'In Japan his work is revered, but in Manchester we treat it like s***' - Piccadilly Gardens' lost 'Berlin Wall'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThe concrete pavilion at Piccadilly Gardens has long had its critics since its installation in the early Noughties. While plans are afoot to redevelop the rest of the gardens, the fact that the council don't own the hulking structure opposite the bus station means we could well be stuck with it for some time yet.
The redevelopment of Piccadilly Gardens in 2002 was meant to herald a bright new dawn for Manchester city centre. However, the construction of the pavilion and the Piccadilly Gardens' wall divided opinion like no other in the city over the last 20-years.
The freestanding wall which many dubbed Manchester's own 'Berlin Wall' was demolished in 2020. Designed by Tadao Ando following an international competition launched after the 1996 IRA bomb, the 130m long concrete wall and modernist pavilion was completed in time for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the M.E.N.
previously reported. But even before it was built, the proposed plans for the concrete structures had divided opinions. In June 1999, the Manchester Evening News ran a story revealing plans had split the public's opinion with one person finding the clean lines of the concrete 'inspiring and exciting' while another described it as "a bit naff".
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