I thought the £7m refurb deserved its own thread...



I also thought this new render would interest a few people who were decidedly underwhelmed by the design of ASL's extension to the museum - as you can see, it's slightly different:

http://www.austinsmithlord.com/data/pra03s.jpg
New render?

Interestly, the same bloke's walking past in both renders - I wonder what his story is...

http://www.austinsmithlord.com/data/mbphm2l.jpg
Old render 1

http://www.austinsmithlord.com/data/mbphm1l.jpg
Old render 2

That peice of crap dos'nt deserve anything :)

Much prefer new render to either old I or 2. It's ok for what is a small niche museum.

That bloke is a professional render-walk on extra.
I asked b4mmy where they get the figures from on the renders (most notable a really badly dressed fella in an 80's suit in a Piccadilly Place render) and he assures me they hire them to walk about in their computers for the day and they type instructions for where to stand.
Apparently!
Re new PM render - better but must try harder. See me!

That bloke is a professional render-walk on extra....he assures me they hire them to walk about in their computers for the day and they type instructions for where to stand.

I could do that, I've still got the bad 80's clothes too. Did b4mmy happen to mention what the rate of pay was?

I could do that, I've still got the bad 80's clothes too. Did b4mmy happen to mention what the rate of pay was?

A bottle of Coke and all the Twiglets you can eat!

I'll have to steer my lovely career in another direction then...I don't do Coke, I like my teeth too much.

(obscure reference included)

What's currently there (sans extension):

http://www.aboutbritain.com/images/attraction/pumphousepeopleshistorymus1.jpg

http://museumsunwrapped.man.ac.uk/images/aboutus/peoples_history_musuem.jpg

Following up last week's news. Taken from World Architecture News.


Austin-Smith:Lord apply for planning permission to take the People's History Museum into the future


http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/project/uploaded_files/1071_385%20Austin%20Smith%20phm%20road.jpg


In January 2006 the Heritage Lottery Fund agreed to grant the Peoples History Museum £7.18m to facilitate its proposed one site project, subject to a Successful Stage 2 application. Based in Manchester, The Peoples History Museum focuses upon an internationally important collection, which includes the National Archive of the Labour Party, collections relating to the TUC, The UK Communist Party, Women’s Suffrage and the Co-op Movement amongst others. The Museum is unequaled in its collection of Trade Union banners from around the world, supported by world leading in house textile conservation expertise. The additional space will be made available through the creation of a new 4 storey extension, providing a new public entrance, galleries, conservation studio, archive and public reading room. The key to the design of the extension is the ability to deliver a building that contains the collections within an appropriate environment, one which ensures a comfortable visitor experience and is both enjoyable and memorable; one which provides a healthy working situation for staff and visitor. The texture of the facade is rich and strong in tonal composition, the visual impression it creates is dependant on time of day and conditions of light and weather, this ambiguity inherent in the material offers a visually tantalizing way of reflecting the disparate yet united elements of the collection within.

Further images

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1071_2_1000%20Austin%20Smith%20phm.jpg







http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1071_3_1000%20Austin%20Smith%20phm%20road%202.jpg







http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1071_4_1000%20Austin%20Smith%20phm%203.jpg







http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1071_1_1000%20Austin%20Smith%20phm%20road.jpg

I know previous incarnations of this project have taken some criticism but I have to say I do like this latest incanation.


It manages to strike the right balance between a sympathetic continuation of the different shapes and masses of the current Pumphouse buildings which line the riverbank whilst also complementing the more slick, monolithic look of some of the blocks in Spinningfields. Its also pleasingly subtle so as not to compete or detract from Manchester's major new civic landmark, the CJC building.

ya defiantly is alot better looking than the previous render we have seen and it looks like as SleepyOne has said will sit in the area with the original museum and CJC very well

Its much better than the first proposal ,, i hope the cladding is similar to the
3PP that is going up .

I think i spoke too soon when i criticised this, this was the side i was worried about, and it's not bad at all. More detailed and as sleepyone mentions, subtle. I like.

