Las Vegas Comes To Manchester

Manchester in Las Vegas

According to some sources Manchester may soon be home to an enormous Leisure centre that would rival the extravagance of Las Vegas. It would be built in the immediate context of the Manchester City Football Stadium, by none other than Manchester City Football Clubs billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour. Included in the plan, said to be designed by BDP, will be luxurious Hotels, a Theme Park, and not forgetting a Casino.

The idea appears to be somewhat ridiculous for a British city, and seems more suited for the United Arab Emirates or USA, not in an area most famous for it's Victorian Industry. However one only has to look back 2 years to the proposed "Super Casino", that was eventually sacked by the government, to see that this rumour may indeed be true, and with the backing of a mutli-billionaire who has already spent well over £100million on new football players, that building up the area around the stadium is such a large leap of faith in the owner's eyes.

Ancoats Emptiness

The news is fairly disheartening, does Manchester want to become an Americanised city, is it right for one football club owner to spread his influence outside of the grounds and into the local community? Perhaps it will create a solution for the sparse state that Ancoats currently resides in, or will it sit on the landscape as an empty shed, unused and unloved.

All images Copyright of Jack Penford Baker

Goodbye Urbis?

Urbis is one of Manchester's modern landmarks, the Ian Simpson designed building being seen as many as starting the new 'tradition' of wedge-shaped structures in the city. Recently Urbis has been in the headlines over controversial plans to relocate the National Football Museum from Preston to Manchester and on November 18th the decision was taken to move the museum.

Originally opened in 2002, Urbis has a unique programme of temporary exhibitions that focus on popular culture and the culture of the modern city, essentially it is a place to showcase city life through art, music, photography, fashion and other creative industries that Manchester has become famous for. The National Football Museum could not be more different, a permanent showcase of the 'national game'. The museum already has roots in Manchester as it was designed by local practice OMI architects (opening in 2001).

There have been mixed reactions to news that the museum is to move with Preston councillor Ken Hudson reported to have said that the museum's trustees had "stuck two fingers up" at Preston by agreeing to the move. Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said that the relocation could help make the museum an "internationally important destination" and attract up to 400,000 visitors a year. The move won't come cheap though with costs expected to reach £8million to relocate the exhibition contents and refurbish Urbis.

Speaking to Chanel M the Chief Executive of Urbis, Vaughn Allen, hinted that the National Football Museum would provide a "long term sustainable future" for Urbis, calling it an "interesting an challenging building" to run in its current guise. He explained that Urbis would close in February/early Spring 2010 and would hopefully open again as the National Football Museum in 201. But what happens to the exhibitions that currently call Urbis home?

As of yet there are no solid plans to find new homes for the 'creative industries' that could be found at Urbis, although preliminary discussions are said to be taking place - there are very few alternatives at present that engage the public with this type of attraction in Manchester. Yes Manchester has a proud ‘footballing’ tradition but it has a resonance with creative industries that could be lost or forced back under ground with out a public face.

The debate will more than likely rumble on right on up to the new museum's opening and beyond so for the final word for now we turn to Phil O’Dwyer, director of OMI Architects, a born and bred 'Manc' who had this to say to the Architect's Journal (before last week’s decision):

"The Urbis building is a great landmark and has contributed to Manchester’s evolving identity. I suspect it is flexible enough to absorb the Football Museum, like it could absorb many other exhibitions with varying degrees of success. But would it engage with this subject to the same extent? Would it have the ingredients that make the difference between a place that has spirit and one that feels soulless and detached from the people that use it? I have my doubts, but that would be the challenge."

Ian Simpson Chosen For Refurbishment of Town Hall Extension

Manchester's trademark Architect, Ian Simpson, has been named as the chosen architect for a £165 million refurbishment of the Town Hall Extension, designed by E. Vincent Harris in the 1930's. Harris's neighbouring Central Library is also to be revamped, except not by Simpson, but Ryder Architects. The two schemes are also running along side a competition, to be launched in January, for a redesign of St Peters Square and the recently revealed design for 1 Peter Square. Due to be completed within 4 years, the massive redevelopment will see St Peter's Square become a much more attractive public space.

Perhaps one of the most interesting projects within Manchester is the refurbishing of the Town Hall Extension by Ian Simpson. Well known his modern glass facaded buildings, a refurbishment will see the practice take a completely different approach to not just designing but architecture as a whole. How they express themselves within an already monumental building will be intriguing, however they may take a encompassing approach and simply improve the existing building with no added flare.

Demolition

A building’s life finishes with the final node, demolition. Sometimes it’s required out of necessity, other times it’s own design can be the defining factor. Except now our relationship towards construction and building has shifted, no longer can opinion determine a building's outcome, the worlds fascination with Carbon emissions has resulted in what perhaps may be a flawed system.

The attraction of constructing new “green” buildings in replace of old “inefficient” ones appears so fruitful as they are carbon neutral, a term that portrays a false vision. Carbon neutral buildings only offset the carbon they produce at the present time and during construction, however what about neighboring buildings that may not be as efficient, or what about the past 500 years of carbon emissions. Buildings don’t need to be “Carbon Neutral”, they need to be “Negative Carbon”.

