Manchester Heritage Archive Nestor Ruiz Medina Manchester School of Architecture
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INDEX
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1. Final Proposal.............................................................. 5 2. Development.............................................................. 31
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1. FINAL PROPOSAL
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LITTLE IRELAND Little Ireland was one of the most influential industrial areas in Manchester. Characterised by the Irish settlement in it, the racism and problems created by the clash of cultures were evident. People lived and worked in unsuited buildings, most of them non-existent in the present. The future plans for the area consist of an expansion of Oxford Rd station. But, where does Manchester heritage stand now? Most of the old buildings from Little Ireland were destroyed, and with them the cultural narrative that they once told. Some of the remaining ones might not be there for a long span of time, and this is a cause for controversy. In a global context they might not seem important, but locally they once represented and continue to represent the city. They show Manchester’s present stance making them an essential part of the city’s heritage.
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OXFORD RD STATION SQUARE Considered the heart of the current Little Ireland - Oxford Road Station constitutes one of the most important transport hubs of the city. It’s surroundings are redesigned in order to create a public space where the community can gather, and improve all form of access to the station. The differentiation in the materiality for the new proposal defines the use of that specific area in within the square. Concrete walls guide the user to the station, who walks over a stone pavement complemented with green areas. Using the topography of the site, seating areas are covered in concrete on top of every slope turning the square from a transition space, into a social gathering space.
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CONCEPTS As an urban regeneration scheme, Manchester’s Heritage Archive possesses the function of educating society about their past in order to improve the future. Trying to stablish itself as a landmark part of the cityscape, preserving and honouring the past societies is the main objective. The construction is designed to be an exhibit on its own with a predominant tower, mimicking the industrial forms from the cotton mills. The exposed structure in the monolith tower references Victorian iron architecture. Visiting Lister Square in Edinburgh triggered this concepts, where the clash between old & new architecture was surprising, but the references between one and another where evident.
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BRAND As an archive, the importance towards the city seems tremendous. The building is branded in order to transmit people’s feelings and experiences towards the outside. This logo would stay associated to the archive, and it’s presence throughout the design its essential, such as in door handles and exhibition elements. Society would automatically associate this logo to their roots and the city of Manchester. Due to its proximity to Oxford Rd Station, the building is one of the first impressions travellers get from Manchester, which will hopefully transcend the brand across the country.
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PROGRAMME STRATEGY The archive is perceived as a journey of knowledge. The building is accessed from the public square, into the reception, which its and exhibition space itself. The main exhibition spaces are connected by a set of staircases, creating a restricted path that the client has to follow, in order to expose the different elements of the archive in a rational and lineal way. This journey ends up when the user is able to access the top of the observatory tower, which is 95 meters tall, and envision everything that it has learnt throughout the main exhibitions. Underground, the auditorium is situated, with capacity to hold events and talks regarding Manchester’s Architectural Heritage. Below it, the storage and plant rooms are located. All the spaces are connected by a lift, which is the main access the to the observatory tower.
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OBSERVATORY TOWER The observatory introduces a new concept to the city of Manchester: Recognition. Perceived as an industrial city by the outsiders, the importance and beauty of the cityscape is not taken into account by some of the citizens. This is a space where people can admire the development of a city in continuous growth, with an immense importance in the paradigm of the United Kingdom
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BUILDING AS EXHIBIT The artefacts to be exhibited in the building are intended to be part of it, rather than separate elements. Integrating them as part of the furniture instead of enclosing them in a glass boxes emphasizes this concept. Ruins, paintings, projections, photographs; they all come together in the same space to create an atmosphere where the user feels that he is part of the city. The exposed steel structure in conjunction with the raw concrete slabs creates this industrial environment where the artefacts and the clients interact.
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CITYSCAPE Presiding the site in conjunction with The Palace Hotel and Student Castle, the tower rises as the main element in the fabric of the building. The steel structure supported by deep concrete foundations, reveals its skeleton throughout its way up, just to enclose itself on the top level in order to accommodate a suitable space for the user to visualize the city of Manchester.
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MANCHESTER HERITAGE ARCHIVE
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2. DEVELOPMENT
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SITE SKETCHES
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SITE ANALYSIS In a central site, where the spaces are reduced, the distribution of them seems essential. While analysing the site, a few disadvantages were found. First of all, the disabled access
is complicated, without any facilities corresponding to this need. The seating areas are limited, not encouraging the use of the space. Public spaces are not well defined and 50% of the site is bordered by the unused Cornerhouse building, wasting a covered space
which could be very useful to solve all the inconveniences exposed above. In addition
to this, its a place which feels unsafe at later times, not making it neither practical for the users of it, and uncomfortable for the clients of the train station.
