With the former glory of the textile revolution long gone, the industrial area of Manchester had become neglected, leaving disused factories, mills and warehouses. Now the area where the Macintosh raincoat was invented and produced is being reclaimed. It has become an urban renewal site with the aim of creating a residential community complete with a private day nursery, doctor's surgery and shops in the heart of the city.
Macintosh Village, a 130m scheme by development company Taylor Woodrow, aims to retain the area's industrial heritage. But where factories once belched polluting smog, the developers are attempting an environmentally conscious project.
The centrepiece of the scheme is the Green Building, which houses the 120-place nursery, leased and run by the Kidsunlimited nursery chain.
Designed by architects Farrell and Partners, they claim that it is one of the most advanced ecological residential and educational developments in Britain.
Kidsunlimited wanted to be involved with the regeneration scheme because it matched the company's ethical and environmental ethos. Jason Myers, Kidsunlimited marketing director, says, 'We were attracted by the designs and excited by the building. We are looking to develop new projects all the time and were excited by the prospect of a village in a big city.
'There were no overarching commercial reasons, we simply wanted to develop a nursery in a green environment. Farrell and Partners are renowned architects who are involved in the next level of design and build and we also wanted to be associated with that.
'We worked with Taylor Woodrow on the plans at every stage in the Macintosh nursery's development so that every aspect is designed with children in mind. Kidsunlimited has a design template which states the type of toilets, finish, layout, space, colours and open plan - all but the shape of the building.'
In design
The striking cylindrical Green Building is certainly unique - green in colour and ethos. It is designed to make efficient use of its quirky site nestling between the River Medlock and a Victorian railway viaduct.
The nursery is sited over two floors in a triangular brick plinth that is topped by a ten-storey circular 'drum' containing 32 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The 'drum' of the apartments looks like a child-inspired fantasy building.
It is covered with recyclable pale green insulating material with natural cedar wood panels set in a grid design. Brightly coloured sections are interspersed with glazed panels, large windows and balconies. Solar panels and a wind turbine top the sloping roof.
The colourful building is a sharp contrast to the nursery's calm and neutral interior. Bright colours are not needed to brighten the inside because the nursery has natural light flooding down a central atrium in the core of the drum above.
The central atrium also brings warmth and ventilation to the nursery and apartments. A louvred panel tops the atrium. It can be opened to create a through draft for naturally cooler air during warm months, and to spread warmth when the weather is colder. Underfloor heating replaces radiators.
An internal nursery corridor benefits from a 'sun dome' that draws natural light and fresh air into the building through a yellow column in one of the two outside play areas. External walls are lined with both high and child-height windows so that the large, open plan rooms are not dependent on artificial lighting and children can easily see what is happening outside.
Low-energy lighting is also used in the nursery and areas such as staff toilets are on a timer. Even the nursery's lift is energy efficient, doubly so because staff avoid using it whenever possible because it is very slow.
The design may save money. 'We are expecting that the nursery will save us money compared with our usual nurseries due to the green innovations,' says Mr Myers. 'But we have not trialled the building for a year yet so we do not know the economic savings.'
Full benefit
The nursery has been open since January and staff and children, aged from three months to five years old, are enjoying the building's design. There is a sensory room and children have access to outdoor play areas on both levels of the building.
'Parents like the fact that it is a green building,' says Mr Myers.
'Primarily when choosing a nursery they look at the care that's provided, but we have received lots of feedback saying that they like the building being naturally lit and ventilated.
'It is also a safe, secure and creative environment because we are not bringing the children into a box-like building. Children are inspired by the different shapes of the rooms. It is spacious and creative and the staff team are excited by the benefits of that.'
KEY SUSTAINABLE FEATURES
* A computerised building management system is used to control areas such as atrium lightwells, to ensure energy is not wasted
* Power for communal areas is provided, in part, by electricity generated by a roof-mounted wind turbine
* The building is designed to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions of 60 per cent
* Materials with low embedded energy have been used wherever possible
* All timber used is obtained from sustainable sources
* Underfloor heating is served by efficient communal condensing gas boilers
* Facilities are provided for separating waste to maximise recycling
* Lower energy bills are anticipated - a SAP rating (Standard Assessment Procedure of UK home energy usage) of at least 100
* A central atrium is at the heart of both the natural ventilation and lighting systems
* Solar energy will be harnessed using roof-mounted solar thermal collectors to generate hot water. The system will be supplemented by heat from efficient gas-fired boilers
* 'A'-rated white goods are specified within the kitchen
CONTACTS
* Terry Farrell and Partners, architects, planners and urban designers, 020 7258 3433, www.terryfarrell.co.uk
* Taylor Woodrow, commercial and domestic property developers, 07816 517035, www.taylorwoodrow.com
* Macintosh Village, 0161 237 1909, www.macintoshvillage.com
* Kidsunlimited day nurseries, 01625 585222, www.kidsunlimited.co.uk
* Royal Institute of British Architects, 020 7580 5533, www.riba.org
* Zero emissions development website, www.zedfactory.com
* Making the case for green building, www.buildinggreen.com