The Green Building is an environmentally conscious mixed-use development situated in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The Green Building was designed by

Farrells Farrells is an architecture and urban design firm founded by British architect-planner Terry Farrell with offices in London, Manchester, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. The firm has won numerous awards for their characteristic mixed-use schemes, tr ...

, who aimed to create a sustainable environment on an unusual triangular plot, adjacent to Oxford Road station. The building was constructed by

Taylor Woodrow Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until its merger with rival George Wimpey to create Ta ...

as part of the Macintosh Village development, which was formerly a Dunlop tyre factory and also the birthplace of the

Mackintosh The Mackintosh or raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers added a letter ''k' ...

raincoat. A total of 32 apartments are arranged across the uppermost eight stories of the ten-floor development. The lower two levels contain a children's day nursery, operated by Bright Horizons, and a commercial unit earmarked as a doctor's surgery (currently vacant).

Key features

* Energy-efficient thermal design encompassing renewable insulation. * Solar thermal water heating system providing hot water for domestic plumbing and underfloor heating. * Large full-height triple-glazed windows on the south-facing side maximise

solar gain Solar gain (also known as solar heat gain or passive solar gain) is the increase in thermal energy of a space, object or structure as it absorbs incident solar radiation. The amount of solar gain a space experiences is a function of the total in ...

. The north-facing apartments have relatively small windows. * An internal central atrium interlinked with all apartments provides a passive air conditioning system. Warm air from each apartment passes into the central atrium and rises, drawing fresh cooler air into the apartments. Computer-controlled windows at the top of the atrium regulate air-flow. * Building electrical requirements are supplemented by a 2.5 kW push-type wind power turbine. * The cylindrical shape of the tower provides the least surface area related to the volume, further increasing thermal efficiency. * Integrated recycling facilities for glass, paper and aluminium. A communal composting bin is currently being proposed by the residents association. * All apartments only have showers in the bathrooms; there are no baths in the residential apartments. The taps are designed to use the minimum amount of water necessary to wash hands safely.

Performance

There are no performance figures currently available for the building. The Green Building Residents Association (GBRA) are pursuing the management company for official figures of electricity and fuel savings provided by the sustainable systems integrated into the building.

Awards

In 2006, the architects

were awarded
Sustainable Civic Trust Award
for the Green Building development.

Transport

Due to the city centre location of the Green Building,

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

links are in abundance. Because of the excellent transportation links, no car parking spaces were provided as part of the development. Instead, bicycle parking bays were supplied with both internal and external parking facilities available. The Green Building is located on New Wakefield Street adjacent to Oxford Road station, providing direct rail links to Manchester Airport,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, the Lake District, the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

and the Midlands. The nearby (five minute walk - more like 10 to 15 minutes) Manchester Piccadilly Rail Terminus provides direct links to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the rest of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. There are two Metrolink tram stops close to the Green Building. Deansgate-Castlefield and St Peter's Square are nearby, both on most Metrolink lines. The site the Green Building resides on has two public

thoroughfares A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...

either side of the development, both pedestrianised. The main road for vehicle access is Great Marlborough Street, which has pay and display on-street parking for up to three hours. Macintosh Village is connected to the Manchester Inner Ring Road via the A57(M) flyover that passes 300 metres to the south of the Green Building, which provides access to the national

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

network. Oxford Road, claimed by some analysts to be part of the busiest bus corridor in Europe, is 75 metres east of the Green Building, and provides bus links to

the University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

Chorlton Chorlton may refer to: Places * Chorlton, Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England *Chorlton, Cheshire West and Chester, in Cheshire, England *Chorlton-cum-Hardy, in Manchester, England **Chorlton (ward), an electoral ward of Manchester, England **Chorl ...

Longsight Longsight is an inner city suburb of Manchester, England, located south of the city centre. It is bounded by Ardwick and West Gorton to the north; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park and Fallowfield to the west ...

, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester Airport,

The Trafford Centre The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space. Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford C ...

and many other locations across the south of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

References

External links