The Factory, Manchester’s proposed £110m arts centre, is to be designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.
Manchester City Council announced that Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) practice had won the international competition to design it.
It will be the first major UK project for OMA – its other high-profile projects include the China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing, Seattle Central Library and the Garage contemporary art gallery in Gorky Park, Moscow.
Inside the proposed Factory arts centre
And in today’s Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne pledged £9m a year revenue funding from 2018-19 in addition to £78m already committed towards the project’s build costs.
The chancellor said: “One of the biggest economic investments we can make in our nation is in our extraordinary arts heritage. That’s why, as part of our package for the northern powerhouse, we have backed the Factory with significant investment because we know it will provide an outstanding new arts venue to be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds for generations to come.”
The Factory is part of £1.2bn plans for the St John’s neighbourhood, which also includes 3,000 residential units, 600,000 sq ft of workspace and a mix of hotels and cultural buildings.
It’s also set to be the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival. Construction is set to begin next year and finished in 2019.
