Manchester Metropolitan University Arts and Humanities Building

This expansion of the university's teaching, cultural and public spaces, dovetails with the adjacent Grade II listed Grosvenor Building - the original Manchester School of Art - to create a unified arts centre at the heart of MMU's All Saints campus. The building is designed to encourage strong public engagement through a porous and active ground floor with many uses. It brings together a dynamic mix of the performing arts, media, and languages alongside the newly established Manchester Poetry Library, a cafe/restaurant, public foyers, exhibition space and a 180-seat studio theatre. The project strengthens the bond between the university and its city, showcasing its creative strengths and cultural artefacts.

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The design takes advantage of its prominent location on Oxford Road

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Rising seven storeys, the building's exterior utilises light coloured concrete and copper coloured metallic elements

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Context

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The interior is structured around a four-storey atrium, the ground floor open to the public

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Walkways lead from the lifts and stairs to the heart of the building

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The design and configuration of the new building facilitates inter-disciplinary work with flexible spaces fostering connections

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The new building's character, its sense of permanence and civic quality, reflect the aspirations and identity of the University

City: Manchester, UK
Uses: Culture, Education
Client: Manchester Metropolitan University
Status: Completed
Size: 12,300 sqm
Environmental credentials: Targeting BREEAM Very Good
Awards: BD Higher Education Architect of the Year Award 2021, North West Construction Award Sub-regional Project of the Year 2020, North West Construction Award Digital Construction Award 2020,
Collaborators: Structure: Arup
Services: Arup
Acoustics: SRL
Cost: Turner & Townsend
Access: Turner & Townsend
Sustainability: Arup
Theatre: CharcoalBlue