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Figure Key 1 - Site Plan
2 - Shadows (March, July, November) 3 - Green Areas 4 - Sun Paths
5 - Vehicle Circulation 6 - Wind Paths
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7 - Pedestrian Circulation 8 - Spatial Relationship
REDESIGNING THE CONTEXT In order to solve the issues already analysed in the site, and taking into account the scheme used by ZigZag Arquitectos, a gradual level change in the natural slope of
the site is created. Sustainable areas contribute positively to the community, and this is why the traffic is completely separated from the pedestrian circulation. This clear differentiation appears when the Cornerhouse Building, which is unused, is rearranged in order to contain a walkway into the station, as well as a lift, to improve the disabled
access, which is possible through the sloped steps in the main area of the site. In addition, a drop-off area is built in the space of the Cornerhouse. The improvements, especially in the green areas and sitting spaces, make the site more appealing to the public, and reduces the danger feeling in the later times of the day, with the possibility of including lightboxes below the seating spaces.
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Figure Key 1 - Terraces - Concrete Walls 2 - Seating Areas
3 - Stone Pavement 4 - Green Areas
5 - Conceptual Montage
6 - Green Areas Isometric 7 - Traffic Circulation
8 - Pedestrian Circulation 9 - 3D Model
10 - Physical Model 1:500
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MASS VISUALIZATION
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VOLUMETRIC STUDIES As mentioned before, the vision of a monolithic mass erecting from the site seems very appealing . When tested on site, the connection between the Palace Hotel tower, the Student Castle and the proposal is almost instantaneous (Fig 3). Analysing it from a closer point of view, it looks almost absurd and out of place (Fig 2). Merging up this two ideas, a monolithic mass ruled by a tower seems like a logical form (Fig. 1). A direct connection between the two main elements of the proposal are evident: lower volumes and tower. With a solid extrusion as a starting point, carving out pieces of material starts to create a shape that adapts to the site in a logical way, responding to its different levels, and the same time creating a more dynamic shape (Fig 4).
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Figure Key 1 - Lower Volumes Iterations 2 - Monolithic Mass On Site 3 - Skyline
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4 - Volumetric Studies
INITIAL VISUALIZATION
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HISTORICAL RESEARCH Little Ireland was one of the most influential industrial areas in Manchester. Characterised by the Irish settlement in it, the racism and problems created by the clash of cultures were evident. People lived and worked in unsuited buildings, most of them non-existent in the present. The future plans for the area consist of an expansion of Oxford Rd station. But, where does Manchester heritage stand now? Most of the old buildings from Little Ireland were destroyed, and with them the cultural narrative that they once told. Some of the remaining ones might not be there for a long span of time, and this is a cause for controversy. In a global context they might not seem important, but locally they once represented and continue to represent the city and show Manchester’s present stance making them an essential part of the city’s presence.
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Past
Present
1926 Residential Business Warehouse Overground River Mixed Residential/Business
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Future
EDINBURGH INSPIRATION Found in the middle of an oasis of glass and steel in Edinburgh, this square seems like a peaceful place. Despite all the noise created by the construction works being done around it, the flow of people is reduced and it feels fresh and cold. Considered as the
heart of the Quartermile complex designed by Foster + Partners, this square smells like new, with a grey colour scheme appreciated throughout the main buildings. Although its new and fresh, some old buildings are being kept, colliding with the new ones as if
they were built at the same time. This questions if the identity of the city is being kept in the area. This collision between old & new brought up the analysis about the buildings
which tell a story, the ones that show the cultural narrative of the city, which are the old ones. Why should they be kept, or why should they be destroyed? The fact is they have to be remembered, and people should be made aware of that. At this point, the idea of
an archive seemed appealing, where this concern could be shared exhibiting archive material to the public.
