Salford Quays

The Lowry Theatre, designed by Michael Wilford.

Early in the planning stages for redevelopment of Salford Quays in 1988, potential was recognised for a landmark arts venue, the Salford Quays Centre for the Performing Arts, which became known as the Lowry Project in 1994. It had secured £64 million in funding by 22 February 1996.[2]

The Lowry stands at the end of Pier 8, largely surrounded by the waters of the Manchester Ship Canal. Designed by James Stirling and Michael Wilford, it opened on 28 April 2000 and houses the 1,730 seat Lyric theatre, the 466 seat Quays theatre, studio spaces and 17,330 square feet (1,610 m²) of gallery space.[4] There are cafes, bars and a restaurant at the south-western end of the building. The centre is associated with L. S. Lowry, and houses a collection of his work.

The Imperial War Museum North, opened 2001 and designed by Daniel Libeskind.

The Imperial War Museum North (IWM North), on Trafford Wharf Road in Trafford Park, overlooks the Manchester Ship Canal on the opposite bank to the Lowry and MediaCityUK. The area was heavily bombed during the Manchester Blitz in December 1940. The museum, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, opened in July 2002. Its structure was designed to be a metaphor for a world shattered by war with sloping walls and ceilings. Three areas, the Air, Earth and Water Shards house exhibition and gallery space, public areas and restaurants.

The museum is proud of its extensive collection of historical artifacts, primarily from the wars occurring during the 20th century, the museum also has an exhibition house of whose theme changes on a regular basis. As of 2019, the exhibition is dedicated to the conflict in Yemen. The museum also currently has a large artefact from the New York 9/11 Twin Tower disaster.

A view from Clippers Quay, Salford looking over Old Trafford

Manchester United are a Premier League football club based in the Old Trafford section of the Quays. Their stadium, Old Trafford, stands with a capacity of 74,994, it is the largest club football stadium (and second largest football stadium overall after Wembley Stadium) in the United Kingdom. Manchester United are known for their working class vocal supporters and originally drew large amounts of their support from the dockers that worked on the former Manchester Docks which is now the Quays.

MediaCityUK is a 200-acre (81 ha) mixed-use property development on Pier 9 of the Quays with a focus on creative industries. It was developed by the Peel Group. Its principal tenants are media organisations including the BBC. The brownfield site occupied by the development was part of the Port of Manchester.[5]

• Merchants Quay was one of the area's earliest residential developments, constructed in the mid-to-late 1980s. The development is on East Wharf South between piers 6 and 7.[8] Merchants Quay consists of terraced town houses and mews properties, with four low rise apartment blocks. The development which consists 100 residential properties is bordered on its southern side by South Bay (Dock 6) and by the St Francis, St Louis, and St Peter basins to the north, Dock 7, provides habitat for fish and waterfowl and is popular with anglers. However, in recent years unresolved litter problems have blighted the quality of the water and pedestrian access in this area. Properties on the western edge of the pier overlook the Imperial War Museum North and Lowry Bridge over the Quays turning circle; the largest expanse of water at Salford Quays. The development is linked to Pier 7, the business-orientated Waterfront Quay on the north side of the basins on East Wharf North. There is an abundance of flora and fauna in the area with swans, geese and gulls overwintering alongside kingfishers, coots, ducks, herons, cormorants and other birds. Bats and foxes can be seen at dusk. Again, unresolved litter problems have blighted this area. On the other side around Clipper's Quay and across the water on Trafford Wharf, several major building and many of the paths are now derelict and litter strewn because neither the local councils (Salford and Trafford) nor the private owners or resident businesses will accept responsibility for maintenance or cleanliness.
• Grain Wharf is located at the centre of the Quays, and consists of three matching developments: Winnipeg Quay and Vancouver Quay to the west of Mariners Canal, and St. Lawrence Quay to the east. Its name derives from the land's previous use, when imported grain was delivered by ship and transferred to the railway network that ran the length of Pier 8 (Central Wharf).[9] Built between 1985 and 1995, Grain Wharf consists of a combination of two and three bedroom town houses and apartments, none exceeding four storeys in height. Many properties have views over Huron and Erie Basin (Dock 9) and Mariners Canal, with a number of town houses in Winnipeg and Vancouver Quay facing a landscaped garden square. The development is noted for its distinctly symmetrical layout. Mariners Canal was added to link the cleaned water of Ontario Basin to the south and Erie Basin to the north for water sport; the watersports centre is opposite Vancouver Quay. Vancouver and St. Lawrence Quays are linked by a footbridge over the canal, and by the Quays road.
• Labrador Quay consists of five three-storey apartment blocks at the far end of Erie Basin, completed in 2003. Accessed via the St. Lawrence Quay cul-de-sac, the buildings are inconspicuous due to the waterside tree planting and their location behind both The Lighthouse offices and Anchorage buildings. Two buildings face directly onto the water of Erie Basin, while the others are angled around communal gardens.

