Zaha Hadid In The Running For £110m Factory Manchester

David Blake 23 September 2015

PRITZKER and Stirling Prize-winning Zaha Hadid architects are amongst a world-leading shortlist of organisations vying for contracts on Manchester's new £110m Factory arts venue.

The Factory will be unlike anywhere else in the world, it's significance cannot be overstated...

The Factory - located within ITV's former Granada Studios complex and set for completion in 2019 - will feature an ultra-flexible 5000-capacity space capable of hosting large-scale concerts, theatre shows, exhibitions, conferences and screenings.

Iraqi-British architect Hadid - the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize - is renowned for her distinctive 'neo-futuristic' style, bringing her global recognition for buildings such as the Guangzhou Opera House and Beijing's Galaxy Soho mega mall (main image).

Amongst the architectural firms challenging Hadid for the Factory contract are Rafael Viñoly Architects, the designers behind Manchester's new £60m Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre; HOME architects Mecanoo; New York-based Diller Scofidio+Renfro; and, of course, long-time Allied London collaborators SimpsonHaugh - principal architects behind Allied's £1bn St John's masterplan.

In total, 86 organisations put forward applications to fulfil The Factory brief across seven design areas, including: architect, theatre consultant, structural and civil engineers, building services engineers, cost consultant, fire engineers, and acoustic engineers (full shortlist below).

Of the total, 48 applications were for the hotly contested architecture category alone.

The Factory will occupy the former Granada Studios complex

Appointments are set to be made in mid November, with a view to a planning application being submitted mid 2016. Construction is planned to start early in 2017.

Manchester City Council Leader, Sir Richard Leese, said: "The Factory will be unlike anywhere else in the world, its significance cannot be overstated.

“It will be internationally significant, the cultural anchor for the next phase of economic and cultural regeneration in Manchester, Greater Manchester and beyond. It will help power Manchester and the wider region towards becoming a genuine cultural and economic counterbalance to London”.

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The Factory will form the cultural heart of Allied London's St John's regeneration scheme - a joint venture between the Spinningfields developer and Manchester City Council.

The Government pledged £78m in last year’s autumn statement towards The Factory project as part of its Northern Powerhouse initiative. The city council will develop the rest of the funding package.