Manchester Metropolitan University Capital Projects

Manchester Metropolitan University has been subject to one problem since it was formed as the Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, but this problem was being caused by the very means which created the institution as we know it today. The modern day Metropolitan University had evolved over a period of forty years, with numerous institutions merging to form the University as a whole. The university is made up of no fewer then eight colleges, which in turn means that the university’s estate is spread over seven campuses, making it one of the largest universities in terms of size in the United Kingdom. The University’s Manchester campuses (not including Crewe and Alsager) along with the University of Manchester, and other Colleges like the RNCM, form the largest Higher Education campus in the United Kingdom, and one of the most extensive education centres in Europe.

The present day seven campus structure of the Metropolitan University is due to its own evolution over the last forty years. The original Manchester Polytechnic is situated on what is now known as the All Saint campus. This is the largest campus of the university and also the main campus where most of the universitys’ administration and core services (Student Services, and the Main Library and the Union) are based. Because of this seven campus structure small issues arise, each campus has to have its own library, making it easier for the students to locate resources for their own faculty without having to travel from campus to campus. Each campus contains its own administration, refectory, parking, and student services, the campus as a whole needs staff as well for cleaning, security, administration and other purposes. When we look at the university from this viewpoint we see that the efficiency of the university as a whole is quite poor as it has to provide a small amount of finite services for each campus, which in itself financially is a challenge. This provided the basis for plans that were put forward that will drastically change the structure, estate and also the look of the Metropolitan University.

A Masterplan was published in 2007 that proposed a physical redefinition of the Metropolitan University, in effect turning the All Saints campus into the university’s core campus, delivering strong benefits to education within the university and also its operation. The Masterplan that was developed also recognised that the university’s physical rationalisation had the potential to create a new and energising urban space, creating stronger connections between the university and City centre. The university’s Masterplan had its origins in the fact that the university had looked at the possibility of consolidating some of its estate and assets in the near future. The University was also faced by a problem most universities are: fragmented campuses burdened with low quality building additions and a need for new flexible teaching space.

The plan identified ideas for redevelopment to the current university estate as well as concepts for new buildings, and areas of possible future development on under-utilised areas of the campus. The new plans for All Saints had an important urban dimension: transforming the All Saints site would create a new university face not only for the university as it was, but to the Oxford Road Corridor as a whole.

The university’s Masterplan was ambitious, key proposals included redefining the area within and around Grosvenor Square, new iconic buildings at the John Dalton and Business School sites fronting the Mancunian Way, and improving access from Oxford Road into Grosvenor Square and the university beyond. The plans included improving existing pedestrian connections and creating new links with the adjacent communities of Hulme and Ardwick. An essential objective was to improve access through and around the campus, creating social spaces, for activities and events which could be enjoyed by both students, staff, and local communities.

In total the Masterplan identified six sites for future development:

Site A – The John Dalton site – Several proposals were put forward for this site. One proposal was to relocate the Hollings campus of the Food, Clothing and Hospitality Management Departments to a new purpose built building on the site. Another proposal was to relocate certain facilities from MMU Cheshire to the All Saints Campus, and the last proposal was to relocate all postgraduate science courses and the Science and Engineering Faculty into a new building on the site.

Site B – The new Business School and Student Hub – the proposal put forward for this site was to relocate the Business school from Aytoun Street Campus into a brand new landmark building, along with a Student Hub which would serve All Saints North and South.

Site C – Public Realm Works – Proposals for the Public Realm was for the potential closure of Cavendish Street and Lower Ormond Street with shared access, new landscaping outside the Business School and Student Hub, and the creation of new pedestrian and cycle routes through the campus.

Site D – Public Arts Project

Site E – New Art and Design studios and space – the proposal put forward for this site was to refurbish the Chatham Tower and Podium, demolition of the Undercroft Building and construction of a new Studio Building with exhibition space and lecture theatres for the Faculty of Art and Design.

