Client: Countryside Properties
Location: Manchester, UK
Size: 275 residential units + 2,000m² office + 750m² retail
Skills: Architecture, Landscape Architecture
Countryside Properties appointed Broadway Malyan to design a cutting edge residential development in Manchester City Centre. The design developed from the wish to respect the scale
of the existing buildings on Blackfriars Street and the opportunity to create drama adjacent to the Lowry Hotel. The rationale was to enhance the local environment by providing a riverside walk connecting the new Trinity Bridge with Blackfriars Bridge and by creating permeability through
the site.
The Edge rises to 22 storeys in three distinct parallel blocks separated by two landscaped courtyards located on a podium deck above car parking. The raised courtyards utilise a simple palette of materials and plants to create contemporary functional spaces between the apartment towers. Raised beds of bamboo mark the edge of the courtyards with square lawns and small trees creating restful spaces in which to relax. Running along the length of the courtyards are raised water features in which shallow water gently bubbles and ripples. Alongside the River Irwell new steps lead down from Blackfriars Bridge, opening up the riverside and linking to the Lowry Hotel and Calatrava Bridge.