The proposals for the Mobility Hub seek to future-proof Ancoats by embedding green transport choices, smart logistics, and shared services into the heart of an emerging and sustainable neighbourhood.
Designed for Manchester Life Development Company, this innovative project proposes to meet the parking requirements of residential and commercial development in Ancoats, removing parking from individual schemes to promote a shift away from car ownership in response to the community’s desire to prioritise people over vehicles in the local area.
Included in the plans are electric car spaces, secure cycle spaces, showers, and an electric car-sharing club, giving residents greener transport options.
The plans will accelerate the move away from petrol and diesel vehicles, improve air quality and protect the environment. By bringing together parking in one place the Hub will also ensure future developments are car-park free, urban designers can then focus on creating places for people to relax and enjoy.
To limit the number of delivery vehicles to a specific area, a delivery depot will also be housed within the site to receive local deliveries and parcels, and to reduce the travel of delivery vehicles through the neighbourhood by 1200km a day.
At ground floor level, there is potential for a large community café that will activate the street frontage and knit the development into the neighbourhood. This café will face onto a significant area of new public realm, which will be developed with pedestrian and cycle access, seating areas, plating and paving and opportunities for outdoor café dining. This area of public realm will also provide a new cycle and pedestrian route that will connect through to an adjacent park.
In keeping with the sustainable focus of the building, the new scheme will include a significant element green façade and a modular living wall. This has been designed to remove air pollutants including carbon and improve the biodiversity of the area, while reducing the amount of visible structure, screening the car park, and limiting light spill from within the car park. The growing structure will be given order through the use of dark metal, vertical fins which will add further contrast and variety to the façade design.
Silver anodised aluminium fins will wrap the majority of the main building structure, creating a stark contrast to the dark painted metal structure behind. At ground level the building is wrapped by dark aluminium panels, with contrasting light metallic panels used to emphasise the location of commercial entrances along the new pedestrian/cycle street.
At roof level, the entire surface will be covered with more than 700 PV panels to minimise energy consumption and the percentage of power being generated by renewable energy will be visible to passers-by through digital displays installed on the façade
Image credits
© Virtual Planit
Matthew Burl
Matthew is an architect and director at Buttress who has led the successful design and delivery of new build and refurbishment projects across a range of cultural, academic and community-led sectors, both regionally and internationally.
He also coordinates the practice's sustainability activities and has led Buttress' B Corp journey helping the company achieve certification at the end of 2022.