Site F – New Multi Storey Car Park – the proposed new multi storey car park was conceived to accommodate the relocation of Hollings Campus and Business School Staff and Students, and also to accommodate parking space that would be lost with the closure of Cavendish Street and Lower Ormond Street.

The framework of the Masterplan creates five new building opportunities within the existing All Saints Campus. In many cases these new buildings are being developed in locations of already existing buildings or car parks which are to be demolished. The building of a new multi storey car park on the Salutation Site will facilitate more parking within the Campus as a whole. Pivotal to the Masterplan is the establishment of a pedestrianised zone around Grosvenor Square. This will vastly improve access to the university campus from the adjacent districts of Hulme, Moss Side and Ardwick; it will also provide a traffic free zone for the placement of appropriate street retail and cafe amenities, which will improve the setting of refurbished historic buildings within the university campus. The re-landscaping of Grosvenor Square will enhance the look of the campus as a whole, the framework outlines that new buildings are to be delivered by different architectural teams in order to create genuine variety and quality of design.

After the Masterplan was published the university decided to go in another direction as to where and what the university wanted to be like by 2020. This meant that the Masterplan as it was would not be realised in its entirety. However two fundamental elements from the Masterplan were given the go ahead, the new Business School and Student Hub and the new Art and Design Building and refurbishment of the Chatham Tower and Podium.

The Metropolitan University’s Estates Strategy is to provide multi-functional interactive space that will meet the current and future needs of the students and other possible users. The plan states that the MMU estate should be easily accessible and all spaces able to accommodate a wide range of possible academic developments, whilst also being economic to run.

The Estates Strategy states that by consolidating the university onto a smaller number of sites will help the university achieve these goals. The site of the former Loxford Tower and St Augustine School are key locations for future development of the University’s estate. Both sites are strategically important because of their central location on the All Saints main campus.

The review of the university’s Masterplan by DEGW and architectural firm John McAslan Partners confirmed that room utilisation throughout the entire university was low compared with other higher education institutions. This review also confirmed that the consolidation of the University’s estate by moving from seven to three sites, and the creation of a new city centre campus, would therefore shrink the overall size of the university by one third, which was a realistic and achievable target. MMU Cheshire consists of both Crewe and Alsager Campus, the plan is to combine the two campuses on the site of Crewe Campus, which is the larger of the two and also closer to important roads, rail and motorway networks, being only a ten minute walk from Crewe Railway Station (which is a large Important rail interchange) ten minutes from the M6 motorway and also 10 minutes from Crewe Town Centre. The changes to the Manchester campuses are for the entirety of Didsbury, Hollings, Elizabeth Gaskell and Aytoun campuses to be sold. On an academic level this involves the relocation of a large amount of the university’s courses and faculties, and on an estate level involves more then half of the university’s academic accommodation. On an academic level the MMU Business School (Aytoun Campus) will relocate to All Saints Campus in 2011, with the new Business School and Student Hub already under construction on the site of the former Loxford Tower. The Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care, (Disbury and Elizabeth Gaskell campus) along with Hollings Faculty (Hollings Campus) and the Institute of Education (Didsbury campus) will relocate to the new proposed Birley Fields campus, making this the largest change to the university’s estate since the Polytechnics formation in 1970.

The new Business School and Student Hub is a new building currently being constructed. In planning the redevelopment of the All Saints campus there was a strong drive from the City Council and the University alike that the new Business School and Student Hub should be an iconic building. The new Business Schools location is in close proximity to the Manchester Business School and the Manchester Federal School of Management and it is hoped that the close proximity to these institutions will lead to a greater co-operation between the two establishments in the future.

The design of the new MMUBS and Student hub was awarded to architectural firm Fielden Clegg and Bradley. The building’s design was affected by the unusual shape and position of the site with three separate free standing towers covered by a large glass roof. The glazed exterior shape is that of a jewel which is designed to refract colours with the changing position of the sun. The new building is designed to be eco-friendly and includes many examples of green technologies, for example solar panelling, varying systems of water conservation, ground source heating and simply using the shape of the building itself in aid of ventilation. The building’s design is heavily influenced by the concept of flexibility and the possible future expansion or contraction of facilities and the layout is a stark comparison to the old business school. During the consultative process students reported that the old business schools lecture theatres were cramped and stuffy, and that the feel of the building was dark and uninviting. The new Business School was designed to be light and airy, optimising the use of natural light and making the building feel inviting and comfortable.

