Factory International

Factory International is a cultural space currently being built in Manchester, England, which is to be the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival (MIF).[1]

This article is about Factory International in Manchester, England. For other uses, see Factory (disambiguation).

Factory International
Factory International building under construction
LocationFactory International
Water Street
Manchester
M3 4JQ England
Coordinates53°28′40.1844″N 02°15′27.2988″W
Public transitDeansgate station / Salford Central station / Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink
OwnerManchester Quays Ltd (MQL)
OperatorManchester International Festival
via the project's board
CapacityUp to 7,000

1,500 – 2,000 auditorium

5,000 flexible 'warehouse' space
Acreage13,300 m2 (143,000 sq ft)
Construction
Broke groundJanuary 2019
OpenedJune 2023
Construction cost£185.79 million
ArchitectOffice for Metropolitan Architecture, lead architect Ellen van Loon
Project managerManchester City Council
Structural engineerBuroHappold Engineering also civil engineer services and BREEAM
Services engineerBDP (building services) Charcoalblue (theatre)
Level Acoustics (acoustic)
Tenants
Manchester International Festival
Website
factoryinternational.org

It is designed by the international practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), founded by Rem Koolhaas and will be their first major, permanent cultural building in the United Kingdom.

Factory International's internal spaces cover approximately 13,300 m2 (143,000 sq ft), with adaptability designed to enable the commissioning of large scale and intimate work across different art forms, including dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, popular culture and digital work, plus major exhibitions and concerts. Work commissioned for Factory International will go on to be presented internationally, whilst MIF will continue to take place every two years.

History

Plans to build Factory International were announced in December 2014[2] by then Chancellor, George Osborne, who pledged a £78 million[3] investment as part of the Northern Powerhouse programme.[4] Factory International was backed by Manchester City Council, which stated that the venue would "play an integral part in helping Manchester and the north of England provide a genuine cultural counterbalance to London".[3]

The Government announced that, from 1 April 2018, they would provide Arts Council England with an additional £9 million per annum to offer revenue support to Factory.[5]: 9 

Manchester City Council granted planning permission for the building in January 2017, announcing at the same time that MIF will operate the centre[6] with Mark Ball, the former artistic director of the London International Festival of Theatre.

Location

Factory International is being constructed on the former site of Granada Studios, where Coronation Street and other TV shows were filmed and is located within St John's, a "new cultural community for Manchester"[7] being developed by Allied London, which purchased the site with Manchester City Council.[8]

Factory International's development coincides with that of the adjacent Science and Industry Museum, which "will become part of the creative public realm, with MSI's creative science ... balancing the creative and cultural production of Factory."[5]: 11  The museum is building a new £6 million Special Exhibition Gallery alongside Factory International; the new gallery was set to be complete by 2020.[9][10][11]

Factory International is situated next to the River Irwell and is close to other city centre cultural sites, including the People's History Museum, John Rylands Library, the Opera House, HOME and the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Design

The OMA was selected to design Factory International following an international competition.[12][13][14]

Factory International covers 13,300 m2 (143,000 sq ft), and will comprise three main internal spaces: the ground floor, warehouse and auditorium, with further spaces inside and outside of the building. The warehouse will have a capacity of up to 5,000 and the auditorium up to 1,600 seated. The warehouse and auditorium can present events simultaneously, and the warehouse will also have the ability to be divided into two spaces by an acoustic wall. Both spaces can also be combined to create and present different types and scales of events.[15] Two public squares on the north and west sides of the building also make up the Factory International site[16][17] and the scheme includes the restoration and reuse of the northern brick arched portion of the Grade II-listed Colonnaded Railway Viaduct.[18]

Programming

MIF will occupy and run Factory International,[19] creating a year-round programme that builds on the art that it commissions and presents for the 18-day festival, which takes place every two years.

Like MIF, Factory International's programme will focus on premieres of new work by creators and artists developed in partnership with other festivals, producers and organisations. Similar to MIF, much of the work created will go on to be presented around the world.[20]

The programme will include around 10 large-scale commissions each year, as well as major exhibitions and up to 80 live music events. It will also receive productions from around the world and host events in its outdoor public squares.

Factory International will run a year-round Creative Engagement programme, building on MIF's existing programme of work, which gives opportunities for people from different backgrounds and ages from across Manchester to volunteer, perform in festival events, participate in creative activities, learn new skills and showcase their work.[21]

Factory International will work with and within local communities across Greater Manchester involving them as artistic collaborators in participatory projects and productions shaped by them.