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1071_3_1000%20Austin%20Smith%20phm%20road%202.jpg

Still don't like the curved side facing the CJC, though, still a bit ugly there.

I like it. I would like to hear the pretentious justification for the design - all the symbolism etc if there is any.
I think there is some symbolism going on and its brilliantly different to the building its attached to - which is the way it should be imo.

Quick off topic.

Went to Urbis today. Why? What is the point? Oh,and one more thing. Cathedral Gardens is knackered. Get the Piccadilly Gardens hit squad ASAP!

PS. JR looked wonderful this afternoon. Another Manchester gem. :)

I'm not convinced with this new extension desgn at all. To me it's just yet more unsympathetic modernism simply for the sake of it. It's a similar situation at the recently redeveloped John Ryland's Library: I find the new extension way too jarring and doesn't complement the grandeur of the original building.
The former pump house is such an understated but characterful building that it would almost invariably pose a tough challenge for any proposed extension, but as it's now all but enveloped by the colossal Civil Justice Centre it seems completely out on a limb... Perhaps this is why there is now a need to drag the building screaming into the present.

And I really do fucking hate the way people these days keep limiting themselves to the same words and terms when they're talking about proposed new buildings or infrastructure projects: the hackneyed overuse of cliched phrases such as "deliver", "within budget", "sustainability", "public realm", "affordability", "...in Europe", and most of all, the truly cringeworthy "state-of-the-art", just makes me wanna gag....then hunt down the perpetrators and give them a good and thorough slapping with a large Oxford English Dictionary and Thesaurus. :no:

Quick off topic.

Went to Urbis today. Why? What is the point? Oh,and one more thing. Cathedral Gardens is knackered. Get the Piccadilly Gardens hit squad ASAP!

PS. JR looked wonderful this afternoon. Another Manchester gem. :)

I've only been in Urbis twice but I've always found it to be a museum of urban culture than anything and even then they seem to employ a very wide definition which seems to include all popular culture.

The museum reminds me of the backend of Withington Baths. Wouldn't happen to have a pic would you Longford?

Like it except where the roofline of the extension meets the pumphouse on the river's edge. It should be stepped or somehow integrated. I'm all for asymmetry, but this detail to me just looks messy - especially when I really like other aspects of it (the way it addresses the road, the cladding etc.)

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1071_3_1000%20Austin%20Smith%20phm%20road%202.jpg

Its good to see some close ups of this and I must say it looks great to me. Its in a different league to that original design and as I said before the colour is much needed in this area.

Any guesses on the cladding? I hope its pretty flashy. Its only a small building so its allowed to show off a bit and its needs to be obvious to attract people.

Both sides look equally funky from the CJC (like the curves) and the Irwell. the lookout over the river is welcome and will hopefully draw attention to the riverside walkway and the restaurant/bar thats at the water level too.

Generally its good to have something round here that will draw some non-office types but also an attraction that like Rylands, visiting business types to Spinningfields can have a wander round between meetings and be impressed with.

The Time Out guide for Mancehster was eager to point out how places such as this and the police and jewish museums etc are more a 'hidden' gem than they should be.

I only discovered the place properly as recently as a couple of years ago, whilst walking around getting pics of all the Spinningfields building work being started on, and after taking my first wander around the exhibits (especially the working history section in the basement - very atmospheric), I started to make return visits soon afterwards and check out their temporary exhibits as well (such as the Hazards one that was there in winter - spring 2005). It's a great little place to spend a couple of hours in.

The museum reminds me of the backend of Withington Baths. Wouldn't happen to have a pic would you Longford?

No pic but by the same architect so well spotted 8!
We'll make a heritage nazi of you yet!

We'll make a heritage nazi of you yet!

Watch it, Farsight will accuse you of grooming.

The Peoples History Museum
The Pump House
Bridge Street
Manchester
M3 3ER

LISTED BUILDING CONSENT Works to existing building including demolition of first floor office above existing sub-station, demolition of external boundary wall, demolition of the second floor mezzanine, demolition of staircases, extension to the ground floor mezzanine and erection of a glazed link leading to a new extension

Conservation Plan The Pump House

Steve Little (research)

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?083105-SSI-0006.pdf

PDF renders.

