engineering.
We’re supporting Studio Egret West, and have reached the final six in an international design contest for a revamp of Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.
The other finalists are comprised of LDA Design, ARUP, Planit-IE, West 8, and Fira Landscape. The three-stage competition was open to landscape-architect or urban designer-led teams, with the brief for the latest project being to transform the existing civic plaza into a “welcoming and uniquely Mancunian'” space.
Piccadilly Gardens was created after the First World War as a central civic green space in the heart of a growing city. Its key aims include being a “place for all” where children can play, and a space that is open to everyone. Within the design brief, it was also noted that the winning design must retain Piccadilly Gardens’ existing listed monuments, statues, tramlines, and infrastructure, as well as a surviving pavilion.
Bev Craig, the Manchester City Council leader mentioned; “The area centred around Piccadilly Gardens has the potential to be an outstanding public space where people actively want to spend time, not just hurry through. It can be a more welcoming gateway to the city, as well as a flexible family-friendly events space”.
An overall winner will be decided to deliver the scheme in spring 2023.