MIF will continue to take place every two years, bringing new work to venues and found spaces across Greater Manchester, working with the region's cultural organisations.

Pre-Factory events

In the run up to Factory International, MIF is commissioning and presenting a series of artists and events.[22] Pre-Factory commissions have included Akram Khan’s Giselle;[23] Thomas Ostermeier’s Returning to Reims;[24] Available Light by composer John Adams, choreographer Lucinda Childs and architect Frank Gehry;[25] Everything that happened and would happen[26] by German composer and artist Heiner Goebbels; Special Edition, a series of musical offerings presented with The Warehouse Project;[27] Invisible Cities,[28] a co-commission between MIF, 59 Productions and Rambert; Ivo Van Hove’s The Fountainhead;[29] Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Atmospheric Memory;[30] and To The Moon by Laurie Anderson.[31]

Virtual Factory

In July 2020, MIF launched Virtual Factory,[32] a series of online commissions by leading international artists, inspired by Factory International, its architecture and the history of the site. The first commission was Your Progress Will Be Saved,[33] by the artist avatar LaTurbo Avedon, in which Factory International was built in the global gaming platform Fortnite Creative. Future artists include Jenn Nkiru, Tai Shani and Robert Yang.

Opening programme

In September 2022, Factory International announced their opening programme. It included Free Your Mind, an immersive Matrix films-themed dance, music and visual effects experience directed by Danny Boyle,[34] You Me and the Balloons, the world's biggest ever show by Yayoi Kusama,[35] and The Welcome, a series of special events and performances curated by the people of Greater Manchester.

Training and employment

Factory International delivers a skills, engagement and training programme under the banner the Factory Academy. Over five years it is expected to create up to 1,400 fully funded skills and training places, particularly targeted at young people, providing an entry point to work in the creative industries, and reach up to 10,000 young people in the region through further learning and engagement opportunities.[36] Factory International is anticipated to bring 1,500 full time jobs and add up to £1.1 billion to Manchester's economy over a decade.[37] It will also offer a skills, training and engagement programme for people living across Greater Manchester.[38]

The Factory Academy is backed by the Greater Manchester Cultural Skills Consortium.[39]

Since launching in 2018, the Factory Academy has delivered several projects. In January 2019, seven local people who were not in education or employment completed a seven-month traineeship with MIF in roles such as IT, digital, production, ticketing and development. In January 2020, five young people were employed as Creative Venue Technician apprentices with Consortium members.[40]

People's Forum and Young People's Forum

In early 2019, MIF launched the People's Forum, a group that meets regularly to help inform the development of MIF and Factory International. The group is made up of 15 members from across Greater Manchester, who were selected following an open call. A Young People's Forum has been running since early 2018, providing perspectives on youth culture and issues in Manchester.[41]

The council also announced that an application for a new charity, The Factory Trust, to be chaired by Sir Howard Bernstein has been made to the Charities Commission. The council state that, "once the trust has charitable status, it will begin a programme of applications to Trusts and Foundations alongside approaches to individuals and corporations."[15]: 7 

Timescale

The timeframe of the project contains the following key milestones:

  • July 2015 – issue of the contract for design services[42]
  • Mid-November 2015 – design team appointments[43]
  • January 2017 – planning application submission [5]: 15 
  • February 2017 to December 2022 – construction[5]: 15 
  • Winter 2022 – MIF take ownership of Factory International
  • June 2023 – opening
Funding for the building of Factory International[5]: 13–14 [15]
Source of funding Amount £m (% of all funding)
Exchequer via ACE grant
78.5(42.25%)
Manchester City Council
50.6(27.24%)
Cultural Capital Kickstart Fund
21(11.3%)
ACE Lottery grant
7(3.7%)
Fundraising
25(13.4%)

Total amount = £185.79m

See also

Further reading
  • 151-page overview of the background and design of the factory: OMA (October 2016). Design and access statement: Factory (pdf). Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).