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?083104-AAS-0001.pdf

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?083104-AAS-0002.pdf

Full applications.

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=JHII5HBCW1000

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=JHIIF7BCW1000

... there's a digger on the site of the extension today dig-dig-digging a hole.

Another sign that this can be moved to the construction forum - a site office and a portaloo delivered on site today.

The New People's History Museum

The aim of our project is to locate the People's History Museum on to a single site. The existing museum will close on 7 October this year. From late 2009 the museum's education facilities, main galleries, changing exhibitions, archives, textile conservation studio, corporate facilities, café and shop will be housed in one building - a refurbished Pump House with a spectacular new extension.

There will be larger and more coherent long-term exhibition spaces displaying more objects and of interest to a broader audience. Other new spaces will include a larger changing exhibition gallery enabling us to bring out even more of our own collections or to host topical national touring exhibitions. The existing Pump House Engine Hall will become a dedicated community gallery providing local people with a space to display their own exhibitions.

Improved interactive exhibits, enhanced interpretation of the displays and re-designed education facilities will help us build on our existing successful lifelong learning programmes. The integration of the museum archives and conservation studio in to the single site will allow a much large number of visitors to get to see these fascinating aspects of our work. Visitors will also be able to enjoy a new café with riverside terrace and an expanded museum shop stocking a unique range of books and gifts.

The new extension will be of a radical new material and design and is destined to become a landmark building in the North West. The highly visible and prominent new entrance on Bridge Street, at the heart of Manchester's Spinningfields, will provide an accessible welcome to local, national and international visitors.

http://82.71.77.169/index.html

The New People's History Museum

The aim of our project is to locate the People's History Museum on to a single site. The existing museum will close on 7 October this year. From late 2009 the museum's education facilities, main galleries, changing exhibitions, archives, textile conservation studio, corporate facilities, café and shop will be housed in one building - a refurbished Pump House with a spectacular new extension.

There will be larger and more coherent long-term exhibition spaces displaying more objects and of interest to a broader audience. Other new spaces will include a larger changing exhibition gallery enabling us to bring out even more of our own collections or to host topical national touring exhibitions. The existing Pump House Engine Hall will become a dedicated community gallery providing local people with a space to display their own exhibitions.

Improved interactive exhibits, enhanced interpretation of the displays and re-designed education facilities will help us build on our existing successful lifelong learning programmes. The integration of the museum archives and conservation studio in to the single site will allow a much large number of visitors to get to see these fascinating aspects of our work. Visitors will also be able to enjoy a new café with riverside terrace and an expanded museum shop stocking a unique range of books and gifts.

The new extension will be of a radical new material and design and is destined to become a landmark building in the North West. The highly visible and prominent new entrance on Bridge Street, at the heart of Manchester's Spinningfields, will provide an accessible welcome to local, national and international visitors.

http://82.71.77.169/index.html

so what will happen to the old Mechanics' Institute building?

Any guesses on the cladding? I hope its pretty flashy. Its only a small building so its allowed to show off a bit and its needs to be obvious to attract people.

I understand the cladding will be Cor-Ten.

I understand the cladding will be Cor-Ten.I had presumed from the images that it was showing sand stone or similar, or has it been changed / dodgy choice of texture for the renders?

Cor-ten is cool-ten!

Yup says Corten on the planning, seems odd that they chose that ambiguous texture map on the drawings if that was always the case.

I actually think Corten is a bit over rated, but still think it will be a cracking little building.

Is Cor-ten the one that looks all rusty? If so - coool!

One wing of the ATS site student development by Downing Developments / Ian Simpson will be clad in cor-ten. There are several large panels already up.

the Spinningfields multi-storey on Quay Street is also clad in it

i never heard about cor-ten until this. some interesting examples:

u.s. steel building in pittsburgh
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Pittsburgh-pennsylvania-usx-tower.jpg/400px-Pittsburgh-pennsylvania-usx-tower.jpg
amazing they would build such a daring building so big!

sculpture called fulcrum in broadgate, london
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/RichardSerra_Fulcrum2.jpg/457px-RichardSerra_Fulcrum2.jpg

yeah i like the sound of cor-ten. not seen the museum plans though. surely you need big balls to use this stuff.

yeah i like the sound of cor-ten. not seen the museum plans though.then scroll down!

surely you need big balls to use this stuff.Its just fashionable, nothing clever about it; like I said 100m away is the car park clad in it, so its hardly blazing a trail to us it here.

