Manor Point

The first piece of Manchester specific news to break in 2010 (at least from an architectural perspective) is that Carey Jones Architects have unveiled plans for a new eight-storey development of 672 student apartments - Manor Point. Subject to planning permission the project is expected to be complete in 2012.

Rossant Award 2009 Winner Announced

Congratulations to Abhi Chauhan who was awarded top honours in the 2009 Rossant Award sponsored by BDP. Awarded to students for work completed during their second year of study at Manchester School of Architecture, the Rossant Award was originally established to commend draftsmanship but has since evolved to praise all forms of visual communication.

From an original longlist of 12 students a shortlist of 12 were invited to give a short presentation of their work at BDP’s offices on Friday 11th December. Abhi was the first of the shortlisted students to present and gave an insightful presentation into how he had crafted a series of images for both of his second year studio projects from a variety of media, emphasising the use of model-making and photomontage in particular. In addition to the prestigious Rossant Award trophy Abhi is to receive a £500 cash prize.

Manchester's Boom

"Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry" Buttress Fuller Alsop William Copyright

This week has seen an extraordinary amount of new building details emerge throughout the city of Manchester. From the previously reported Gateway House Competition to Sheppard Robson's new MMU Hulme Campus design. Also is the news that Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams' design for Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry, which had previously been designed by Manchester School of Architecture's very own former head of school David Dernie, however the £58million project lost funding and as a result the design was scrapped.

"Tameside College" Aedas Copyright

Aedas this week submitted plans for a new Building for Tameside College in Ashton-under-Lyne, the design provides the college with 2,800sqm of space and is hoped to become a vibrant educational facility.

Bennett Architects Copyright

Two master plans were also revealed this week. Bennett's released images depicting their plans for a new Civil Servant district, next to Picadilly Station. It's purpose enforces the vastly growing presence of Manchester as a Capital of the North, and the beginning of it's London like expansion, which includes Salford's Media City and the growing city centre.

"MMU Community Campus" Sheppard Robson Copyright

The second master plan is Sheppard Robson's MMU Community Campus within the heart of Hulme. Student Accommodation and a major public space will be included, and the design hopes to create a new vibrant area out of the somewhat disheartened Hulme area.

Hodder + Partners Copyright

Stephen Reinke Copyright

The final piece of news regards the illustrious Gateway House that sits right outside Picadilly Station, earlier this year we reported of a competition for a redesign of the building. A shortlist has now appeared, and the two final Architects in the running are Stephen Reinke Architects and Hodder + Partners. Reinke have chosen to be fairly brutal with the existing unlisted building, their proposal would strip back a hefty amount of the original building for it's design, however Hodder's design is slightly more gracious to Gateway House, their design adds a new look facade, whilst keeping the building's flowing form.

All of this news helps to promote the expansion of Manchester as a truly modern city, and a leader in the growth of the United Kingdom.

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.