MADF 2010

Manchester Architecture & Design Festival returns for a second year this April and May, and promises to be even better than the previous. The numerous events planned hope to release the world of architecture to the city and help to make Manchester an icon of architecture.

Last year saw MADF emerge from a desire to elevate architecture and design within the urban fabric. Groups from all parts of the architectural spectrum collaborated to help achieve the final product, a month long festival. CUBE gallery offered up their space and time as a platform for several events, including the Travel Awards. Manchester School of Architecture ran month long workshops under the title “Event Month” that resulted in a final exhibition at the close of the festival. The Manchester Society of Architects provided an exhibition of their awards that focus on congratulating the fantastic architecture that is pouring out of the city. With countless workshops and lectures from architects all of the country, MADF 2009 was the start of something spectacular.

MADF 2010 sees it’s events list boom after the success of last year. 34 events have so far been finalised, ranging from lectures like BDP’s David Ritter‘s Sustainable Design Futures where he looks at their first year inhabiting a “green” office building, to Architruk – RIBA North West’s mobile exhibition pavilion that will park up all over the city centre. Workshops and tours have also been organised, such as John Sutcliffe’s tour of Stockport and Murat Tabanliogu's Complex City – Instanbul workshop. Whatever your interest in architecture there is something available for you.

Perhaps one of the most substantial events of the festival is that of the MSA Student Travel Awards, that are to be held on Tuesday the 27^th of April at 18.30 at CUBE. The event is free and looks to be an interesting night with the previous years winners presenting where their awards took them, and this years winners being announced, but to round the brilliant night off RIBA President Ruth Reed will be presenting the awards. Her presence cements the importance of student involvement in the world of architecture and emulate the benefit that traveling has on a students development in the field.

Manchester School of Architecture again this year will be running Event Month as part of MADF. Undergraduate Architecture Students from first and second year choose a workshop to take part in, which this year are created and run by BA Architecture Students at the MSA, and after a month will have their work exhibited at the closing event of MADF 2010. The workshops cover a vast spectrum of architectural styles and theory, ranging from Google Street-(Re_)-View push to map and fill in the gaps left by our virtual relationship with reality, to Biomimecry: Learning from the Eden Project, where students will not only attend a lecture by a current Grimshaw Architect, but also visit and see the Eden Project in real life, accumulating in a project influenced by the building to be displayed at the final exhibition, to be held from the 13^th to the 15^th of May.

Overall this year’s MADF looks to be a significant event on the architectural calendar in the UK. The collaboration between all sectors of Architecture have helped to produce an architectural festival by everyone, for everyone.

Information on all events can be found at MADF 2010’s website: http://www.madf.co.uk/index.php

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