OMA's Ellen van Loon is the visionary behind new cultural centre for Manchester
by Tom Walker | 24 Feb 2023
The centre is located on the former site of Granada Studios / Manchester International Festival
Factory International a £186m cultural centre will open to the public in June 2023 in Manchester, UK
The building has been designed by OMA's Ellen van Loon
It is the largest investment in a national cultural project in the UK since the opening of London's Tate Modern in 2000
The centre will utilising supersized moveable walls that can be used to reconfigure the space for different exhibitions and performances from opera to raves
A £186m cultural centre, set to transform the arts and music scene globally, will open its doors in June this year.
Factory International, based in Manchester UK, but with a global outreach, is the largest investment in a national cultural project in the UK since the opening of London's Tate Modern in 2000.
The centre will house 13,350sq m of flexible floor area, utilising supersized moveable walls that can be used to reconfigure the space for different exhibitions and performances, from opera to raves.
The new cultural centre has been named after the Factory Records record-label which was founded by the late Tony Wilson in the 1980s and launched local bands such as the Happy Mondays and Joy Division. Wilson also ran Manchester’s Haçienda nightclub.
Designed by OMA's Ellen van Loon, Factory International is located near the former site of Granada Studios – where popular TV shows such as Coronation Street were filmed.
The centre forms part of the St John's new cultural community which being developed by Allied London. The building is owned by Manchester Quays, a partnership between Manchester City Council and Allied London.
Factory International will act as the permanent home for the Manchester International Festival (MIF), which runs from 29 June to 16 July and will be operated by the festival.
The opening of the festival will be marked by an immersive exhibition by Japanese conceptual artist Yayoi Kusama, called You, me and the balloons which will run from 29 June 2023 to 28 Aug 2023.
The cultural space will open in October with a contemporary dance show directed by filmmaker Danny Boyle and designed by Es Devlin, called Free Your Mind.
Free Your Mind will be inspired The Matrix and will involve some of the performers who worked with Boyle on the opening ceremony for London 2012. The first 5,000 tickets will be sold at reduced rates to enable the community to participate.
Manchester City Council gained a £100m grant from the UK government via Arts Council England towards the scheme under chancellor George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse initiative. The pandemic has caused delays and cost overruns, with the building reputedly costing £75m more than expected and being four years late.
Ellen van Loon Office for Metropolitan Architecture Manchester Factory InternationalMore news
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by Tom Walker | 05 Oct 2022
A conference held in London this month will discuss the "next frontier" in health- and wellness-based urban design and civic architecture. The Healthy City Design 2022 International Congress & Exhibition – held from 10 to 11 October 2022 – will take place at the Royal College of Physicians, London, UK and will also be streamed virtually online. Organised by Salus Global Knowledge Exchange, in collaboration with The Helen Hamlyn Centre
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Ambitious plans to create a US$4bn entertainment district in Anaheim, California, US, have been approved by the city's planning commission. The 95-acre, mixed-use ocV!BE development will be anchored by the Honda Center – the 18,000-capacity indoor arena which is the home of National Hockey League's (NHL) Anaheim Ducks. ocV!BE is driven by the Samueli family, which owns the Anaheim Ducks franchise. Set to open in 2024, the new district will
Construction marches ahead for Saudi giga-projects Amaala and The Red Sea
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The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind ultra-luxury Saudi tourism destination Amaala, has now signed over 300 contracts worth more than SAR 6.62 bn (US$1.7bn, €1.7bn £1.5bn). Underpinned by sustainability, Amaala is being designed for ultra-high net worth individuals and will centre on wellness and sports, arts and culture and sea, sun and lifestyle. Spanning 4,155sq m of the Saudi Arabian coastline, Amaala will be spread across three
HBG Design behind Michigan’s six-storey Aquadome inspired by the sun’s path across the sky
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Hospitality and entertainment design firm HBG Design is helming the design of Michigan's new Gun Lake Casino Resort Aquadome – a glass-roofed, climate-controlled, indoor landscaped pool and event centre atrium environment. The six-storey, 32,000sq ft Aquadome is part of a US$300m (£259.1m, €298.4m) site-wide overhaul of the casino. The investment is also funding the construction of a 252-room hotel and further entertainment amenities. “The Aquadome is sure to become a
Seventh International Museum Construction Congress to be held in Norway this year
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The 'world's most anticipated museum' to finally open this year
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The Grand Egyptian Museum is set to finally open its doors after a design and construction project which has taken more than 20 years to complete. Touted as the world's most anticipated museum – thanks to both its unique design and the treasures it will house – the attraction was first announced to the world in 2001. A design competition in 2002 received more than 1,500 entries, from which Heneghan
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