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OLD & NEW
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CATALOGUE Reception / Lobby Contemporary art pieces “They might not be the greatest, but they are the cultural narrative of the city” NEON Paintings Valette Painting of Albert Square, Manchester in 1910 Painting of Oxford Road, Manchester in 1910 A detail from Manchester Ship Canal Study of a ‘Cab at All Saints’ 1909-1911 India House, Manchester 1912 Hansom cab at Old Saints 1910 Study for Base of Statues 1910 Windsor Bridge on the Orwell 1909 Central Station 1910-1911 Study for the irwell 1913 (Fig 4) L. S. Lowry Coming from the Mill 1917 A Manufacturing Town 1922 Industrial Landscape 1955 (Fig 5) Industrial Machinery Water Frame Spinning Jenny Spinning Mule Spinning worsted yarn Flax Steam engine Flying shuttle Roller Spinning machine Films Last of the Industrial Revolution - A Manchester Procession film Manchester City Centre, How it used to be British Industrial Revolution: Manchester Remainings of Buildings
Photographs Photographs relating to the exterior of schools and colleges Industrial Archaeology, Sir Richard Arkwrights Spinning Jenny (Fig 1) Industrial Archaeology, The Spinning Jenny Industrial Archaeology, Dancer’s Micrometer Microscope for calculating thermometers for J. P. Joule, Manchester Industrial buildings Factories, sketch of an industrial building (Fig 6) Industrial Archaeology, Shaping Machine by Sharp, Roberts and Co, Manchester Industrial Archaeology, Tank-Engine-”Flora”, Manchester South Junction Railway Co, Manchester Industrial Archaeology, possibly shows John Street Chorlton on Medlock, Manchester (Fig 3) Industrial Archeology, Rolls Royce (Fig 2)
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Books Bolton Metropolitan Borough Planning Records Manchester : the hidden history / Michael Nevell. Industrial Architecture: a survey of factory building Industrial Architecture in Britain, 1750-1939 Industrial Manchester & Salford: annual report of the Manchester & Salford Trades Council 1931-1932 Newsletter - Manchester Region Industrial Archaeology Society Canals, rivers, and the industrial city: Manchester’ industrial waterfront, 1790-18501: MANCHESTER’S INDUSTRIAL... Industrial archaeology in Manchester The emergence of stability in the industrial city: Manchester, 1832-67 Living in the Industrial City: Housing Quality, Land Ownership and the Archaeological Evidence from Industrial Manchester Canals, rivers, and the industrial city: Manchester’s industrial waterfront, 1790-18501 Manchester: heart of the industrial north Inner Manchester: components of industrial change in the corporate context Transport and the Industrial City. Manchester and the Canal Age National image and self image: Manchester since the Industrial Revolution Change and apathy: Liverpool and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution An introduction to the industrial archaeology of Manchester and South Lancashire Plans & Maps Plan of Sir Josephs Industrial School, Victoria Road Victoria Park Plan of: (1) sheet Metal Works, Western Industrial Area adjoining Shady Lane & Floats Road, Baguley (2) Revised Plan and Section (3) Steelwork Details (4) Extension to Sheet Metal Works and Revised plan and section of the First portion (5) R C Details of Roof slab to Sub Station (6) Details of Steelwork (7) Revised details of Steelwork (8) Compressor House Plan of: (1) Erection of Research Laboratories and Workshop, road No 11, Southern Industrial Area, Wythenshawe (2 & 6) Steelwork details (3) Canteen (4)Extension to Workshop and erection of Lodge (5) New Workshop Plan of: (1) Factory offices and laboratories, Floats Road and Shady Lane, Roundthorn Industrial Area, Wythenshawe (2) Steelwork and R C details (3) 1st floor extension and erection of Solvent Store Plan of: Factory and Offices, Roundthorn Industrial Area, Floats Road & Shady Lane, Baguley Plan of: !) Factory and offices, Floats Road & Shady Lane, Roundthorn Industrial Area, Wythenshawe 2) Details of steelwork 3) Boiler house and tank room 4) Details of steelwork to office block 5) R C details Plan of: 1) Canteen to factory, Western Road & Shady Lane, Roundthorn Industrial Area, Wythenshawe 2) Details of steelwork Plan of: (1) Conversion of Industrial School into Police Divisional Headquarters and Hostel. St Joseph’ Buildings, Grindlow Street, Stockport Road and Richmond Grove, Longsight (2) Conversion of portion of Industrial School into Garage and Transport Section of Police Divisional Headquarters Plan of: Grindlow Street & Plymouth Grove, City of Manchester Old ordnance survey maps. Manchester and district 1896. Scale: 1 inch to 1 mile. England sheet 85 : 1999 Census 1981. Small area statistics. 9 Ordnance Survey sheets. Old Ordnance Survey Maps: Manchester and district 1896 sheet 85 Ordnance Survey sheet no. 109 Manchester. 1: 50000 metric map of Great Britain Old ordnance survey maps. Manchester and district 1896. Scale: 1 inch to 1 mile. England sheet 85 : 1999 Old ordnance survey maps. Manchester and district 1896. Scale: 1 inch to 1 mile. England sheet 85 : 1999 Manchester [cartographic material] : Bolton & Warrington : your passport to town and country / [made, printed and published by Ordnance Survey]. Six-inch Ordnance Survey of Manchester and vicinity 1848 Ordnance Survey Map Sheet 109 Manchester 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey Map Sheet 109 Manchester 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey Map Sheet 101 Manchester 1 Inch to 1 Mile Ordnance Survey Map Sheet 101 Manchester 1 Inch to 1 Mile or 1:63,360 Ordnance Survey Map Sheet Manchester and District 1 Inch to 1 Mile
