Urbis - of the city of Manchester
December 11th 2007 20:57
In 1996 the area around the old Print Works and Arngate in Central Manchester was hit by an IRA bomb. Fortunately, although 300 hundred people were injured, there were no fatalities and happily, the destruction was limited, in the main, to a car park. As it rebuilt in the aftermath of the bombing, Manchester became an international model of city centre development, with innovative buildings, malls, monuments, and spaces. But the star of this showpiece of urban development must surely be Urbis, Manchester’s state of the art exhibition centre.
Urbis, which is Latin for of the city, was the result of a design competition won by local architect Ian Simpson. It shares one edge of a triangular garden space with Chetham’s
Music School and the old Corn Exchange, which now houses the trendy Triangle Shopping Complex. Urbis is a tall cylindrical shaped concrete building coated in 200,000 panels of glass with emerald lights at their centre. There is a 3 foot insulation clearance between the concrete of the building and its glass exterior. At one end an external spire stretches like a bird towards the old city, while below it, the inside is like the prow of a ship.
The core focus at Urbis is Manchester – what makes up this fantastic city and how its citizens and visitors interact with it. The local television station, Channel M is housed here, promoting performers, producing shows and broadcasting uniquely Manchester events. Urbis is a centre for workshops, like Manchester Morphing, where city areas are explored, “enhanced” and celebrated. Numerous educational tours of the city are run from Urbis, like the City Sights Regeneration Tour, exploring Manchester a decade after the bomb, the Faith Tour, exploring city churches or the Behind the Scenes at Urbis Tour, which looks at the history, the architecture and the organization of Urbis. The Urbis foyer is marketplace for local artists and craftspeople and an information centre on city life and history. Its shop offers a great range of books on Manchester and its people as well calendars, posters, prints, crafts and souvenirs of the city and the region. Urbis café is a meeting place, a place for Mancunians and visitors to socialize. Urbis’ three floors of show space house exhibitions about city life. The three current fascinating exhibitions are Hacienda 25, Catapult and Design and Advertising.
Hacienda 25 – The Exhibition, marks the 25th anniversary of Manchester’s legendary nightclub. Through photographs, quotes, film and video clips and sound, it explores the club’s iconic status and the subsequent legacy which went on to change the face of the city forever. After the Manchester Corporation Act closed all the “iniquitous” clubs in 1966, there was virtually no city night life until Anthony Wilson, Mr Manchester, with partners Erasmus and Gieton, opened Hacienda in a warehouse in the 1980s. The club effectively made Manchester music, spawning the Factory Records label and new bands like Joy Division and the Sex Pistols. Hacienda contributed enormously too, to the regeneration of the city itself.
Catapult 07 is a showcase of the most innovative and original work from recently graduated students of Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford. Pictured above is Sarah Brown's 83 hours, the working week of a bookbinder, which is significant to the city's history.
The D&AD Exhibition is a glimpse into all aspects of the design industry from commercial advertising to music videos. It explores the impact of great design on our consciousness.
Urbis is a fascinating place to visit, not just as an introduction to the city of Manchester, or as an exploration of its story, or of its latest productions but for its own sake as a unique example of architecture and as a unique centre of city life and art.
Urbis
Urbis, which is Latin for of the city, was the result of a design competition won by local architect Ian Simpson. It shares one edge of a triangular garden space with Chetham’s
Music School and the old Corn Exchange, which now houses the trendy Triangle Shopping Complex. Urbis is a tall cylindrical shaped concrete building coated in 200,000 panels of glass with emerald lights at their centre. There is a 3 foot insulation clearance between the concrete of the building and its glass exterior. At one end an external spire stretches like a bird towards the old city, while below it, the inside is like the prow of a ship.
The glass walls of Urbis
The core focus at Urbis is Manchester – what makes up this fantastic city and how its citizens and visitors interact with it. The local television station, Channel M is housed here, promoting performers, producing shows and broadcasting uniquely Manchester events. Urbis is a centre for workshops, like Manchester Morphing, where city areas are explored, “enhanced” and celebrated. Numerous educational tours of the city are run from Urbis, like the City Sights Regeneration Tour, exploring Manchester a decade after the bomb, the Faith Tour, exploring city churches or the Behind the Scenes at Urbis Tour, which looks at the history, the architecture and the organization of Urbis. The Urbis foyer is marketplace for local artists and craftspeople and an information centre on city life and history. Its shop offers a great range of books on Manchester and its people as well calendars, posters, prints, crafts and souvenirs of the city and the region. Urbis café is a meeting place, a place for Mancunians and visitors to socialize. Urbis’ three floors of show space house exhibitions about city life. The three current fascinating exhibitions are Hacienda 25, Catapult and Design and Advertising.
From the Hacienda Exhibition
Hacienda 25 – The Exhibition, marks the 25th anniversary of Manchester’s legendary nightclub. Through photographs, quotes, film and video clips and sound, it explores the club’s iconic status and the subsequent legacy which went on to change the face of the city forever. After the Manchester Corporation Act closed all the “iniquitous” clubs in 1966, there was virtually no city night life until Anthony Wilson, Mr Manchester, with partners Erasmus and Gieton, opened Hacienda in a warehouse in the 1980s. The club effectively made Manchester music, spawning the Factory Records label and new bands like Joy Division and the Sex Pistols. Hacienda contributed enormously too, to the regeneration of the city itself.
83 hours - the working week of a bookbinder, Sarah Brown
Catapult 07 is a showcase of the most innovative and original work from recently graduated students of Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford. Pictured above is Sarah Brown's 83 hours, the working week of a bookbinder, which is significant to the city's history.
From the Design and Advertising Exhibition
The D&AD Exhibition is a glimpse into all aspects of the design industry from commercial advertising to music videos. It explores the impact of great design on our consciousness.
Urbis is a fascinating place to visit, not just as an introduction to the city of Manchester, or as an exploration of its story, or of its latest productions but for its own sake as a unique example of architecture and as a unique centre of city life and art.
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