International design contest launched for Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens

Manchester City Council has unveiled plans for an international design competition for a £25 million revamp of Piccadilly GardensThe contest comes 22 years after Tadao Ando with EDAW and Arup Associates won an earlier contest to overhaul the famous, but now tired, city-centre gardens.Last November a much-criticised concrete wall which formed part of Ando’s original scheme was ripped down as part of initial steps to redesign and improve the square.However, the neighbouring pavilion, the Japanese architect’s only UK building, still stands and will be kept under the new revamp. Previous plans by Urban Edge Architecture to demolish both the wall and Ando’s pavilion were approved in 2017 but were later abandoned by developer Legal and General (L&G).The new competition will be launched on the back of work by LDA Design, which was chosen by Manchester City Council last year to produce concepts for improvements to both the gardens and the surrounding area, including Mosley Street and New York Street, Parker Street, and a section of Portland Street.The council has now issued a prior information notice to alert urban design and landscape teams of its intention to invite ideas for the square, which it wants to become a ‘welcoming and uniquely Mancunian’ space.The local authority said work would continue to develop a detailed design brief ahead of an invitation for expressions of interest in autumn this year.The notice states that the rejigged square ‘must be a place for all, incorporating space where children can play, and that full access and inclusivity will be integral to the design process’.The winning design will need to retain the existing listed monuments and statues, plus tramlines and infrastructure, as well as the existing pavilion structure.The competition for urban design and landscape teams is planned to launch in the autumn and the overall winner is expected to be announced in spring 2023.