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An OMA-designed arts venue first revealed in 2015 has been given planning approval by Manchester City Council, moving the £110 million facility another step towards realization. Factory will occupy the site of the former Granada TV Studios, which once housed productions for famous shows like Coronation Street and University Challenge until 2013.
Renderings for the project show two distinct adjoining volumes: a boxy edifice with a concave roof and linear facade accentuations attached to a non-orthogonal organ-like mass. OMA's Ellen van Loon and Rem Koolhaas are working with developer Allied London — who is spearheading the renaissance of the St John's neighbourhood — to bring the project to fruition. Factory will be operated by Manchester International Festival and host dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, and spoken word events.
The transformative project has been hailed as a potential game changer for Manchester, with the cultural facility expected to compete with the best that rival London has to offer. It is estimated that the facility will boost the region's economy by £1.1 billion over the next ten years. Factory is the Dutch firm's first major UK project and it is anticipated that construction will begin in the spring of 2017. Initial figures suggest the centre could see 900,000 visitors every year, including approximately 200,000 from outside Greater Manchester.
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