Millennium Bridge (Salford Quays) fully raised

• Imperial Point was the first of the high-rise residential buildings on the Quays: a 16-storey tower built alongside the Quayside Mall on Pier 8 (Central Wharf) in 2001.[10] Finished in sand-coloured cladding with grey and steel finishes to the roof, service cores and balconies, the lower levels are integrated into the mall.
• Sovereign Point is the sister building of Imperial Point, towards the rear of the Quayside Mall. Completed in 2005, its 20 stories are residential, except for some commercial units at ground level, including Sovereign Food and Wine, the Quays' first grocery store. The tower's design was controversial and regarded as having a poor aesthetic on all but the water-facing elevation and is in stark relief to the neighbouring low-rise Winnipeg Quay.
• The NV Buildings were designed by Broadway Maylan and completed between 2004 and 2005. The development consists of three 18-storey residential towers, each 180 feet (55 m) in height. Costing £36 million, they stand in a line overlooking Huron Basin from the waterside of Pier 9 (North Wharf), their curved frontages are designed to represent sails.[11] At night, the buildings are illuminated by green lights atop curved poles, and green flood light to either side. The Type 3 apartment in the NV Buildings won gold for "Best Apartment" in 2004 "What House?" awards.[12]
• The City Lofts construction began in 2005 and completed in late 2007. The development consists of two linked towers: one 9 storeys, the other 19 storeys. They are on land adjacent to the bund carrying the Quays road, which separates the Manchester Ship Canal from the cleaned water of the Salford Quays basins. The apartments' interior design was by Conran & Partners. Interest in the development was limited, due to the slump in the housing market, and in July 2008, City Lofts was forced to place all its unsold apartments, including many at Salford Quays, into receivership.[13]
• With the completion of MediaCityUK in 2010, the high-rise blocks of The Heart and NumberOne (both 22 storeys) were added to the skyline.
• In November 2017, the first of 4, 26 storey apartment blocks named X1 Media City completed adding another block to the skyline, the tallest building on the Quays with 26 floors. As of 2020, Tower A & B are completed with the following 2 on hold.

In 2003, Salford Quays was the venue for the first International Triathlon Union World Cup event to be held in the UK. It has since become an annual event held at the end of July each year, although the 2008 event was cancelled because of a clash with the Beijing Olympics.[14] In September 2010 and May 2011, the site hosted the Great Salford Swim, a mass participation open water swim event. The event has been re-branded as the Great Manchester Swim since 2012.

Salford Watersports Centre opened in 2001, in Ontario Basin, a closed off area created for it providing a range of watersports and outdoor activities including Royal Yachting Association recognised training in sailing and British Canoe Union recognised training in kayaking and canoeing. Agecroft Rowing Club currently operates from Salford Quays.

In 2012 the Salford Quays were rejuvenated for the London Olympic Games, in which they were used for swimming and diving. Six gold medallists swam at the Quays.

In 2013, the triathlon returned on Sunday 18 August.

In 2015 East Cheshire Sub Aqua Club installed a 2-metre x 3 metre scuba diving training platform in St Peter's basin further extending the use of the Salford Quays for watersports, allowing scuba divers to safely conduct training, away from the silt in the basin.

Salford Quays is part of a joint tourism initiative between Salford and Trafford councils supported by private sector partners including the Lowry, the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester United F.C., Lancashire County Cricket Club, the Quayside Mall and the Golden Tulip and Copthorne Hotels; working in partnership with Marketing Manchester. Salford Quays forms one part of the area known as the Quays, which also includes Trafford Wharf and Old Trafford, on the Manchester side of the ship canal.[15]