Can it be made with a smooth finish, rather than the ruff-stuff on the new Islington lamp posts?

Rust colour is OK but I'm not sure how well replicated rust with all its nobbly bits will look around shiny glass and steel Spinningfields.

Can it be made with a smooth finish, rather than the ruff-stuff on the new Islington lamp posts?

Rust colour is OK but I'm not sure how well replicated rust with all its nobbly bits will look around shiny glass and steel Spinningfields.
Yeah there are different variations to the finish, I don’t think its possible for it to be shiny as the surface is literally rusted, but you can get it where the effect is less pronounced and smoother, and also where some of the steel's surface isn’t rusted giving it a marbled sort of effect. I guess that’s the kind appearance they are trying to illustrate on the drawings.

People's History Museum got a nice namecheck of Tristram Hunt in the Guardian today. A bit pointless in the sense that it's currently closed, but still.

Diggers on site again. Seem to be doing relatively superficial excavations.

Might it be archaelogical? I seem to recall this was the site of one the first gasworks in Manchester? Guess it is also quite an important site being next to one of the main bridges into Salford.

People's museum wins cash boost

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8066/peopleshistoryfb0.jpg

Artist's impression of the new people's history museum

A MANCHESTER museum devoted to the history of ordinary people is to be transformed as part of a multi-million extension plan.

The People's History Museum, which charts the social history of people over the past 200 years, has been based in the Pumphouse for 13 years.

But the size of the distinctive listed building - which is the only working hydraulic pumping station in the city - has meant the museum's growing collections have had to be split between two sites.

For the past two months - since the museum was closed to the public - staff have been packing exhibits from the Pumphouse into storage and arranging for a small number of the most popular items to go on temporary display at the Museum of Science and Industry.

And now builders have started a multi-million pound redevelopment of the Bridge Street site that will add a four-storey extension onto the Pumphouse.

Museum officials say the spectacular extension will include better education facilities, a riverside café and shop, as well as improved gallery space that will enable more of the museums collection to go on display. It will also, they say, facilitate better access to the museum's archive and the textile conservation studio. And as the work has begun, museum officials have learned that the Heritage Lottery Fund and the North West Regional Development Agency have awarded their plans a further £9m.

Opportunity

Museum spokeswoman Karen Moore said: "This is a fantastic opportunity and we hope many more people are going to come when we reopen.

"The museum is about the story of ordinary people and covers the last 200 years. The idea is that it gives people an idea of what people's lives were like at home, at work and at leisure. It's not about kings and queens but ordinary people and a lot to do with how ordinary people came together to stand up for their rights. It's a national museum but quite important that it's in Manchester because Manchester is the first industrialised city."

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is providing a grant of £7.18m, which has been matched by a £2m grant from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Dr Tristram Hunt, HLF trustee and historian said: "The People's History Museum's new galleries will uniquely present the story of the growth of democracy in Britain, in which the city of Manchester played such a crucial part."

And John Monks, chair of trustees at the museum said: "This is an exciting time for the museum as work started on site in January. We are grateful to both HLF and NWDA for their support towards our multi million pound project."

Funding for the extension has also been welcomed by the city council. Council leader Richard Leese said: "The whole city council is fully behind this internationally important cultural project which will be a superb addition to the existing museums and attractions in the city region."

