A new mixed use development in central Manchester is to be made greener after developer Salboy unveiled amendments to its plans.
The Viadux development, which will include a 40-storey skyscraper with 374 apartments, is to be provided with more green open spaces in the 14-storey office tower next door. This will include 900 sq ft of winter gardens on each floor, rooftop gardens and a larger lobby entrance.
Working with SimpsonHaugh architects, the plan is to enable firms based in the tower to operate on a carbon-neutral basis. It will also make it easier for the 251,000 sq ft building to have A-grade status.
Co-founder and managing director of Salboy Simon Ismail said: ”Occupier wellbeing and amenity are at the heart of Viadux, as well as our commitment to developing living and work spaces that help deliver a more sustainable future.”
The design changes to the office tower won’t achieve carbon neutrality on their own, of course; when construction is complete it will need expert inspectors to provide thermal testing services in order to establish that the buildings are not losing excessive amounts of heat through any faults that might exist.
Viadux is described by Salboy as a “complex mixed use scheme”, due to its location by the Manchester Central exhibition centre. It will sit above bridges and a Grade II listed viaduct that carries a Metrolink tram line.
The 40-storey tower will be the latest in a plethora of new skyscrapers in Manchester, most of which will be residential. This means their energy efficiency will not just determine their levels of emissions or contribution to the urban heat effect, but also the quality of life for the people living in them.
In addition to recent constructions such as the four towers in the Deansgate Square cluster, thousands more are in the pipeline, such as another four towers by Trinity Way that Renaker Build will deliver after gaining planning permission in February. These will provide 1,950 apartments and range from 39 to 60 storeys in height.
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