CANVAS WAY
Canvas Way is the transformation of the Mancunian Way from a barrier into a civic landscape. As a highway that has socially and economically divided the Deansgate and Hulme areas, its adaptive reuse creates a community space centred around art, sustainability and regeneration. Two thirds of the highway are pedestrianised and retrofitted, with reclaimed road elements re-purposed for seating, urban planting and evolving biochar ‘canvas walls’ that act as both planters and canvases for local artists. Designed with the design-for-disassembly ethos in mind, the proposal prioritises low-carbon construction, material re-use and urban greening, through the testing of Passive House informed modular facade units vegetated by trellis systems and innovative material experimentation (transparent wood, bio-receptive concrete...). The project proposes three interconnected spaces: - the outdoor corridor, where canvas walls separate pedestrians from traffic - the semi-open cylindrical performance gallery, wrapped in an ever-evolving trellis skin - the enclosed studio building, featuring a series of rooms dedicated to various artistic practices These elements are connected via a cafe within the studio building, bridging the studio and gallery through the existing bridge (Hulme bridge).
