Proposals for the development of a landmark 251-bed aparthotel offering highquality
accommodation and public facilities in central Manchester, have been approved by
Manchester City Council.
Bennetts Associates was appointed as architect and principal designer for the scheme, which
encompasses the Grade II Listed former Union Bank building and an adjacent ‘gap site’, a vacant and
derelict plot of land that currently has an adverse visual impact on the streetscape. The site is minutes
away from Piccadilly Train Station and is situated on a prominent corner at the heart of Manchester
city centre, bound by Piccadilly, Gore Street and Chatham Street.
The development seeks to reimagine and repurpose the vacant and neglected space by creating a
new 34-storey building to house an innovative 251-bedroom aparthotel. It will feature a mix of one and
two-bed rooms and studios, along with a diverse range of publicly accessible, community-facing
amenities including a café, exhibition hall and a rooftop bar, restaurant and terrace. The new-build
tower connects through to the listed Bank building which houses further guestrooms and amenity
space. The Bank has been unoccupied for over a decade and is in urgent need of repair and
restoration to safeguard its heritage for future generations.
With a strong focus on placemaking, the team’s vision is to ensure the sensitive integration of existing
and new buildings with a strong combined identity and relationship to their surroundings. The
townscape approach involves the massing of the lower four storeys of the tower to create an open
street-level block. This would contain the main entrance to the hotel and form a unified base that
sensitively links to the adjacent listed building in a way that addresses the scale of other buildings
along Piccadilly and city-wide. The development will bring the listed building and vacant site back into
active use, breathe new life into this urban block, significantly improve accessibility, and positively
contribute to the unique historic setting while introducing a distinctive new building at an important
gateway into the city.
Adaptive reuse is a key consideration, as the retrofitted former bank building will make up 10% of the
total floor area. The design has been driven by a desire to be lean, with an aspiration to reduce
finishes and expose both structure and services in a radically different hotel experience.
Overall, the development is targeting a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ accreditation at a minimum, as well as
WELL Gold and EPC ‘A’ ratings. The hotel will also incorporate a centralised building management
system and smart technology to optimise controls and reduce energy consumption and the total
environmental footprint.
In addition, green infrastructure, biodiversity planting and biophilia will play a major role in the design
of the tower, which includes an internal, vertical planted zone with automated watering and
monitoring. The glazed amenity space at the top of the building is also enhanced with rooftop planting
which will not only add to the visual appeal of the spaces but will also harness the wellbeing
advantages of access to greenery in urban environments.
The site is located in close proximity to the Stevenson Square Conservation Area and several other
listed buildings, and the design response took this factor into serious consideration. Bennetts
Associates created a balanced, thoughtful and heritage-led design strategy that ensures the proposed
development respects and celebrates the historical context of the surrounding area.
The planning approval follows an extensive consultation process with Manchester City Council, plus
detailed meetings with Historic England and local stakeholders and residents. The wider project team
includes structural engineer Price and Myers, MEP engineer Waterman Building Services, planning
consultants Avison Young, heritage consultant Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture, Equals
Consulting acting as project manager and cost consultant, and JLL as carbon consultant and WELL
assessor.
Simon Erridge, Director at Bennetts Associates, said: “This is an ambitious scheme, which
reimagines a vital part of the city and will transform Manchester’s skyline with the addition of a new
landmark. The project will revitalise a currently vacant and unloved site replacing it with an active and
accessible building, and the listed Union Bank’s key spaces will be restored and re-opened to visitors
and guests alike”
