Report - One Greengate, Manchester 2015.

[Ojay]

One Greengate, Manchester.

Already nicknamed the 'TWIN TOWERS of Salford', Manchester hasn't seen a one off build of this overall scale in the last 15 years

(Infact it's currently the biggest construction project of it's type outside of London)

Since 1850 the site was occupied by a range of uses including a market, brewery, cotton mill, dye works, foundry and tannery

The site continued to be associated with the manufacture of textiles throughout the 20th Century, however by 1930 the Greengate area was in a state of decline and declared a slum

Following the Second World War, much of the area was redeveloped for large scale industry and manufacturing which gradually declined during the 1970's/80's

Formerly owned by infamous developer Bashar Issa (BSC Developments), Pinnacle Developments secured planning permission for a cluster of buildings (12, 13, 21 and 31 storeys) with a total of 497 new apartments

In addition there will be 543 square metres of commercial space, plus 248 basement parking spaces for cars and 200 for bicycles

Designed by OMI Architects, the buildings are set around a single courtyard with the entrances to each easily accessible from them

Exterior space is provided in the form of both recessed balconies and projecting balconies depending on the elevation

The shorter buildings feature heavy amounts of dark brickwork, although the height of the taller ones mean this is precluded for technical reasons

Instead the taller buildings will have an upper metallic cladding, with the projecting balconies giving it an 8-bit look thanks to their dot matrix patterning

Once complete the 31 storey building will stand at a height of 88.5 metres above ground level making it the tallest building in Salford, but only the sixth tallest in Greater Manchester

The biggest visual impact the build will have on the Manchester skyline is the addition of the 21 and 31 storey elements

Work finally started in January 2014 and is due to be fully completed by September 2016

During this time I made numerous visits to the site whilst waiting for both towers to top out and to check on progress

My initial focus was on Block 'B'

Greengate Elevation

Gorton Street Elevation

A slice of this concrete monstrosity could be your's for little under a £bag PCM

I returned much later into the build with @Squirrell 911 to poke about the 21 storey element after that had topped out

A few pics as the light started to fade before packing up and heading down

The plan was to go back a few day's later when I was free again for the crane, but the very next day it jumped to 109.5m as they got stuck into the 31 storey element

Another trip was made, this time with Ninjaboy

The views aren't spectacular from this side of the City, not that we were really there for them anyway so we didn't hang about too long

I nipped back to Block 'B' as they were fitting it out for a few pics, in between checking on the progress of Block 'A'

Both blocks share a basement car park with capacity for 248 cars/cycles

​

 

[Ojay]

It was now a waiting game for the 31 story element to be completed, I watched them pour concrete almost daily until it finally topped out at the end of October

I made numerous visits to Block 'A' over the duration of the build..

New Bridge Street Elevation

Greengate Elevation

Riverside Elevation

Around early July, they cracked on with the 31 storey element as the 14th floor was poured

Despite numerous trips here, there was never much more to see other than moar concrete

Stairporn

Here, a lift shaft and the main stairwell being shuttered and poured on a daily basis

A bit later they started fitting out Block 'A'..

Firstly the stud walls

Followed up by the glazing units

Next up the interiors

We were now at the end of October, the week when the final pour was due of the top floor

The fog rolled in and so did I as the last concrete mixer drove out and the night-watchman locked the gates for the evening

The presence of fog made for some atmospheric pics

It's only still wet

I'll call back in a couple of day's

It was later in the week when they poured the roof section of the top deck

The following week I nipped back up, to grab some pics from the top of the 31 storey tower for the final time

It's actually taller than it appears on the City's skyline due to it being situated within a basin

You can see the progress on 101 Embankment & CitySuites too

It's due to be completed fully by late 2016

Although I've stood at the gates several times since, I've had no further desire to nip back in, so I'll leave this lot here
​

 

[Lenston]

Bit of quality that mate

 

[ACID- REFLUX]

That"s one comprehensive report

The views are certainly more Impressive than the studios, & still make my legs shake (fuck heights)

 

[Nickindroy]

Well that's rather nice old chap.

 

[Camera Shy]

You've covered every inch of it, literally.

 

[Bugsuperstar]

I like it mate!

 

[Exploring with Andy]

That's cool, quite liking those foggy shots

 

[Gone]

fog snaps are dope, nice one man!

 

[coolboyslim]

Wow m8ty that's bloody brilliant and extremely well presented. Good stuff m8ty

 

[Ojay]

120m tower crane coming down, last couple of sections being lifted