The museum closed to the public at the beginning of October 2007 to allow for the start of the redevelopment and the new People's History Museum is due to open in late 2009.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1032799_peoples_museum_wins_cash_boost

not hanging around here

(sorry for the flood of picture guys, the weather has been incredible for feb, and i've got the week off :cheers:)

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/people's%20history%20museum%20manchester%20construction/people's%20history%20museum%20manchester%20construction.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/people's%20history%20museum%20manchester%20construction/people's%20history%20museum%20manchester%20construction%202.jpg

not hanging around here

(sorry for the flood of picture guys, the weather has been incredible for feb, and i've got the week off :cheers:)

What you sorry about? Us Mancs love pictures. I say the more the merrier, I think alot of others would think the same.

Keep it up. :okay:

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202008/015-3.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202008/013-3.jpg

noticed a lot of piling and those flat concrete bits they put on top, whatever they're called. can't confirm if this was new or previous piling but the presence of the piling rig earlier in the year makes me think the former.

History in the making
Museum of the working class comes into money


The People's History Museum is the only museum in the country to specialise in political history, according to its director, Nick Mansfield. “No-one else covers the history of democracy,” he said. “Manchester contributed so much to that with the Peterloo massacre, the Suffragettes, and the Co-operative Movement.”

Yet potential visitors might want to hold off before visiting its Labour Party archive or banner collection. The museum has closed its Pump House site on Bridge Street, Manchester, and moved its exhibitions to a temporary home at the Museum of Science and Industry while a £12.2m extension and redevelopment project takes place. The new-look building is due to open at the end of 2009.

The museum has already secured 97 per cent of the funding needed for the project, which leaves just £300,000 to be raised.

The redevelopment will see the museum double in size and consolidate its two sites — the other being on Princess Street. The changes will allow for a larger exhibition gallery, better access to the archive and conservation studio and a new shop and the Riverside Café. “It's an extension to the existing premises, but not a bolt on. The whole thing has been reconfigured,” Mansfield said.

Pumping station


The Princess Street site, formerly the Mechanics Institute, is where the museum first opened in 1990 before moving to the larger Pump House in 1994.

It currently houses its textile conservation activities and its archive, which will move to the Pump House when works are complete. It will continue to be used for storage and retains historical significance as the place where the first Trades Union Congress took place in 1868.

The Pump House is also historically important as the only surviving Edwardian hydraulic pumping station in the city. It was used to supply power to warehouses, as well as winding the town hall clock and raising the curtains at the Opera House.

“The extended building means we can unite all our activities on one site — with the archive and textile conservation and the gallery staff all together,” Mansfield said.

The People's History museum has the largest collection of historical banners in the world and textile conservation, mostly of banners, provided the museum with around £21,500 of income in 2007. “It's a specialised trade and few places do it so there is enormous demand — we are about to take on our third conserver in autumn,” said Mansfield.

In the Pump House's new gallery space themes of democracy and political history will link to citizenship as taught in the national curriculum. “The growth of democracy is an important theme,” said Mansfield, adding that the museum has broadened its work to look at working-class life in general.

The museum already runs popular Living History workshops — along with exhibitions and these brought in £14,500 in 2007. The workshops use freelance actors to bring oral histories to life.

Once reopened, the museum's shop and café income will go through the charity's trading company, which has pretty much lain dormant to date. Other trading activities, such as banner conservation, will not operate through the trading company as they are directly linked to the work of the museum.

The museum also plans to significantly develop its corporate hospitality offering.

“When we expand the museum, we will strip out the engine hall so it will be this enormous space. And we are developing a specific conference room that will seat 80 people, but we'll still retain the existing smaller conference room,” said Mansfield. “Corporate hospitality is a competitive field but we have developed our own niche and loyal customers over the years.”

The running of the Riverside Café will be contracted out — something yet to be organised — and Mansfield sees opportunities for the space to be used in the evening when the museum itself is closed.

Forecasts for the first three years show an anticipated generated income of £38,968 in the first year of opening (2009/10) coming from room hire (£17,524), the shop (£9,132), and the café (£12,312). This figure rises to £78,925 for 2010/11 with revenue from each of these streams expected to roughly double.

By year three (2011/12) room hire income is forecast to double again to around £70,000, with shop income levelling off at around £14,000 and the café at £23,000. But in year three, an extra £10,000 income is also expected from sources such as filming, parties, courses and consultancy, taking total generated income to £117,485.

