Project in focus: Leonardo Hotel Manchester

We take a look at spectacular plans to create a Jenga-style hotel rising 14 storeys high in central Manchester, with biodiverse facades inspired by Milan’s Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest).

One of the UK’s most ambitious hotel projects, Leonardo Hotel Manchester will occupy a unique building showcasing the very latest in architectural design.

Jenga blocks filled with greenery

Work is underway on replacing an outdated two-storey office furniture store at 1 Adair Street near Manchester Piccadilly station with a striking newbuild property to be operated by Fattal Hotel Group under the Leonardo Hotels brand. Upon completion, the development will feature 275 hotel rooms, as well as a restaurant and bar at ground level.

Designed by Stephenson Studio for developer Capital & Centric, the scheme features 17 external planted tiers focused around the northern end of the building. Referred to in planning documents as ‘Jenga blocks’, these tiers will be filled with trees, shrubs, ferns, grasses and perennials tailored to suit the microclimate of each space, helping to green the city in a similar way to Milan’s Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest), the trailblazing eco-friendly residential complex brought to life by Stefano Boeri Architetti in 2014.

Fattal grows its presence in Manchester

Fattal Hotel Group originally announced the acquisition of the Adair Street site in December 2018 via a transaction that marked its second deal in the city; in September of that year, Swedish real-estate group Pandox, together with Fattal, acquired the grade II*-listed Midland Hotel.

The Adair Street scheme was granted permission by Manchester City Council’s planning committee in September 2019, while Capital & Centric struck a deal with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to finance construction in April 2020. Bowmer & Kirkland is lead contractor on the project, which is expected to complete in Q1 2022.

Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.

Learn more

Related Articles