As it stands by 2019 all new buildings have to be Carbon Neutral, except what about existing buildings? Surely our approach to the Carbon problem is somewhat selfish, only thinking about sole dwellings. Countries should perhaps devise new strategies that offset villages, or even cities, doing so would require less construction over the whole city. If one tower offsets a city, then the need for new builds can diminish, and in it’s place “Adaption”.

Adapting existing architecture forces a building to evolve to the current standards, vast amount of facades systems exist all over the world that can simply latch on to the external skins of buildings, reducing carbon emissions and providing new properties to the users that reside inside the structure. Algae is becoming ever so popular in modern architectural technology, and the systems currently devised can easily fuse with old buildings.

As it stands in Manchester 2 major demolitions are currently underway, the Refectory within the University of Manchester Campus, and St Mary’s Hospital. These two builds from the 2nd half of the 20th Century are the result of new builds replacing them. What is most interesting is the simplicity of their designs, especially the large tower attached to the Refectory. If one was to merely gut the building it could quite easily be developed into a much more Carbon Efficient building without the need for demolition and then reconstructing.

Schemes already exist of renovating buildings form the early 1900’s, but why can’t schemes appear to save much newer buildings, much like in Sheffield with Park Hill. Maybe then we can begin to see the importance and impact that existing buildings have on our countries carbon emissions.

Images Copyright of Jack Penford Baker

MSA Students Scoop International Award

A team of students from the [Re_Map] BArch Studio Unit at the Manchester School of Architecture have been named jointed winners in a major international architectural - WPA 2.0 'Whoever Rules the Sewers Rules the City' run by cityLAB at UCLA. There were over 300 proposals - half from professional teams, half from student teams - was tasked with 'envisioning a new legacy of publicly-supported infrastructure hybrids.' Titled 'R_Ignite: socio-economic catalyst for ailing post-industrial port towns' the joint-winners team comprises Peter Millar, Jamie Potter, Stuart Wheeler and Andy Wilde. They proposed the recycling and reuse of industrial infrastructure intertwined with social programmes to act as a catalyst for public involvement; incorporating ecology, energy production, skills, education and leisure.

The team was initially selected for a shortlist of seven finalists and travelled to Washington D.C. to attend a high-profile symposium featuring the competition jury panel which included Stan Allen, Cecil Balmond, Elizabeth Diller and Thom Mayne, as well as having their proposals exhibited at the National Building Museum. The symposium was held in the Great Hall of the National Building Museum with a keynote address from Adolfo Carrion, White House Director of Urban Affairs.

Image Credit: Peter Millar, Jamie Potter, Stuart Wheeler and Andy Wilde (6th Year, MSA) and WPA 2.0 (Facebook Feed)

‘New’ Old Trafford Cricket Ground Goes For Planning

BDP's Manchester office before a winner is announced. BDP's Manchester office have submitted a planning application to redevelop the Old Trafford Cricket Ground to the local council. The proposal is a £32million second phase scheme that will raise ground capacity to 25,000 and add new media facilities. It is hoped that this phase of development will be completed by Autumn 2012 so that Old Trafford can apply to hold on the Ashes matches the following year (it missed out on this years series with Cardiff preferred by officials from the England and Wales Cricket Board).

The first phase of the redevelopment has already started with the local MP Andy Burnham taking part in the official turf cutting on September 13th. With a construction cost of approximately £12million 'The Point' is principally a multi-purpose function space with a capacity for 1,000 people as any thing from a conference facility to a formal dinner. The name of the venue was partly inspired by BDP's designs as explained by Chief Executive Jim Cumbes “Many names were suggested, some conference led and some cricketing terminology and many hours were spent deliberating over a fitting name that ticks all the boxes. ‘The Point’ was chosen as it encompassed a number of relevant factors: a subtle cricket term; the design of the venue; and a destination." Once complete a glass facade will provide views over the cricket ground whilst moveable partitions will allow the space to be divided into smaller venues.

According to the Lancashire County Cricket Club the new designs will feature a number of 'green' initiatives including rainwater harvesting, low voltage lighting, ground source heat pumps and solar panels. The scheme is supported by the North West Regional Development Agency.

Image Credit: BDP

Rossant Award 2009

The winner of the BDP Rossant Award will be presented on Friday 11th December at 6pm. This prestigious Award was initiated in 1977 to commemorate the late Lorrie Rossant who was an architect partner at BDP in Manchester; it is open to second year students from the School of Architecture in Manchester. The award celebrates the best visual communication techniques, including draughtsmanship and electronic representation. The judging panel comprises the President of the Manchester Society of Architects and the MSA Award Secretaries as well as selected individuals from BDP. Six shortlisted candidates will give a presentation at BDP's Manchester office before a winner is announced. Last year's prize was won by Simon Bellamy.

