General Projects and award-winning architects Hawkins\Brown are set to transform a New Islington brownfield site to create ‘Electric Park‘ – a sustainable and low carbon campus complete with 350,000 sq ft of modern workspaces, alongside two acres of new public space.
Stradling the Ashton Canal and cut-through by the existing Metrolink line, Electric Park will include two central buildings designed with inspiration from Manchester’s industrial past, a nod to the site’s former use as a mill and foundry. The unconventional structural form responds to the low-carbon aspirations of the development, meaning the construction itself will reduce typical embodied carbon by 60%.
Construction is set to begin in October on the development, one which includes five buildings set across two acres of public space providing immediate access to nature where they’re promising at least a 30% improvement in site biodiversity, with wildflower meadows, green roofs and habitat creation.
The project is billed as ‘Manchester’s first and only green and open working-life campus‘, boasting over 1km of pathways, over 300m of historic canal frontage opened and accessible for the first time, and set to be the city’s most cycle-friendly development with 550 cycle spaces and best-in-class changing facilities.
Once completed, the buildings will be supplied with 100% renewable electricity and operationally net-zero carbon. Passive design and super-efficient building services will reduce energy usage by 75%, with 1,000m2 of on-site photovoltaic panels providing over 100,000 kWh of energy every year.
With works set to begin next month, opinions have been divided on this controversial development, with residents upset over the loss of the current green space – one of the very few left in the area, which will be lost during the construction of the campus.
For more information on Electric Park, head on over to their website…
