Demolition has begun on a wall in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, which forms part of Japanese architect Tadao Ando's only building in the UK.
Removal of the six-metre-long concrete wall, which locals have dubbed the Berlin Wall, began on 16 November and is expected to be completed this week.
The freestanding wall was built as part of a concrete pavilion designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ando that was completed in 2002. It is owned by the Manchester City Council, as opposed to the main pavilion, which is privately owned.
Demolishing the wall will improve sightlines, according to the council
The pavilion has been at risk of destruction before ? a planned £10 million overhaul by property owners Legal & General would have seen it torn down and replaced with restaurants and a coffee shop designed by Urban Edge Architecture. That scheme was abandoned when it became financially unviable.
Plants could be used to "soften" remainder of Ando design
This year Manchester City Council appointed landscape architects LDA Design ? the landscape architects for the abandoned Legal & General scheme ? to create a concept for improving  Piccadilly Gardens.
The council wants to add more planting and improve Piccadilly Gardens' lighting and design, as well as use plants to "soften" the Ando wall.
"There is also an aspiration to soften the appearance of the pavilion's concrete wall, transforming it into a green 'living wall' and by removing the free...