Exchange Square, Manchester

Exchange Square, desgned by Martha Schwartz, is located in the heart of Manchester in a busy retail and entertainment district on a site of recent bombings. The square extends over two levels connected by curving ramps and stairs, which double up as street funtiture. Set within the curving walls of the ramps are internally lit glass boxes in which are embedded artifacts of the industrial revolutuion. The largest area, the top level, has seating which can be rearranged as needed. Benches slide along rail tracks inset with coloured glass panels marking the historical importance of railroads in the industrial development of Manchester.
Along the lower level the historic line of Hanging Ditch river is bought to life through an abstracted river filled with water and stepping stones. Unfortunately the river was dry when we visited and full of liter and construction work was taking place on much of the site so a lot of the space was barriered off from the public. I've been interested in Martha Schwartz's work since the first year and this was the first time I've visited one of her designs. After seeing her work in magazines/websites I was not dissappointed by the final project which was a really successful and much used space.