2024 Study Trip: Castlefield Viaduct & Gallery, Manchester
This year, our team ventured south, exploring places where architecture engages in quiet yet profound dialogues. Our journey took us to Manchester’s Tower of Light, Castlefield Viaduct & Gallery, HOME arts centre, David Chipperfield’s Oxford Road project, Tadao Ando’s Pavilion, Central Library, John Rylands Library, Science and Industry Museum, and Whitworth Gallery. Beyond Manchester, we visited The Piece Hall in Halifax, The Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Brockholes Visitor Centre, and concluded at the Windermere Jetty Museum.
Over the coming days, we’ll share reflections from the studio on these experiences. First up, Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester.
As part of the on going regeneration of Manchester the National Trust has developed a ‘Sky Garden’ on part of the Grade II listed 330m long Castlefield Viaduct close to the city centre which has been redundant since rationalisation of the railways in 1969. This temporary intervention aims to become permanent, forming a cultural and active travel connection across the Bridgewater Canal.
This example of contemporary urban conservation started in 2021 and is being led by the Trust and its ‘Urban Places’ scheme, which aims to increase access to parks and green spaces in and around urban areas. This helps raise awareness of historic structure as well as tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse. The National Trust with BDP Landscape Architects have used various planting and materials to allow safe elevated exploration of the urban landscape. This beauty was made more evocative due to the contrasting audio-visual urban soundtrack surrounding the viaduct with trams, trains, canal barges and people passing close by. The site is steeped in history as the origins of Roman Manchester onwards to the terminus of the world’s first industrial canal all in close proximity. GRAS look forward to seeing how phase 2 develops in the years ahead.
Text by John Robson
Photography by Andrew Harvey