Dutch architect to design The Factory Manchester

OFFICE for Metropolitan Architecture run by Dutchman Rem Koolhaas has won the international competition to design The Factory Manchester, the city’s cutting-edge arts venue.

The Government has agreed revenue funding for the £110m project for £9m per year from 2018/19 as part of the Spending Review. It will be OMA’s first major public building in the UK.

Manchester City Council says The Factory will be a new type of large scale venue which captures the extraordinary creative vision and depth of Manchester’s cultural life and will be a flagship cultural centre for the North and North West.

The Government pledged £78m in last year’s Autumn Statement towards the project as part of its Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Manchester City Council will develop the rest of the funding package, which will include third party support such as public subscription and donations, as part of the detailed business case.

Capital receipts from planned land and property sales will generate the council’s contribution to capital funding.

The Factory will form a part of the new St John’s neighbourhood, which is being developed by Allied London in partnership with Manchester City Council, on the site of the former Granada TV Studios.

The 15-acre site will form a new neighbourhood for people to live, work, create and experience with residential, workspace, hotels, independent food and drink, extensive public realm and open green spaces.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “One of the biggest economic investments we can make in our nation is in our extraordinary arts heritage.

“That’s why, as part of our package for the Northern Powerhouse, we have backed The Factory with significant investment because we know it will provide an outstanding new arts venue to be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds for generations to come.”

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: “The importance of The Factory cannot be overstated. It will be of international significance, the cultural anchor for the next phase of economic and cultural regeneration in Manchester, Greater Manchester and beyond. It will help power Manchester and the wider region towards becoming a genuine cultural and economic counterbalance to London, as well as being a place where inspirational art is created.”
 
OMA founder Rem Koolhaas said: “I look forward to realising this radical arts building for Manchester. It is wonderful to participate in the longstanding renaissance of the city, and particularly the Festival, where real experimentation is expected.”
 
Allied London chief executive Michael Ingallsaid: “This is a wide-reaching community and cultural project. We were delighted to see the quality of responses from the design teams but particularly pleased with the choice of architect, having studied several important projects designed by OMA over recent years.”

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