Manchester Society of Architect's Dinner 2009

The great and the good of Manchester’s architectural scene were gathered at the Hilton Hotel on Friday night (November 6th) for the annual Manchester Society of Architect’s Dinner. Held at the Ian Simpson-designed Hilton, on Deansgate, for the third year in a row, the evening saw 300 architects put behind them the gloom of the recession to enjoy an evening of fine food and live music, not to mention the chance to catch up with old acquaintances.

The host for the evening, current President of the MSA, Simon Green gave a speech in which he highlighted the numerous successes of Manchester’s practices including the recipients of the MSA Design Awards in April 2009 (with the winning entries shown on a big screen during the meal) and touched upon other reasons for architects in Manchester to celebrate, including the inaugural Manchester Architecture and Design Festival. Arguably the main event of the evening was a speech from RIBA President Ruth Reed, the official ‘response on behalf of the guests’. The first woman President in the 175-year history of the RIBA, Ruth Reed gave a speech that was on the whole light-hearted, commending the resilience of northern architects and how Manchester was an example of how to ‘regenerate’ a city although she did briefly touch upon on the ‘banned topic of the night’, the recession.

After dinner and the speeches had concluded the evenings live entertainment, ‘The Coolers’, got underway with even Simon Green and his illustrious guests (including Ruth Reed and Colin Pugh, Acting Head of the Manchester School of Architecture) taking to the dance floor.

On the whole the evening appeared to be enjoyed by all, a perfect balance of a formal occasion, to match the long and proud history of the MSA, mixed with the informality desired by hard-working professionals wanting to celebrate and not stand on ceremony.

The MSA Dinner 2009 was kindly sponsored by Ceram Excel.

Whitworth Art Gallery Competition Winner Announced

A winner has been announced for the competition to design an extension to the University of Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery - MUMA. Originally the competition had attracted over 130 entries from a number of internationally acclaimed practices. MUMA (McInnes, Usher, McKnight Architects) have been selected for the £12million extension with plans being worked up during the early part of 2010 to form part of Whitworth’s Heritage Lottery Fund bid.

Chancellor of the University of Manchester Tom Bloxham (or Urban Splash fame) chaired the judging panel and whilst calling all of the shortlisted designs “outstanding” said that “MUMA’s design shone in its thoughtful and sensitive response to a complex brief.” He went on to say that “Amongst many delightful touches the prospect of visiting a cafe in the tree canopy was particularly enjoyed, along with many further connections between gallery and surrounding park landscape. MUMA demonstrated care not only in the development of new designs but also in their consideration of improvements to the existing building.”

MUMA’s proposal includes an art garden, second entrance, a new informal café, a landscape gallery and a study area that will allow visitors and researchers to get closer to the collections when they are not on public display.

The practices most recent work includes working on a £30 million overhaul of the Renaissance and Medieval gallerys of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Read More at BDOnline and the Architects Journal.

Image credit: Architects Journal + MUMA.

In Review | Isolative Urbanism: An Ecology of Control

Isolative Urbanism is a collection of essays from tutors and students of the BArch [Re_Map] Unit at Manchester School of Architecture. The unit, as its name may suggest, concerns itself with the mapping of the contemporary city, through analysing existing data, networks and how space is demarcated. Each of the essays presented deals with the resulting relationship between existing “urban conditions and space, public and private.” Within this framework the editors, Richard Brook and Nick Dunn, have seen fit to divide the essays into three categories: Policy, Utopia and Globalisation.

The introductory text, written by Brook and Dunn, aims to set the scene for the proceeding essays with a series of short sections that take the reader from the “notion of fragmentation” between art and architecture in the 1920s and 1930s through to Venturi’s description of the “decorated shed” and on to Paul Virilio’s musings on modern warfare. From this starting point it is clear that the following essays will deal with a myriad of challenging and complex issues. Each text is further contextualised by the placing of these theoretical studies within a setting, Barrow-in-Furness, the second largest town in Cumbria and a place referred to as a ‘30-mile cul-de-sac.’

Each essay provides the backdrop to an architectural solution that in most cases seeks to re-imagine or renew Barrow-in-Furness but without using the expected or clichéd methods that have become the norm in UK (and global) architectural policy for urban environments. These fresh perspectives often challenge the convention of established systems that have been backed by traditional capitalist ideologies and range from Grant Erskine’s proposal to remove all automobile-based transport from the town (with a 25,000 space car-park on the town’s periphery) to Ben Paterson’s plans to transform Barrow-in-Furness into a leading world port town.

At first glance these proposals may appear whimsical and far fetched but on reading the essay’s the argument behind each becomes clear and lends to them a certain credibility, a credibility strengthened by the depth of research. The essays do not go on to describe in depth the proposals, that is left to a double-page spread of greyscale images that tease at the possibilities presented but perhaps ultimately leave you wanting more. Nevertheless the rationale behind each provides a springboard for further debate on how the UK can be re-imagined in the 21C after a decade which has seen the rapid technological growth of the late 20C continue. The architectural world has been slow to catch up with the rapid changes in the structure of 'modern' society. What makes this brand of innovation proposed by the [Re-map] students so original is that they are neither dreams of an apocalyptic future nor are they unbuildable utopias, instead they sit in the playful realm of 'that's buildable' - if only we are brave enough to do so.