Embassy Village Officially Opens

Embassy Village has officially opened in Manchester’s Castlefield, delivering 40 new homes for people who have experienced rough sleeping and transforming a disused piece of land – owned by Peel Waters – underneath 22 of the city’s historic railway arches.

We were proud to act as delivery architects for the scheme, working in close partnership with Vermont Construction to bring Embassy’s vision to life.

Building within and around live railway arches presented complex technical and logistical challenges. As delivery architects, our role was to translate the original concept into a robust, buildable solution – carefully coordinating structure, services and sequencing to ensure the homes could be delivered efficiently within a constrained setting.

The design embraces the character of the historic viaduct, using a simple, durable material palette that complements the existing brickwork while creating high-quality, self-contained homes. The layout establishes a clear sense of community, with shared amenities including a village hall, multi-use games area and future allotments arranged around private spaces.

Ben Robinson, Associate Director said: “It was fantastic to mark the opening of Embassy Village alongside the many partners who have contributed their time and expertise to this truly collaborative project. Delivering high-quality homes beneath live railway arches brought significant design and technical challenges, and we’re proud to have helped realise Embassy’s vision for the site. Seeing the completed homes and the strength of support behind the project makes this a particularly special milestone. We now look forward to the Village welcoming it’s first residents.”

Embassy Village is the result of a truly collaborative effort, with more than 130 organisations contributing funding, expertise, materials and time. Working closely with the contractor and wider consultant team, we focused on maintaining design intent while responding pragmatically to site constraints and programme demands. As stated in some new public art on the development – “it takes a city to raise a village”.

For us, this project reflects our commitment to delivering architecture that has a lasting, positive impact – unlocking the potential of overlooked places and supporting those in need.

Read more on the project here.