Norman Foster? You may wonder what on earth he is doing in Altrincham, the Cheshire market town renowned for its traditional schools and chichi shops. It may be a respectable commuter dormitory town for Manchester, but it is hardly cutting-edge. You would not expect to find a development there by the architect responsible for the Swiss Re tower in the City of London, the new Wembley stadium and Beijing airport. But Foster and Partners has chosen Altrincham for its first residential scheme outside London — 290 one and two-bedroom apartments, larger family units and penthouses, with prices ranging from £165,000 to £450,000.

“Budenberg Haus Projekte has provided a fantastic opportunity to develop and regenerate a brownfield site in Greater Manchester,” says Paul Kalkhoven, senior partner at Foster and Partners. “Our design has created contemporary living space with highly innovative sustainable features on an ideal canalside setting.”

Built on the site of the former Budenberg Gauge Factory (which made pressure gauges and deadweight testers for the engineering industry), the Haus Projekte includes the redevelopment of the Budenberg office, designed by Arkheion, the original in-house architects for the developer Urban Splash, plus two new apartment buildings that jut out over the Bridgewater Canal like the prows of ocean liners.

With its funky interior design, floor-to-ceiling windows, clever storage, balconies for every apartment and an innovative combined heat and power self-generating electricity system, the development brings with it Urban Splash’s expertise in transforming scruffy old shells into ultra-modern living spaces.

Urban Splash and Foster and Partners have been looking for the right project on which to collaborate for some time. Norman Foster is a Manchester lad, born and brought up in Levenshulme. The “risk factor” of introducing such directional architecture into a suburban setting inspired both parties.

“We’re immensely proud of the reputation we have for developing young architects,” says Tom Bloxham, chairman and co-founder of Urban Splash. “But we thought that this project deserved a slightly more established practice.”

The scale of the development, just up from the bookies and Eddie’s (Fish) Supper Bar in Woodfield Road, an unprepossessing side street in Altrincham, stops you in your tracks. The red brick, bay-windowed terraced houses along the road, and the new-build houses beyond them, are dwarfed by the Edwardian Budenberg office and the steel-and-glass edifices growing beside it.

Foster says: “We respect the scale of the existing houses on Woodfield Road, but as the buildings reach the canal they rise in height, creating a very interesting building form.”

Several houses in Woodfield Road have “for sale” or “to let” signs outside. Are the owners not fans of the temple to modern architecture looming over their front gardens? “Landlords are selling up and cashing in,” says Tom Fenton, development manager for Urban Splash.

Phillip Diggle, the manager of Gascoigne Halman, an Altrincham estate agent, adds: “The properties directly surrounding the development will become more desirable. The area will become mostly residential, which is far preferable to the possibility of a variety of commercial uses.”

Fenton hopes that professional couples, the lifeblood of the apartment market in and around Manchester, will be the most likely purchasers. But he adds: “We have several large apartments with three bedrooms, which we are hoping will attract families.”

Apartment living in central Manchester is popular, but the city centre is no place to bring up children: the infrastructure of schools, healthcare, leisure facilities and open spaces is just not there. But property insiders believe that there is a gap in the market for cutting-edge apartments for ageing hipsters who are loath to leave city-living behind but are forced to do so because their children need decent schools and green space.

With the average price of an Altrincham property nudging £400,000, such apartments could offer an economic alternative to buying a family house and spending time and money doing it up.

Grubby fingerprints all over the glass-panelled staircases might be a deterrent to some buyers, however, not to mention the proximity of the canal at the bottom of the large landscaped gardens. But children will love the high-tech extras, including broadband access, digital television, on-demand movies and a dedicated residents’ website, which allows Budenbergers to communicate with one another and the management company.

Nick Johnson, Urban Splash’s director of development, says: “Not only is it pushing the architectural possibilities for home design, it is addressing key green issues, such as lower carbon emissions and recycling.”

Apartments at the Budenberg Haus Projekte are now on sale. www.urbansplash.co.uk, 07000 919293

Times recommends

• Fall in house sales hits builders, estate agents and mortgage brokers
• Why the property credit crunch favours cash buyers
• The blood-curdling history of Quarrelwood House