“The redevelopment and expansion will give us better facilities to do what we already do. There will be a modest increase in staff and expenditure, but essentially we will be the same,” said Mansfield.

People's History Museum - at a glance


Funding sources for the new People's History Museum

Total budget £12,212,000

Secured funding

Heritage Lottery Fund £7,068,000

Museum's own development fund (including £350,000 from Allied London Properties) £600,000

Manchester City Council £2,000,000 (value of land)

Manchester City Council development grant £150,000

NWDA £2,000,000

Department of Culture Media and Sport Wolfson Fund £60,000

Department for Work and Pensions £10,000

Transport and General Workers' Union/Unite £15,000

Accounts 2007

Income

Voluntary income £1,102,150

l Gifts and donations £153,088

l AGMA £432,500

l Arts and Humanities Research Council £48,592

l Department for Culture Media and Sport £156,000

l Museum Libraries and Archive Council £38,250

l Heritage Lottery Fund £247,730

l Business/ TUC sponsorship £24,090

l Other £1,900

Trading income £13,771

Fundraising activities £21,677

Investment income (bank interest) £21,375

Banner conservation £21,583

Exhibitions and educational groups £14,502

Total £1,195,058

Expenditure

Merchandising costs £9,096

Charitable activities £934,911

Governance costs £5,751

Total £949,758

Bank: The Co-operative Bank

Auditors: Beever and Struthers

Solicitors: Pannone LLP

:ohno: third different thread on this now?

:ohno: third different thread on this now?

I'll accept your apology Sleepy. Because serach hasn't been working/properly for the last few weeks/months I've been using Google instead and typed 'Pump House Skyscrapercity'.(which I've done on numerous other occasions to find threads lurking in the SSC vaults) It brought up this thread. Yes there is a similar thread, so either thread could have come up.

Two Things.

Instead of continually criticizing people who start threads, find information, articles and/or accidentally duplicate threads, why don't you start a few more threads yourself or bring the duplicated threads to the attention of the Mods so they can sort them out.

Give it a rest with this continual duplicate thread bashing campaign you've waged for God knows how long. It's getting rather tedious now. You've made your point time and again. :ohno:

4 pics from today.

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2008_08_17/people's%20history%20museum/IMG_6384%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2008_08_17/people's%20history%20museum/IMG_6385%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2008_08_17/people's%20history%20museum/IMG_6387%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2008_08_17/people's%20history%20museum/IMG_6386%20copy.jpg

I think the new building is monstrous and will completely obscure the beautiful pump house. Seriously, what is wrong with architects?

Water tank on the roof

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/samorost/UEPHM/PHM21PanoS.jpg

Glass Ceiling

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/samorost/UEPHM/PHM18PanoS.jpg

I think the new building is monstrous and will completely obscure the beautiful pump house. Seriously, what is wrong with architects?

Regardless of the aesthetics (although I think the final building will look very different to the images), if a client asks an architect to design a certain size of building on the available plot, satisfying the clients wishes always has to be the primary concern. How could any extension have been built and not obscure the pump house to some extent?

Its too easy to jump to blame architects for every element of a buildings inception, but the reality is that a client makes as many critical decisions (whether aesthetic or budgetary) as the designer. At the end of the day if you don't do what your clients require, they will find someone who will.

Your pictures are fascinating as usual, not that I really agree with the trespass. Just out of curiosity have you ever had trouble with the police on your urban explorations?

Architecty: Yes, sorry, it was a flippant comment. I take your point about the limitations imposed on architects.

You're right, any building will obscure the Pump House, I just hoped it would be one which blended in with the existing style.
The design itself is kind of funky as a stand-alone building but I really can't see any connection between the old and new sites.

Still, I guess it's too late for me to complain...

:)

Here is an animation of the new Peoples History Museum.

http://82.71.77.169/newmuseumanimation.wmv

i think i like it

Is it clad in cor-ten? If so, that's a (tenuous) link?

cor-ten it is

cor-ten it is
:)

Ferkinell, this is thin pickings. Here I am on Skyscraper City and what do I get? This little shit-brown box. FFS.

you get everything on ssc :D

Aw fuck-in-ell. You have got to be fucking kidding:

...will be the first public building in Britain to be built with an extraordinary Corten metal shell.

