Richmond Street

The site is situated in the Village area of Manchester City Centre, on Richmond Street which runs parallel to Canal Street. Set within the conservation area, the site is currently occupied by a three-storey building that will make way for three, four bed, four-storey townhouses.

The layouts invert typical domestic arrangements and locate the open plan kitchen and living areas above the bedrooms on the third floor, to maximise views across the city roofscape and give a closer link to a roof top terrace.

The primary material palette will be buff brickwork. This is in keeping with the extensive brickwork surroundings and the proposed design will extend the wide range of brick textures and colours visible in the locale. This is complemented by dark grey steel cladding on the top of the stair core which wraps around the 3rd floor rear and gable ends, seamlessly integrating with the roof terrace railings and trellis. The overall building volume is divided into its constituent parts by recessed bands. Vertically, these define the individual townhouses, and horizontally, the garage/entry podium from the habitable accommodation above. To further break up the volume at a scale which relates to the adjacent buildings, the brickwork mass is excavated to provide relief to the elevations and to express the internal spaces.

The scheme will create the best homes in Manchester!