Exterior living wall
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Green roof
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Deansgate Metrolink
Manchester's Metrolink gets a green makeover! Viritopia transformed Deansgate-Castlefield station into a peaceful oasis with living walls and green roofs.
An oasis right in the heart of Manchester.
Manchester has been delivering a £1.5 billion investment programme that will see its Metrolink network triple in size. With more stops, more trams and better facilities, it will provide customers with more choices and contribute to better public transport for communities across Greater Manchester. The works will see key stops in the City Centre transformed and a new Second City Crossing (2CC) built to enable more tram services to run through the heart of the city. Viritopia was brought into transform the station into a peaceful green environment.
Featured Solutions:
- Exterior Living Wall
- Green Roof
- Size: 300m² +
- Industry: Infrastructure, Stations and Public Spaces
Project drivers
- Air quality
- Biophilia
- Social impact
A transformation
The Deansgate - Castlefield stop has been completely transformed so passengers can enjoy a calm and peaceful green environment while they wait for the tram.
Creating an oasis
The stop now offers a pleasing, modern gateway to the south of the city. With trees, a living wall and sedum panels teeming with wildflowers between the tram tracks, it’s an oasis right in the heart of Manchester.
Overcoming unique challenges
Viritopia worked on the project from the initial stages when the living wall was just a concept. There were many unique challenges encountered, not least being that the living wall actually runs behind the glass balustrade of the staircase.
A Living Carpet amongst the trams
As well as the stunning 188m² living wall, there is a large area covered in green wildflower roof to create the living carpet between the tram tracks at the Deansgate stop.
The installation process
Very careful attention was paid to plant selection in order to create a wall that would thrive and flourish in the contrasting light levels. The installation process was a bespoke programme designed in order to co-ordinate with the other elements of the project and keep to very tight deadlines.
Fulfilling the purpose
Our maintenance team found a birds nest in the wall, proving our design a success with the aim to improve biodiversity and provide an alternative ecological habitat!
We can work with the purpose of project to curate a plant palette that fits the brief, for example, we are able to work with pollinator planting, bulbs and more biodiverse species to create a living wall that supports biodiversity, or we can focus on bringing together plant species that have the best air purification properties.
Project gallery
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Deansgate Metrolink
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Manchester, United Kingdom
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