Manchester yesterday launched an ambitious £500m project to rebuild its bomb-damaged centre in four years and create new retail and leisure landmarks in the city.
The new city centre will feature a Millennium Centre modelled on the Pompidou complex in Paris, a new pedestrian street leading to the cathedral, and a radical redesign of the ugly Arndale shopping mall. A panel of business and political leaders yesterday announced that the wining architects/urban designers would be the London team EDAW. It beat 27 rivals to re-design the 23.06ha (59 acre) city centre site.
The government is expected to fund about £100m of the reconstruction. Ministers have already diverted £20m of European funds from the wider north-west region into the city.
- Financial Times 06/11/96 page 10
- The Guardian 06/11/96 page 5
- The Times 06/11/96 page 8
