Ancoats has the distinction of being the first Industrial Suburb in the world. Its history attached to images of dark satanic mills and billowing smoke from 19 century factories. The area is currently planned for major redevelopment with local organisations producing masterplans for its 21st century renaissance. The Ancoats Urban Village Company has been instrumental in defining an appropriate future that embraces the next phase of its life whilst sensitively respecting its past. Significant mills that can be discovered in Ancoats include Beehive Mill, Murray Mill and Royal Mill.
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The city's identity has been significantly shaped by its strong Victorian infrastructure, largely connected to the new wealth brought by the industrial revolution. Manchester's central area comprises the city's key civic, commercial and entertainment functions, combining the robust architecture of Manchester's period as a "cottonopolis" with vigorous new additions in all areas and building types over the past decade. This massive reappraisal of the city centre and progressive redevelopment agenda is a brave and ambitious attempt to redefine the future of a city in motion.
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Originally a Roman settlement, Castlefield was arguably the birth-place of Manchester. Around the mid-nineteenth century it witnessed the largest growth in its history, largely due to the industrial revolution. The rivers Medlock and Irwell were integral to its development, allowing goods to be brought in from the port of Liverpool and stored in warehouses in the basin. In 1877 the Cheshire Lines Company erected the massive Southern Iron Viaduct, still a prominent feature of the area. The combination of railway viaducts and canals has forged a distinct identity for the basin, now taken forward by new developments and refurbishments. Knott Mill abuts the area and is home to many of Manchester's leading architectural and design practices.
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One of Manchester's oldest thoroughfares it remains a key city artery through prime retail and offices, linking Castlefield, the central area and Victoria. Now the focus of major area redevelopment at the Great Northern Warehouse and Spinningfields; Deansgate also functions as the city's processional route for its returning hero's. Significant buildings that can be found along Deansgate include Deansgate Quay by Stephenson Bell; John
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Gay Village
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Hulme
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Formerly Manchester's key retail area, the Northern Quarter (N4) has become home to many of the city's creative industries, independent retailing and new urban housing. When the Arndale Centre opened in 1976, however, the Northern Quarter was marginalised; it is now considered the creative quarter of the city and the incubator for the cultural industries. It provides a perfect meeting point between music and culture, offering an assortment of alternative retail outlets including sex shops, record outlets and trendy bars, giving the Northern Quarter a distinct community spirit unrivalled anywhere else in the city. The redevelopment of the Affleck and Brown department store into lofts has partially gentrified the district (as well as providing much-needed living space in the city centre).
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Oxford Road is a key city spine; linking both Manchester and Metropolitan Universities to major theatres, civic buildings and transport interchanges. New additions such as the Manchester Aquatics Centre for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and new Contact Theatre have enlivened the street scene. Manchester Metropolitan University has made a significant contribution to the city, providing high-quality education and enlightened architectural patronage. Notable are the new Hollins library; the Aytoun Street library and resource centre (designed by MBLC); and the Sir Geoffrey Manton building. Buildings of this calibre will continue to attract students internationally, significantly adding to the city's cosmopolitan status
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Manchester's Piccadilly encompasses the mainline station, surrounding canal basins and extends towards Piccadilly Gardens, all of which are undergoing major redevelopment and renewal to present a new face to the city. New build projects include a major multi-storey office development that has recently been completed on the southwest part of Piccadilly Gardens and a Japanese style pavilion by the famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando.
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The docklands area of Manchester, Salford Quays, is undergoing radical change. Dockland cranes were demolished and vast tracts of the port disappeared. Large post-modern developments and offices emerged to accommodate the Thatcherite consciousness of the 1980s.More recently, Trafford and Salford City Councils' concern for mixed-use developments and sustainability have lead to a rich mixture of projects to reshape the area's future. Michael Wilford's The Lowry was the first Quays flagship project, providing a base for the paintings of Salford's L S Lowry (1887-1976). The Imperial War Museum (North) by Daniel Libeskind is situated opposite the Lowry Centre attracting a further 400,000 annual visitors to the area.
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The Victoria area continues to experience major redevelopment due in part to its excellent communication links to the region. Major developments include the MEN indoor events arena above Victoria station; the new Exchange Square; the Printworks entertainment complex and URBIS centre. EDAW's masterplan included reinstating the Royal Exchange; refurbishing the Corn Exchange, now called the Triangle; creating a 'Millennium Quarter' encompassing the cathedral; and building the largest Marks and Spencer's store in Europe.
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Whitworth Street
The Whitworth street corridor is currently undergoing significant redevelopment. It links Deansgate to Piccadilly to the east of the city centre, providing a major corridor of traffic through to the city centre. It is home to the popular Deansgate Locks group of bars and clubs, which is a vibrant on most weekend evenings. The site of the Hacienda once stood on the corner of Whitworth Street and Albion Street, which now has since disappeared, now being currently turned in a major block of apartments.
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