Old Quadrangle

Old Quadrangle

Old Quadrangle, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9NR

To celebrate the University of Manchester’s bicentenary,
the Old Quadrangle was remodelled. The brief was to
form a space which accommodated a wide range of
events and activities undertaken in the Old Quad, while
seamlessly blending into a softer, garden space,
reflecting the University’s environmental sustainability
goals. RECOM supported the design team and University
to develop the design, secure planning, and listed
building consent, tender and appoint the main
contractor and manage the very short programme
timeframes to complete the project within 15months.

What we did differently:

RECOM managed the stakeholder engagement
throughout the various University departments,
managing the expectations and requirements of FMC,
Sustainability, H&S and Landscape Maintenance teams,
to mention a few, in order to achieve a Biodiversity Net
Gain of 80%. RECOM also maintained a tight change
control procedure to prevent any scope creep from other
departments due to the space being left untouched for
over 70 years and the requirement to futureproof the
space. Due to the overall tight programme the
construction works had a duration of 5 months to achieve
completion before the bicentenary. To manage this
programme, weekly progress meetings were held to
maintain the contractor’s momentum and work with the
design team to overcome any issues arising.