Manchester City Council approves plans for a "flagship cultural venue"

Date
12 January 2017
Above

The Factory Manchester, images by Bolton & Quinn

The plans for a “flagship cultural venue” for the North were granted planning approval by Manchester City Council today. The venue, named Factory, was designed by Rem Koolhaas architects Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).

Factory will be OMA’s first public building in the UK, and will be constructed with £78 million of government capital investment. Forming part of the newly established St John’s neighbourhood and built on the site of former Granada TV Studios, Factory will be run by Manchester International Festival.

A programme of dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, spoken word and groundbreaking contemporary work is set to take place in the space, which OMA’s Ellen van Loon described as “a platform for a new cultural scene.”

The Rt Hon Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital & Culture said of the project: “I want to blast open access to the very best world-class art and culture we have to offer in this country. So we’re investing £78 million into Factory in Manchester that will provide a further boost to the brilliant arts, culture and technology scene in the North. On top of that, it will also help local tourism, generate jobs and provide training opportunities for the next generation of British creatives.”

Construction of Factory will commence this spring.

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Bryony Stone

Bryony joined It's Nice That as Deputy Editor in August 2016, following roles at Mother, Secret Cinema, LAW, Rollacoaster and Wonderland. She later became Acting Editor at It's Nice That, before leaving in late 2018.

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