“It is a building that is proud of its product and shows the work to everyone... It’s a hugely exciting arena where anything is possible and everything is relevant.”
David Crow, Dean of Manchester School of Art
Based in the heart of Manchester, the School of Art is a pioneer of art and design education in the UK, celebrating its 175th Anniversary in 2013. The school was established in the 19th Century to help keep the region competitive in an international market and support regional industry in a wider marketplace. This remains an important objective for the Art School and a key part of the brief was to help it bridge the gap between education and professional life.
The architects at FCB Studios designed a highly visible new vertical gallery space which acts as a shop window providing a showcase for the School of Art to the university and the wider city. Behind the gallery is an interactive ‘hybrid’ studio designed to break down traditional hierarchies and foster creative collaboration between disciplines instead.
Description of project by FCB Studios
Design approach
Our approach was to express a modern interpretation of the traditional warehouse typology which made Manchester such a success through its textile trade in the 19th century.
The new built element of the project comprises two key elements. The first is the working heart of the building comprising open studios, workshops and teaching spaces known as the Design Shed.
The second is the seven-storey Vertical Gallery - the link between the existing 1960s arts tower and the new studio building. This gallery provides a showcase space for students’ creations and a shop window for the faculty itself.
Concept
The aim of the new building is to celebrate the commonalities of the various art and design disciplines and encourage students to work alongside each other and enjoy the crossover in an open, terraced hybrid environment, rather than working in the silos common to many art and design establishments.
With its vast glazed façade, it is also a building that proudly showcases its students’ work to all who pass by, it is a ‘Window on the Arts’.
