Bridge, New Islington

  • Project
  • The Rain Span, New Islington, Manchester
  • Type
  • Bridge over Canal
  • Status
  • Competition for Urban Splash

‘Into each life a little rain must fall’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Manchester is not the rainiest place in Britain… but people think it is. This is the inspiration behind our proposal, to both reinforce and expose the myth of Manchester as the rainy city, full of grimy mills and flat caps, by placing water at the heart of the scheme, and creating a place where the rain always falls.

The span of the bridge passes through a central ‘cloud’, inspired by the form of a traditional rain gauge and featuring continuously running water and a fne mist. This creates a focal point, not just on the bridge but also at the entrance to the new canal arm and the development of New Islington.