Posters 'Pay your 5'- and help crush the Germans', War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster 'Every fit woman can release a fit man', Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, n.d., 1 poster 'Join The War Savings Association', War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster 'Join War Savings Association; go on buying war saving certificates', n.d., 1 poster 'The British sovereign will win! Invest in the war loan today, War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster 'Life's horizon, prepare for the children's future', Jan 1919, 1 leaflet 'War Loan! Invest five shillings and help your country to win', War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster '5% national war bonds for £5, £20 and £50', Oct 1918, 1 leaflet 'Invest your 5'- today!', War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster 'Simple and easy saving by war saving certificates', n.d., 1 leaflet 'If you buy the new war loan; your country gets funds to carry on and win the war!', War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster ‘ What is the price of one your arms? Lend your money to your country', National Organizing Committee for War Savings, n.d., 1 poster 'Fight with national war bonds', Oct 1918, 1 poster 'War saving certificates, free of income tax', National War Savings Committee, n.d. 1 poster 'Burn your cinders and save coal!', Coal Mines Department, Board of Trade, n.d., 1 poster 'If you cannot fight, lend your money', War Savings Certificate book, n.d., 1 poster 'The greatest economy is necessary with coal', Coal Mines Department, Board of Trade, Oct 1918, 1 poster 'You buy war bonds, we do the rest!' n.d., 1 poster 'Go to bed early-and save coal!', Coal Mines Department, Board of Trade, n.d., 1 poster 'Engineers' Strike', Ministry of Munitions, n.d., 1 poster 'Save your bit!', Coal Mines Department, Board of Trade, n.d., 1 poster 'The Nation's Drink Bill, health and efficiency while the war lasts is the truest patriotism', National War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster 'Fewer hot baths-and save coal!', Coal Mines Department, Board of Trade, n.d., 1 poster 'Which is it to be, bonds or bondage?', War Savings Office, Town Hall, Salford, n.d., 1 poster Invitation to the official opening of the Women's War Service Exhibition from North Western Division of the Ministry of Labour, May 1918, 1 card 'Joan of Arc saved France, women of Britain save your country buy war savings certificates', Oct 1918, 2 poster '6 Reasons why you should save', National War Savings Committee, n.d., 1 poster 'The food shortage; extract from speech by the Right Hon. Dr. Addison, M.P, Ministry of Munitions', n.d., 1 poster 'If you cannot fight-lend your money', National Organising Committee, n.d., 1 poster ‘ 10,000 women wanted for farm work, don't delay enrol today', National Service, n.d., 1 poster Women's Royal Naval Service, terms and conditions of service, n.d., 1 leaflet 'Labour for Ironstone quarries is urgently needed', Ministry of Munitions of War, n.d., 1 poster 'Buy national war bonds, regularly week by week', The National War Savings Committee, Oct 1918, 1 poster 'The British Navy at war', n.d., 1 poster 'Sir Douglas S, thanks to munitions workers', Ministry of Munitions of War, May 1917, 1 poster 'Baby Week; don't miss the baby reviews', n.d., 1 poster 'Every fit woman can release a fit man', Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, n.d., 1 poster 'Notice to small consumers, household fuel and lighting order', Town Hall, Salford, 1918, 1 poster ‘ Join War Savings Association; go on buying war saving certificates', n.d., 1 poster 'National Service, volunteers can enrol at the Ministry of Labour; employment exchange, n.d., 1 poster 'Life's horizon, prepare for the children's future', Jan 1919, 1 leaflet 'Postponement of holidays, Prime Minster's statement', n.d., 1 poster Micro-cards City Centre/Strangeways Industrial Improvement Area/Portland Street, City Industrial Areas Existing In City/Moston Brook & Culverting
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1. INDUSTRIAL COLUMNS DEFINING ATRIUM The triangular shape of the site boundaries defined the central atrium space which connects the upper floors together. The main visitor circulation is established with the spacing of the steel industrial columns repeated along the atrium boundary on all floors
2. RATIONALISING THE GEOMETRY Exterior and interior walls are adjusted to the new axes of the central atrium to create a more consistent and translatable journey through the building. The adjustment of the exterior walls translates the interior programme and interior arrangements correspond to the overall language of the proposal.
