Architects: Ian Simpson Architects
Role: Structural engineer
Parkway Gate is a key £30 million development in Manchester, offering 728 student bedrooms and 5,000 sq ft of associated office and commercial space. Located close to the university quarter, the site has initiated the regeneration of the derelict land along the city centre and Hulme boundary.
Halcrow Yolles were fundamental to the development of the architectural concept that consisted of the creation of three highly sculptural buildings, that are interconnected via a low level podium to a central courtyard, with a spiralling roofline that gently gains height from 13 to 18 storeys.
In a typical student development, the building services run along the central corridors. For this project, through careful co-ordination with the M&E engineer, we were able to achieve an efficient re-routing of the larger ventilation ducts over the top of the bathroom pods. This allowed the shear walls either side of the corridor to be interconnected, and increased the overall stability of the building by over 700%, removing the need for tension piles to be installed and offering a commercial and programme saving.