’s bombing of the area in 1996 increased the site’s significance as an opportunity to symbolise Manchester’s 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 practice’s 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 Employer’s Representative. Ian Simpson Architects is celebrated for the practice’s 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.

Manchester’s 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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Manchester Transport Interchange : Jefferson Sheard Architects

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Manchester Shudehill Transport Interchange - page : adrian welch / isabelle lomholt