The site is positioned right on the edge of the city centre. This unique building compliments the community that has already been established by the presence of other successful Salboy developments. Local Blackfriars, Queen St and the listed Blackfriars Pub.
The development will comprise 31 studios, 93 one-bed flats, 111 two-bedroom apartments and 15 three bed homes. Amenities will include a private dining room, gym, cinema room, package store, co-working space and a vibrant restaurant.
Obsidian is a 26-storey residential development in Manchester city centre, consisting of approximately 250 high-quality homes including studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments arranged around central core and vertical circulation zones. The homes are designed to deliver modern urban living with premium internal finishes and a range of external glazing and balcony configurations.
The residential scope includes:
Mechanical services to all apartments, providing ventilation and comfort in line with building regulations and design standards.
Electrical distribution infrastructure serving the residential units, including apartment power, lighting, life-safety systems and integration with building switchgear and life-safety distribution.
Public health services to each apartment, including domestic cold and hot water supply, waste and soil systems, and sanitary installations.
Centralised plant interfaces, supporting common area services such as heat rejection, domestic hot water generation and energy-efficient service delivery to the apartments.
Coordination with communal amenity systems, including communal ventilation, lifts, fire alarm and building management systems.
Obsidian’s residential units are designed for contemporary living, with features such as high-performance glazing, balconies or winter gardens, and modern apartment layouts, all supported by robust MEP systems that deliver comfort, safety and compliance for future residents.
The Obsidian development in Manchester incorporates a range of commercial and resident amenity spaces designed to complement the residential accommodation and support modern city-centre living. At ground-floor level, the scheme includes approximately 1,000 sq ft of commercial space, suitable for retail or service use and integrated into the building’s public realm and main entrance areas.
In addition, the development provides a suite of resident amenity facilities, including a fully equipped gym, cinema room, private dining space and co-working areas, supported by concierge and lobby facilities. These spaces are designed to enhance resident experience and require carefully coordinated mechanical, electrical and public health services to support comfort, safety and operational efficiency, fully integrated with the wider building infrastructure.
Matic are delivering the installation and coordination of the central plant room systems at the Obsidian development in Salford, providing critical mechanical, electrical and life-safety infrastructure to support the residential tower. The plant rooms house the primary water, fire-fighting and electrical distribution equipment serving the apartments, communal areas and essential building services, all installed in accordance with relevant British Standards and project.specifications.
Mechanical plant room installations included the boosted cold-water system, comprising sectional cold-water storage tanks, multi-pump booster sets, expansion vessels, manifolds and pressure-reducing valve assemblies feeding the residential distribution network. The plant rooms also accommodate wet riser and residential sprinkler interfaces, including fire pumps, jockey pumps, shared water storage, monitored valves and associated pipework. All mechanical plant was fully insulated, pressure tested, chlorinated where required and commissioned to ensure operational reliability and long-term performance.
Electrical plant room works included the installation of main LV switchboards, life-safety distribution boards and associated sub-main cabling, providing resilient power supplies to mechanical plant, fire-fighting systems and landlord services. Matic also installed and commissioned the life-safety standby generator, complete with diesel fuel storage, acoustic enclosure, control systems and automatic changeover interfaces. All plant room systems will be integrated with the Building Management System (BMS) for monitoring, control and fault reporting
Matic successfully delivered the site-wide temporary services to support the construction phase of the Obsidian development, providing a safe, reliable and fully compliant temporary power and utility infrastructure.
The scope of works included the installation and commissioning of a temporary generator to provide resilient electrical supply during early construction stages, along with MDUs (Main Distribution Units) to distribute power safely across the site. Temporary site lighting systems were installed to ensure safe working conditions across key areas, access routes and work zones.
Matic are installing temporary water supplies, enabling welfare facilities and construction activities to operate efficiently throughout the build programme. All temporary electrical equipment and installations were subject to PAT testing, ensuring ongoing compliance with health and safety requirements and maintaining a safe working environment for site operatives.
These temporary site services are delivered in coordination with the main construction programme, providing dependable infrastructure to support uninterrupted site operations.
