Manchester

Architects, planners, developers and local authorities are turning to Manchester's most accurate digital twin and embracing the revolution in design and planning.

VU.CITY's 3D model of Manchester is the largest, most accurate and includes coverage of Salford, Trafford, Stockport and Rochdale.

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161sq km

MODELLED TO 15CM ACCURACY

718,062

TREES, ACCURATE TO HEIGHT & CANOPY

232,876

Buildings

VU.CITY Manchester For You

Key Features

Coverage

Manchester continues to lead the way in the north of England in all aspects of the built environment, whether it's the ever-growing skyline providing the highest level of urban living or the re-invention and regeneration of the boroughs of Greater Manchester.

Manchester is firmly advocating the net zero green agenda in all its planning with the belt around the city centre providing more and more green space for its '15 minute neighbourhood' concept. VU.CITY enables all stakeholders involved to collaborate and make this vision a reality.

Architects, planners, developers and local authorities are turning to the UK’s most accurate digital twin and embracing the digital revolution in planning: VU.CITY Manchester includes coverage of Rochdale, Salford, Trafford and Stockport.

Architects, such as SimpsonHaugh, have realised that VU.CITY Manchester is the quickest way to visualize a development in context and prevent costs and subscriptions to data sources spiraling out of control long term when assessing a site’s feasibility.

There are so many advantages to using VU.CITY’s 3D digital twin technology, from being able to understand and assess a site’s opportunities and challenges, testing refined designs in context, enhancing pre-app conversations and planning submissions, to improving how everyone involved collaborates.

VU.CITY Manchester: Highlights

Create, edit and assess massing

Easily test massing to understand design feasibility.

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Consented Schemes Timeline

Realise a site’s potential by viewing and assessing recently consented developments across Manchester.

Test Massing

Assess multiple initial massing options at an early stage and GEA potential quickly.

Easily import your designs from external 3D software (such as Revit, Rhino, SketchUp & 3ds Max) into the model of Salford, Trafford, Stockport and Rochdale and test how they will work in situ.

Import Designs

Easily import your designs from external 3D software (such as Revit, Rhino, SketchUp & 3ds Max) into the Manchester or Rochdale and test how they will work in situ.

Sunlight Analysis

Quickly view and assess the initial impact of light from your proposed developments.

Conduct high-level townscape and visual impact assessments with an accurate 3D model of Manchester

Camera Studies and Presenter Tool

Conduct high-level townscape and visual impact assessments. Agree on key views to analyse further. Select key views and confidentially present your proposals to take stakeholder on the journey of design.

Zone of Theoretical Visibility

Save time by eliminating unnecessary views for analysis. Understand where your scheme can be seen from and which views are critical to assess.

Work more collaboratively on designs with VU.CITY's 3D model of Manchester

Annotate with Tags

Mark up comments and actions and easily collaborate on a site or scheme with project team members.

Scope, Design & Collaborate

VU.CITY's project collaboration space, the Hub, allows you to seamlessly communicate with stakeholders, to make better design & planning decisions, faster.

Data Layers

Consented Schemes Timeline

Conservation Areas

Existing Supply of Housing Sites

Existing Supply of Industrial and Warehousing Sites

Existing Supply of Office Sites

Greater Manchester Accessibility Levels (GMAL)

Land Registry Query

Listed Buildings

Local Authority Boundaries

Trees

Energy Performance Certificates

Scheduled Monuments

Manchester Coverage

Can't see your area? Get in touch.
VU.CITY is constantly expanding in coverage.

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Create smart cities the smart way

VU.CITY helps organise, visualise, and analyse city data in the clearest and most accessible way to make better decisions.

VU.CITY covers the whole of London and 23 major UK and international cities.

Quickly identify and appraise sites. VU.CITY's visualization, design functionality and planning data, allow you to optimise your designs.

Transform design and planning

Now everyone involved can have a clear, universal understanding of what’s proposed and why, in a single, secure place. VU.CITY makes decision-making democratic and fair.

Build trust and collaboration

Remove barriers and minimise risks early. Have confidence in your designs and plans. Increase buy-in for project success.

Improve
outcomes

Test out ideas in situ, from one building to a masterplan. Create your vision and submissions with confidence.

Collate site information in one place

Communicate complex spatial arrangements

Make documentation stand up and stand out

Speed up planning conversations

Strengthen relationships

Create winning submissions

In your words

“We’re bringing in architects and our clients and different consultants in one room and we’re viewing the drawing, the architecture and the massing through VU.CITY.”

Charlotte Orrell

Senior Planner at Iceni Projects

“Architecture is essentially a 3D discipline, so VU.CITY is effectively showing what is already in an architect’s head in a way that hasn’t been possible before. The platform enables you to immediately understand the cityscape, the context, constraints, daylight, sunlight and the view angles, not just as it is today, but how it will be in the future. That’s incredibly valuable.”

Simon Erridge

Director - Bennetts Associates

"Salford has a busy planning team, which manages a high number of large-scale developments. It is essential that the best form of development is secured on the right sites in the city, and to help with that we have been using VU.CITY. Being able to work with digital models within the VU.CITY platform has enabled the team to assess their impact more quickly from viewpoints of our choice."

Martin Hodgson

Associate Director Planning and Building Control - Salford City Council

"VU.CITY provided a valuable resource on our work for Southwark Charities for an emerging scheme along Blackfriars Road in central London where, working with Fathom Architects, we were able to test different versions in context, have live discussions, and conclude the best approach."

Rosa Gonzalez

Consultant, Landscape, Townscape & VIA - Turley

"The digitisation of planning as outlined in the Whitepaper presents an exciting step in speeding up the planning process and improving engagement with communities. We are already working with VU.CITY and some of our local authority partners to be a leader in digital consultation in line with the ambitions outlined in the new government Whitepaper."