Manchester's Mayfield Station and Depot

For my honors project this year where we will reinvent a disused space and proposing a design for something new that brings people in that area together, makes the most of the space and possibly reflects the history of what was there before.

After researching for some time to find an intriguing place with some history and an inspiring aesthetic, I read about Mayfield train station depot in Manchester. I loved the look of the photos I had found online but I needed to see it for myself. Here are all my photographs from my visit to Manchesters abandoned Mayfield depot.

I was very lucky to be shown around all aspects of the station and depot as photos can not capture the size and the feel of it. The biggest enclosed space with nothing but the iron pillars supporting the structure in it, was fascinating for me to walk into. Although the depot and arches are on ground level, because the platforms are on top of them, and the access doors are quite hidden to any main roads, I got the sense that I was underground while in there. Perhaps it was the untreated stone and concrete surrounding me that reminded me of caves and tunnels or maybe it was how all the sound from the city was blocked out and it was either silent or echoing when someone spoke.

The site has inspired me and has more potential than I first thought. I am excited to start redesigning Mayfield station.