092 BIOPHILIA


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The National Trust hopes the 52,000 people who live locally will become regular visitors to the site


CASE STUDY CASTLEFIELD VIADUCT


A former viaduct in Manchester re-opened to the public at the end of July 2022 as a ‘park in the sky’. Taking its cue from the New York High Line, the Grade II listed Castlefield Viaduct offers a 330m temporary park, featuring 3,000 plant species in gardens co-created by community groups and architects. The viaduct is a 12-month pilot project to introduce greenery into an urban landscape notoriously blighted by 70 years of decline around the city centre warehouses that once symbolised Manchester’s place at the heart of British industry and manufacturing. This 1892 viaduct was


constructed by the same engineers behind the Blackpool Tower – Heenan and Froude – to transport goods and freight to the Great Northern warehouse, but had not been used since the 1960s.


Its rehabilitation cost £1.8m, and took five months, with the intention


that at least 80% of the added elements could be removed and repurposed, if needs be. Due to weight limits on the structure, the planting uses a specially commissioned, extra light peat-free compost.


Planters have been designed to echo the viaduct’s curves, and their width mirrors that of its long-disused railway tracks. There are diagonal blossom hedges to mimic the viaduct’s steelwork.


Gardening activities are very much part of its programming, with volunteer and community groups assigned specific plots, including Urban Wilderness, who worked with Manchester’s 42nd street charity which supports young people with mental health issues. There is a Garden of Possibilities planted with species known to have calming and positive effects on mental health. Elsewhere, planting has been chosen


to reflect the colours and textures of the surrounding urban realm. Red caladiums tone with the surrounding redbrick warehouses, blue salvias the local canal, and tall foxtail lilies have been planted to reflect the influx of the latest crop of Manchester skyscrapers blooming along the skyline. Plants with a connection to Manchester’s heritage also feature, such as the county flower, cotton grass and fern species once collected by Manchester suffragist and botanist, Lydia Becker. There is a booking system for the 100 people expected to visit the viaduct daily, though entry is free. An estimated 52,000 people live within 20 minutes of the viaduct, and it is hoped they will become regular visitors. National Trust director general Hilary McGrady declared it to be ‘a collision of everything that the National Trust stands for’, combining architecture, gardens and history.


The development, which was co-ordinated and steered by the National Trust, was funded largely by the People’s Postcode Lottery and public donations. A charity has been established to fundraise during the year, in the hopes that, if this new Manchester landmark proves popular, it can be made a permanent feature.


Client National Trust and partners including National Highways Historic Railways Estates


Architects Twelve Architects & Masterplanners


Construction MC Construction Size 330m long Cost £1.8m Opened July 2022


NATIONAL TRUST/PAUL HARRIS


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