建築家のエレン・ヴァン・ルーンは、この建物を文化表現のための多目的な舞台として思い描いています。
「私はこれまで数多くの劇場やパフォーマンス・スペースを手掛けてきました、パフォーマーに何を提供するかという点で、この劇場に比肩するものはありません。この会場は、舞台芸術の可能性を最大限に引き出すプラットフォームとして機能します。廃墟と化した産業革命後の建物や地域が地図から抹消され、その中でかつて繁栄していたクリエイティブなシーンも一緒に抹消されてしまうことがあまりにも多いのです。この建物は、失われたものを復活させるものなのです」

ファクトリー・インターナショナルは、OMAにとってイギリス初の公共プロジェクトとなります。この開発はマンチェスター市議会が主導し、英国政府から9,905万ポンド、アーツ・カウンシル・イングランドから700万ポンドのナショナル・ロッタリー資金が支援されています。

このプロジェクトはエレン・ヴァン・ルーンが担当し、キャロル・パターソン、ゲイリー・オーウェン、ジョナサン・テルカンプが主要な貢献を果たしました。

以下の写真はクリックで拡大します

以下、リリーステキストです。

OMA / Ellen van Loon-designed Aviva Studios, Home of Factory International, Completes

Aviva Studios by OMA / Ellen van Loon has completed construction. This multipurpose cultural venue serves as the permanent residence of Factory International, the organization behind the biannuals Manchester International Festival (MIF). In its new venue, Factory International will commission, produce and present a year-round program. Premiering tonight will be Free Your Mind, a dramatic retelling of the classic sci-fi film The Matrix, created especially for the opening.

The 13,350 square meter building has been designed to cater to a need for total flexibility and adaptability. The first venue of its kind in the UK, and one of the largest and most ambitious of such developments in Europe, it is capable of hosting both artistic performances and exhibitions of various scales immersive exhibitions, theater productions, intimate concerts, raves separately or simultaneously. It allows its users to break free from the constraints of conventional venues and offers artists a platform to experiment with new modes of expression.

The building’s design is centered around large, open, flexible spaces that will continuously adapt and reconfigure to meet the requirements of work created and presented in the building. Key elements include the 33 meters wide, 64 meters long and 21 meters high Warehouse, the ultimate flexible performance space, with a theater grid spanning the entirety of the area. The Warehouse features two supersized moveable ‘Multiwalls’ which enable an almost limitless number of configurations within the expansive space. Plugged into the Warehouse is the Hall, a 1603 seat auditorium with a flexible stage, able to accommodate ballet, theater, music, and cross-art performances. The Hall and the Warehouse can work in tandem, allowing the stage to extend deep into the Warehouse.

The site is representative of the industrial and cultural history of Manchester, referenced in the building’s design through its use of corrugated metal and rough concrete. The building is lifted over Water Street and incorporates the 19th century arches from the Pineapple railway. Typically, venues of this size are relegated to the outskirts due to noise concerns. However, by enclosing the structure with dual layers of concrete and employing advanced acoustic techniques, the highest sound insulation was achieved, allowing the building to be part of the city center.

Ellen van Loon, architect of the building, envisions this structure as a versatile stage for cultural expression. “I’ve worked on numerous theaters and performance spaces, but none compare to this one in terms of what it offers to performers. This venue serves as a platform, unlocking the full potential of the performing arts. All too often, abandoned post-industrial buildings and neighborhoods are erased from the map, and with them the creative scenes that once thrived within them. This building reinstates what was lost.”

Factory International marks OMA’s first public project in the UK. The development is led by Manchester City Council, with backing of £99.05m from HM Government and £7m National Lottery funding from Arts Council England.

The project was undertaken by Ellen van Loon, with key contributions from Carol Patterson, Gary Owen and Jonathan Telkamp.

■建築概要

Project: Factory International (Aviva Studios)
Status: Completed
Client: Manchester City Council, Factory International (Manchester International Festival)
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
Site: 1.80 hectares
Gross Internal Area: 13,350sqm
Program: Mixed Use, Theatre
Warehouse Capacity: Up to 5,000 people standing (2,565 sqm)
Hall Capacity: Multiple configurations with maximum of 1,600 seated or 2,000 standing, 22m wide proscenium and orchestra pit for 80 musicians
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Design Team: Ellen van Loon, Rem Koolhaas, Carol Patterson, Gary Owen, Jonathan Telkamp, Tanner Merkeley, Jacopo Bellina, Paloma Bule, Anita Ernodi, Marc-Achille Filhol, Benedetta Gatti, Aris Gkitzias, Michalis Hadjistyllis, Jason Houssein, Lisa Huang, Aleksandr Joksimovic, Hans Larsson, Thijs van der Lely, Emma Lubbers, Dirk van der Meij, Tanner Merkeley, Felix Morczinek, Tom Paling, Maria Aller Rey, Mario Rodriguez, Helena Rong, Won Ryu, Saskia Simon, Lukasz Skalec, Wael Sleiman, Iason Stathatos, Koen Stockbroekx, Shinji Takagi, Nicola Vitale, Frederike Werner, Tom Xia, Yushang Zhang
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Collaborators
Technical Architects: Allies and Morrison, Ryder Architecture
Construction Partners: Laing O’Rourke
Structure and Civil Engineers: Buro Happold, BDP
Acoustic Engineer: Level Acoustics
Fire Engineer: WSP
Stage Engineering: Charcoal Blue
Vertical Transportation: Pearson Consult
Landscape Design: Planit.IE
IT: Strata
Transport Planning: Vectos
Services Engineer: Buro Happold
FF&E: Ben Kelly and Brinkworth
Graphic Design: Peter Saville and NORTH Design