Ugly Duckling

The results and feedback from our survey highlighted Deansgate as the most unloved of our 15 spaces, in particular the northern end. The general feeling was that the area is becoming lifeless, with the rising amount of empty shop fronts making it a non place for dust, grime and litter to gather.

When visiting the site, we were struck by how overlooked the River running parallel to Deansgate is, considering how close it is and its importance to the city's history. The River Irwell is now used merely as marketing tool for selling plush "riverside" apartments and apart from the relatively recent trinity footbridge development (used mainly by businessmen) the links from Deansgate are nonexistent.





For our intervention we wanted to draw people from deansgate road to the river, to emphasise the potential this area has and to open it up to the public.

In a utopian view this passage could be restored to its former glory, with lush clear waters passing through rows of crumbling brutalist experiments gone wrong.



In the 19th Century the river held fish and was primarily used as a source of drinking water for the townspeople. The thought of returning to this oasis is an alluring prospect.


To be continued...