IN 2011 ALLIED LONDON COMPLETED A POP-UP BAR CALLED THE OAST HOUSE WHICH WAS DELIVERED WITH TEMPORARY LANDSCAPING ON WHAT WAS TO BECOME DEVELOPMENT PLOT FOR SPINNINGFIELDS.

However, due to the runaway success of the bar operation an application was successfully made to make the structure permanent in 2013. It was then decided that Allied London would revisit the public realm in collaboration with Barcelona based landscape architects: Arriola Fiol.

The project sought to dignify the Oast House and anchor it to the surrounding architecture. The new project elevates Crown Square and The Oast House’s public realm into a piece of authentic landscape architecture that is both commercial and civic in its treatment.

The new interventions build a story around the existing building, themselves making reference to the Oast House architecture and then slowly referencing the surrounding buildings as they move further towards the corporate architecture of Spinningfields.

The project included: a new kitchen which is an extension to the existing Oast House building; two pavilion bars; a variety of canopy structures; in-situ perimeter concrete seating; a fire pit; a permanent stage and a variety of different paving types.

The additional accommodation has been included in a way that is both practical and commercial but at the same time maintains the civic nature of the square which is respectively adjacent to Manchester’s Magistrates Court and Manchester Crown Court.

The result is a project that is both poetic and civic as well as commercial and practical at the same time. Crown Square was shortlisted for best landscape project in the 2019 AJ (Architects’ Journal) Awards.