The National Trust converted this Grade II Victorian heritage railway site, Castlefield Viaduct, into a temporary ‘sky garden’ within the heart of historic Manchester. Standing at 17m high and 330m long this hidden oasis brings nature and green space to the city and houses approximately 3,000 plants.
The 12-month pilot project is free, and the National Trust encourage the public to provide feedback on how they would like to see this space be used in order to explore an extension of a permanent scheme in the future. Stace collaborated with National Trust, National Highways Historical Railways Estate Team, supported by Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Transport for Greater Manchester with feedback from the local community, businesses and supporters.
The space opened to the public for the first time in over 50 years in the summer of 2022 and the first month’s tickets sold out within days.
The project team included: MC Construction, Twelve Architects & Masterplanners, Arup, Purcell, Royal HaskoningDHV, Urban Green, Sweco, Creative Concern, STUCO DESIGN and O Street.
Image credit : National Trust and Paul Harris
