Manchester visit

Our trip Manchester had a very early start with a lot of very sleepy faces. We arrived in Salford where we took a look at the Imperial War Museum. The general impression of the museum was that the façade and exterior aesthetics of the museum were creative and set the building apart from the surrounding buildings, but most of us felt the layout and the interior space lacked functionality, the internal space was wasted and sloped into corners though the building seemed to sit on a flat site. Led by our tutors Peter & Gary we started to explore the City and discussing its History.

War Museum Atrium

From the museum began our journey by crossing the foot bridge. To define the contrast between two main buildings of this site, the Lowry Theatre & Gallery succeeds where the War Museum fails. The exterior, while it is very bold and eccentric, it appears to be too complex in relationship to the surrounding context. Although, the interior seems to be doing a much better job than the museum. All the pathways are distinctive in colour and texture, for a better service design of the building. Also, there is logic behind the interior arrangement of spaces. While the cultural side of the building sits within it, at its core, the exterior is layout out in all the commercial and social activities that are available to the customers.

After taking the tram back into the heart of the city, one of the first places that we visited was the University of Manchester, School of Architecture. We were led on a tour of the building, when the functionality and materiality of the space was very well presented to us. The interior was similar to another university that we visited early this year, from Birmingham. Most of the raw materials give a very industrial look to the place, while the level arrangement allows for a lot of high spaces to be formed inside. The student studios are made to be very open, both in plan and in views, in order to maximise the level of engagement with the entire student/staff group of the University.

The next point of interest was the Manchester Industry Museum, which is built upon the site where the first steam engine was made. The whole city seems to emphasize the historical importance behind this development, through its various and numerous railway tracks.

By now, it was already getting dark outside, so we decided to wonder around the city for a while. Passing by the city Library and the Town hall, the Spinning fields development, the Andale area and the Northern Quarter… it all becomes very different at night. The whole city, with all its clear vertical development is accentuated by the impressive style and amount of existing lighting. One could almost say the city gains another aspect altogether, and it becomes reborn.

It was a lovely experience, but we did cover a lot of ground in just one day. So, after seeing all these magnificent sites, we had a lovely snooze on the way home, and bad muscle aches the day following.