As well as the new MMUBS the Metropolitan University is planning an extensive reorganisation of its Faculty of Art and Design. As it was stated in the Masterplan the 1960’s Chatham Tower and Podium is being completely renovated, whilst the Undercroft building is being demolished to make way for a new building which will provide studio space, lecture theatres and new teaching facilities. The Faculty of Art and Design currently occupies six buildings (Cavendish, Righton, Grosvenor, Mabel Tylacote, Chatham and Undercroft) which in the next 3 years will be completely refurbished providing the Faculty with much needed modern art facilities.

The new city centre campus will be built at Birley Fields in Hulme and the new plan has just been granted planning permission by Manchester City Council. The Metropolitan University and the City Council worked together to create a Masterplan for a new city centre campus, which would bring together the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care and the Institute of Education on one single campus instead of the three being currently occupied. The proposal put forward was not only about fulfilling the needs of the university alone, but also about providing additional benefits to the surrounding area. The university plans to build a campus that is integral to the fabric of the surrounding community, but will also create space and services which can be used by the people of Hulme and Moss Side. The planners and the university want to encourage the surrounding community onto the campus instead of creating a place within their community which they felt disillusioned and dislocated from. Not only will Birley Fields be integral to the community, but it is planned to be the greenest university campus in the United Kingdom, with environmental sustainability essential in all levels of planning and design. The reasoning behind the new campus was to unite education, teacher training, nursing, social workers and other health care professionals onto one single campus. This will replace the campuses of Didsbury, Hollings and Elizabeth Gaskell, which consist of nearly 6000 students. The planners and the university alike wanted to create a sustainable campus, allowing better utilisation of space, and better communications with the city centre and the surrounding areas, which would altogether improve the student experience.

Hulme itself has a long history of regeneration from the slum clearances of the 1930’s and the building of the notorious crescents, to the subsequent demise of the many social housing projects that plagued the area, this resulted in the look of the Hulme we see today. An estimated £435 million has been spent on the areas of Hulme and Moss Side since 1991, transforming the area from what was considered an undesirable council estate to one of the most highly sought after places to live within the city. The City Council was eager to see the continued renaissance of the area. The new campus is expected to bring fresh momentum to the community, bringing jobs and a host of other potential benefits to the area.

rendering of the new Arts Faculty Building (pictured above)

New MMUBS and Student Hub (pictured above)

http://www.mmu.ac.uk/birleyfields/mmu_birley_fields_renderings_and_plans.pdf (click link for some renderings of the new Birley Fields Campus)

Seeing the building of the new MMUBS and student hub worries me that maybe MMU maybe having the same dilemmas that Manchester University are suffering, MMU is trying to redefine itself, but in a much different way from that of its counterpart. I think that the new MMUBS is the all important iconic modern building, a so called new face of the university which will show other institutions that MMU is here right now and making a statement, and the new MMUBS and student hub building is that statement! But where I think that MMU have done themselves proud is with the design of both its new Arts Faculty building and the New Birley Fields Campus.

The New Art Building is clever in that its design is different but not dissimilar to its neighbouring buildings, designed to compliment and blend in with its surroundings, obviously new but simple and functional, also being a gallery space as well it needs to flexible but also a blank canvas as the truly special thing about this building will be the art and creativity that will be housed within and not the actual building itself.

The New Birley Fields campus is not just about simple streamlined architecture but also about its green credentials as well, taking functional architecture to a new level, when finished it will be the only carbon neutral self sufficient campus in Europe making it a truly interesting development, between this new campus and the new MMUBS and student hub MMU will be standing out from the crowd, which I think will put it in great stead through these difficult times especially the ones facing the higher education sector in these coming years.