Manchester skyline set for transformation with new six-tower complex

The offices of construction management specialists WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in Manchester are set to handle two high-rise schemes in the city centre, transforming the skyline and adding to the firm’s existing portfolio of towers.

The company will serve as an engineering consultancy on the first phase of the planned ‘vertical village’, which is being built on land that was once part of the ITV estate.

Forming part of the new St. John’s neighbourhood from investment company Allied London, the project will comprise 1,200 homes housed within six interconnected towers and spread across two sites. The development could also provide space for offices or educational and medical facilities.

Phase one includes the construction of a 50-storey tower and another with 35 floors. The 597-strong WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff team has so far worked closely with architect firm Child Graddon Lewis on the vertical village’s planning application, which will be submitted next month.

Allied London’s chief executive, Michael Ingall, said: “The vertical village will be a highly sustainable, high-density residential scheme that will provide a critical mass of residents to support the community, commercial and ancillary shopping and leisure spaces within St. John’s and create a vibrant, diverse and integrated village community.”

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s services on the project will include structural, civil engineering and façade engineering, as well as fire and geotechnical assessments.

Peter Lloyd, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s senior technical director of building structures, commented: “These project wins are a great achievement for the team and a chance for us to showcase our high-rise credentials in the North West where, for a number of years throughout the recession, the market has lain low.

“It is pleasing to see these kinds of ambitious designs both being submitted, and achieving planning, and we’re look forward to cementing our reputation as the leading specialists in high-rise developments in the region.

He added: “It is a great opportunity for us to utilise the skills that our team has employed on projects nationally and internationally, on home soil.”

The WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff portfolio already includes a number of tower buildings, including Beetham Tower in Manchester, The Shard in London, and Freedom Tower in New York.

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