3. ARCHWAYS AS MEANS FOR CREATING SPACES WITHIN CIRCULATION The notion of the thin industrial steel columns around the atrium along all levels encouraged to increase the thickness of the columns. This created full height archways as a way of defining and differentiating the interior exhibition spaces while circulating through the building due to limited site space
4. INTERIOR - EXTERIOR CONSISTENCY The exterior of the proposal has a relatively contemporary aesthetic due to its parasitic nature. The previous archway iteration of the design translated a more classical feel which did not correspond to the exterior. To maintain the consistency and the language of the overall building experience, the spaces defined by the archways are made rigid and geometric, while
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INDUSTRIAL COLUMNS DEFINING ATRIUM CIRCULATION ARCHWAYS AS MEANS FOR CREATING SPACES WITHIN CIRCULATION INTERIOR - EXTERIOR CONSISTENCY Due to the restricted space on site, any changes made to the interior programme were likely to affect the exterior and vice versa. The necessity to increase the floor area on the upper exhibition floors created the idea of cantilevering and pushing back certain elements on site. With this, the Oxford Road level plan was design to be as least intrusive to the public space while the floor area of the upper floor maximised for the ability to improve programme.
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THRESHOLD AS PART OF CITY LANDSCAPE The main threshold on the oxford road level is strangulated on the site axes which are least intrusive to the public space. As users circulate on the exterior, the shape of the glass threshold guides them either to and out of the station and into the city or into the Manchester heritage archive.
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ANALYSIS Just like in the precedent I have located all of my service and plant rooms in the basement which then mechanically service my building through risers located in the central core. The additional programme such as library, cafe, and auditorium revolve around the main archival exhibitions which mean that the visitors are able to have a much more varied and enjoyable visit at the archive. Similar to the precedent I have included localised glazing elements which not only translate through the aesthetic of the facade and overall look of the exterior building but also create various spots inside to focus the uses onto certain exterior views
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Main functions/usable spaces Ancilary spaces
Circulation Spaces
Primary public routes
Main grid/builing fabric Natural lighting
Views out of the building
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RELATIONSHIP WITH EXTERIOR CONTEXT
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PROGRAMME DISTRIBUTION
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Observatory Reception Exhibition Spaces Reception / Lobby Draft Entrance Cafeteria Kitchen Cloakroom Office Library WC Auditorium
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Storage Plant Rooms
SERVICES STRATEGY
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Figure Key 1 - Risers Distribution 2 - Air Handling Units 3 - Water Distribution
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4 - Volumetric Studies
WINDOWS AS FRAMING ELEMENTS As mentioned before, the localised widows act as framing elements within my proposal to focus the users on certain parts of the city as they progress through the archives. These elements also create a certain language from the exterior. To translate this on a wider urban scale I have decided to design contemporary arches scattered around the little Ireland area. Their materiality reflects the materiality of the proposal to create an introductory feel for the archives, as well as serve as certain thresholds and framing elements to the adjacent public area.
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SECTIONAL MODEL
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STRUCTURE STRATEGY The multilevel nature of the proposal puts forward strategy of a hybrid concrete retaining wall/steel structure. The bottom floors of the basement and high auditorium space are encased by a thick reinforced concrete wall for the ability to take loads from the upper floor levels. The upper floors are constructed from a geometric grid layout of universal steel beams and columns. This systems allows for easy adaptation of the cantilevering and recessed floors as well as effective attachment of the rainscreen fibre-cerement cladding
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330mmx250mm supporting column riveted to steel stair stringer 200mm steel stair stringer riveted to primary steel 610x305x149 universal beam at top and bottom and to 305x 305x198 universal steel column at middle landing level 10mmx150mmx1500mm steel stair section welded to steel stringer Polished concrete stair topping 40mmx300mmx1500mm (stair) 40mmx900mmx1500mm (landing 1) 40mmx1200mmx1500mm (middle landing)
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Counter flashing Reinforced concrete block adhered breathable roof membrane rigid board insulation 70mm concrete, composite roof slab on steel deck 610x305x149 universal steel beam 305x 305x 198 universal steel column 200mm steel stud work in 204 steel channel 200mm wool insulation in between stud work 2 layers of 12.5mm cheating board with internal plaster finish 12.5mm sheathing board bolted to stud work 110mm metal bracket with thermostop bolted to horizontal rail 110mm rigid board insulation with vapour control layer 42mm Vertical rail 8mmx 1500mm x2000 mm Fibre cement cladding panels riveted to vertical rail 70mm polished screed layer with radiant floor heating system 75mm rigid board floor insulation 150mm reinforced composite concrete slab 270mm hardcore 500mm reinforced concrete retaining wall 2 layers of 4mm felt insulation with waterproof membrane 20mm polystyrene protection
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