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The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester city centre has had a £40m refurbishment.
The latest phase has seen the museum’s Upper Yard, off Liverpool Road, restored and opened to visitors. The space has two PAS 68-rated planters installed by the street furniture firm Securiscape. They’re the biggest products the Ashbourne-based firm has ever supplied. The manufacturer received a highly specific brief from Manchester landscape architects Planit-IE last year. The call was for two PAS 68-rated planters, each measuring five metres long and 2.2 metres wide, finished in Corten steel, with no visible welds to any elevation or panel. The planters also had to be removable, because large services run beneath the area. The products had to be made off-site so they could be dropped into position without disrupting the paving works going on. Securiscape met the brief by using two sizes from its patented planter frames, which allowed the units to be fabricated to the precise specification, delivered to site and installed. The Corten steel finish was chosen for its weathered appearance and its blend with the museum’s Victorian brick buildings. It develops a rust-toned patina over time. The install was with planting of trees and flowers.
Mark Stone, managing director of Securiscape, said: “The brief from Planit-IE was very precise. They wanted large scale, no visible welds, Corten finish, removable and installed without holding up the rest of the programme. That’s exactly the kind of challenge our patented frame system is designed to meet and I’m really pleased with the way in which we’ve been able to demonstrate its flexibility. Now, seeing the finished planters in place at a site of this significance, as part of a restoration that has been years in the making, is something we’re all proud of.”
About Securiscape
Among the sites with the Derbyshire firm’s hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) are Piccadilly Circus in central London; Brent Borough Council’s civic centre at Wembley, north London; and Derby Market Hall. The firm makes blast-resistant litter bins, Glide bollards, and IWA-14-rated pedestrian guardrails, designed to stop vehicles from mounting pavements. Visit https://www.securiscape.co.uk/.
About the refurb
The Science and Industry Museum’s Upper Yard forms part of a wider transformation that will eventually open the entire historic site to visitors, with new galleries, a science playground and improved connections to the surrounding Castlefield area planned. Visit https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk.