References
  1. Williams, Verity (15 June 2016). "MIF's Giselle at The Palace Theatre, preview: Dancing to a different tune". Creative Tourist. Creative Tourist Ltd. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  2. Citations:
  3. "Manchester to get new £78m theatre named The Factory". BBC News. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  4. "Manchester to get new £78m theatre". BBC News. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  5. Manchester City Council (July 2016). Executive meeting: 16. Updated Draft St Johns Strategic regeneration framework and Factory Manchester (Report). Manchester City Council. Retrieved 22 July 2016. Pdf. Archived 1 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Factory Manchester Gets the GO Ahead!". Manchester’s Finest. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. "Vision". St. John's, Manchester. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  8. "Granada's Quay Street complex bought by Allied London and Manchester City Council". Prolific North. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  9. Barlow, Nigel (28 November 2019). "Work starts on new Special Exhibitions Gallery at Manchester's Science and Industry Museum". About Manchester. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  10. "Building our new gallery". msimanchester.org.uk. Museum of Science and Industry. Retrieved 18 January 2017. Pdf of Carmody Groarke's design.
  11. "Museum of Science and Industry". carmodygroarke.com. Carmody Groarke. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  12. admin (26 November 2015). "The Factory Manchester arts building". e-architect. World Architecture. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  13. Brown, Mark (25 November 2015). "Rem Koolhaas wins Factory design project as Manchester goes Dutch". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  14. Staff writer (November 2015). "Images". boltonquinn.com. Bolton & Quinn. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  15. Manchester City Council (26 July 2017). Executive meeting: 9. Factory Manchester (Report). Manchester City Council. Retrieved 29 July 2017. Pdf.
  16. OMA (October 2016), "Introduction", in OMA (ed.), Design and access statement: Factory (151 pages) (pdf), OMA, p. 7
  17. "The Factory". stjohnsmanchester.com. Manchester Quays Ltd (MQL). Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  18. Historic England 1200805
  19. Walters, Sarah (12 January 2017). "Manchester International Festival will operate The Factory". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  20. "MIF travels across the globe". Manchester International Festival. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  21. "Get involved". Manchester International Festival. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  22. "Pre-Factory events". Manchester International Festival. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  23. Anglesey, Natalie (28 September 2016). "Review: Akram Khan's Giselle, at Palace Theatre, Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  24. Crompton, Sarah (10 July 2017). "Review: Returning to Reims (HOME, MIF)". What's On Stage. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  25. Mackrell, Judith (7 July 2017). "Available Light review – Lucinda Childs' minimalist movers weave through John Adams' music". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  26. Morrison, Richard (12 October 2018). "Theatre review: Everything that happened and would happen at the Mayfield, Manchester". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  27. Oliver, Jake (15 November 2018). "Live Review: Bicep (WHP x MIF)". The Mancunion. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  28. Monahan, Mark (5 July 2019). "Invisible Cities, Manchester International Festival review: Brunel meets Dante in this spellbinding spectacle". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  29. Williams, Holly (9 July 2019). "Ivo van Hove: 'I want to make the most extreme production possible'". inews. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  30. Bonime, Western (19 August 2019). "Future Everything explores the impact of our voice on the world in Atmospheric Memory". Forbes. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  31. Eastham, Ben (9 August 2019). "Satellite of Love". ArtReview. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  32. Heward, Emily (2 July 2020). "Take a virtual tour of Manchester's massive new Factory arts centre". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  33. Webster, Andrew (1 July 2020). "The latest modern art installation is inside Fortnite". The Verge. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  34. "Danny Boyle Matrix 'spectacular' to open Manchester's Factory". the Guardian. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  35. Bakar, Faima. "The world's biggest ever Yayoi Kusama show will open in the UK next year". Time Out United Kingdom. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  36. Snow, Georgia (23 September 2020). "MIF pledges to help 10,000 unemployed young people into creative industries". The Stage. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  37. "The Factory – a new creative space for the city centre". Manchester City Council.
  38. Black, Maya (4 November 2019). "Arrival of The Factory Academy brings new opportunities for careers in the arts". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  39. "The Factory Academy". Manchester International Festival. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  40. MEN (3 February 2020). "Apprenticeship Week sees launch of new creative opportunities in Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  41. "Connect". Manchester International Festival. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  42. "Provision of design services lots 1–7 for the Factory Development, Manchester". UnitedKingdom-Tenders.co.uk. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  43. Manchester City Council (29 July 2015). Executive meeting: 16. The Factory Manchester: Project Delivery (Report). Manchester City Council. pp. 222–224. Retrieved 5 August 2015. point 5.0. Pdf.

Notes
Note 1 The original timeline was as follows:
  • May 2016 – planning application submission
  • January 2017 to December 2018 – construction
  • January 2019 to June 2019 – commissioning of facilities and test events
  • July 2019 – opening ceremony
Note 2 The revised timeline was as follows:
  • End of 2019 – opening ceremony
Reference to Note 1
Reference to Note 2
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