Factory Manchester
In January 2017, Manchester City Council granted planning permission to Factory, a flagship cultural venue for the North of England.
The building has been designed by Rem Koolhaas’ architectural practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), and will be their first major public building in the UK.
Factory is intended to be a groundbreaking new venue that forms part of the vibrant new St. John’s neighbourhood currently being developed by Allied London on the site of the former Granada TV Studios.
Manchester International Festival (MIF) will operate Factory, which will offer the broadest range of art forms and cultural experiences, including dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, spoken word, popular culture, and so on. Artists from around the world will be invited to create new work in the building.
It is anticipated that Factory will accelerate economic growth in the region, create or support almost 1,500 full-time jobs, and add £1.1 billion to the city’s economy over a decade.
It is hoped that it will reduce the dependency on London as the provider of creative industries training and employment. It will develop partnerships with the city’s leading higher education institutions and will further support the city’s drive for high-calibre graduate talent retention through job creation.
Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital & Culture said: “I want to blast open access to the very best world-class art and culture we have to offer in this country. So we're investing £78 million into Factory in Manchester that will provide a further boost to the brilliant arts, culture and technology scene in the North. On top of that, it will also help local tourism, generate jobs and provide training opportunities for the next generation of British creatives.”
Tom Bloxham, Chairman, Manchester International Festival (MIF) said: "This is a great show of confidence in the cultural future of the North. In just five festivals Manchester International Festival has established itself as one of the major international arts festivals, and we are delighted to now be able to add to the city’s and the country’s cultural offer all year round through our programming at Factory.”
Construction is due to begin in Spring 2017, and completion is expected in 2019.
Images © OMA.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Blighting local areas, preventing investment and and encouraging anti-social behaviour.
Sharing knowledge about the conservation of the built and historic environment.
CIOB launches a call to improve quality in the built environment.
Vastint gets permission for a 6.6 hectare site to support the expansion of Leeds’ city core.
One of the Isle of Man’s best 1960s buildings.
Using renewable energy in developing countries - QSAND and Loughborough University Research collaboration.
From frost damage to sulphate attack, common causes of defects in brickwork.
Precautions to take when making advance payments.
Helping communities recover from disasters and protecting them before they occur.
Specialist services in hospitals
Instrumentation for critical healthcare environments.
Case study in the use of soft landings at the University of the West of England.