It's going to be clad in rust. It's going to look even worse than I thought. What a faddy fashionable shitty waste-of-money blot on the fucking landscape this is going to be. And of course there will be some gobby architectural and heritage pseuds prattling on about how fantastic it'll look, then when it's all done and dusted and looks absolute shite, they'll be long fucking gone.

You know, I get so fucking annoyed about this fashionable aversion, nay refusal, to countenance an extension in keeping with what's already there. We saw just this with the John Rylands library. English fucking Heritage or the Heritage Lottery Fund are pushing grantees into overpriced fucking carbuncles that end up looking like some deformed siamese fucking twin riding on the back of a nice old building. Grrrrrrrr. This is how it should be done. Like Minshull Street:

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00422/MINSHULL_COURT_682_422298a.jpg

Here is an animation of the new Peoples History Museum.

http://82.71.77.169/newmuseumanimation.wmv

I loving the German bunker look. :) Sleek curved lines with slim windows. Very nice. I'm also liking the brown marble effect stone cladding. Not too keen on the glass/staircase at the back. Would have prefered the original stone cladding over glass. The balcony is fine. Gets the thumbs up from me. Now we just need a gun. :lol:

http://www.johnfunk.com/stories/2000cycling/july15/gunbunkerlonguessurmer3.jpg

PS. Reminds me of the MICC.

http://www.myedwardian.biz/rad/edw/manchester/MICC_450x300.jpg

I'm also liking the brown marble effect stone cladding.

Thats all very well but its cor-ten (ie rusty metal).
Keep up jrb!

Thats all very well but its cor-ten (ie rusty metal).
Keep up jrb!

Wow! I like it even more now. A rusting metal German bunker. :lol: (Perhaps I should start reading posts again instead of just scrolling through them)

Point taken. :)

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/048-7.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/046-6.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2008_09_02/people's%20history%20museum%20redevelopment%20spinningfields%20manchester/IMG_6595%20copy.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202008/040-8.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202008/041-8.jpg

http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/ChorleyFotos/P1000475.jpg

had a look at this today, lots of new cor-ten. still almost no rust.

Cor-ten almost completed; inside's looking good - lots of wide open space; water tanks freshly painted green.
My only dislike is the lack of windows when the view, especially of the CJC, is so awesome.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/samorost/UEPHM/PHMPano25S.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/samorost/UEPHM/PHMPano26S.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/samorost/UEPHM/PHMDocs.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/samorost/UEPHM/PHM24PanoS.jpg

This and some other internal features, like the spiral staircase, have been removed:

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k103/samorost/UEPHM/PHM11S.jpg

how nice of them to have invited you in like that.

how nice of them to have invited you in like that.

We've been here before, let's not turn it into a moral discussion again.
Some of you don't like what I do, some of you don't care.
I'll stop posting if my photos aren't of interest, but I won't stop taking them.

I like what you do. Please continue to post your excellent photos :)

Personally I love what you do lamarkia. I wish I had some mates who fancied doing the same thing with me. Urban exploration fascinates me. And I really do not see the problem with it if that's all you're doing. It's not like anybody's going about, setting fire to part built structures and shitting in the concrete mix now is it.

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202009/010.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202009/011.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202009/012.jpg

I really like this extension, however i find it strange that they put so few windows in, they could have filled the building with natural light, like the museum of liverpool will have. I'm sure once it's all rusted and complete it'll look good though!

The B Of The Bang gave birth before she passed away.

From today's MEN. A little worse for wear.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v397/jrb041067/ghghghghg.jpg

Well I passed the 'Angel of the North' a few years ago and it definitely wasn't any shade of orange. More like a shitty bronze/brown colour.

I worked in a 'corten' building in the early 70's (it was first developed at a Hamilton Ontario steel mill).

They said it would "turn purple in a couple of years".

I drove by it the other day.

It was the same shitty bronze/brown colour.

Since about 1974.

I will bet large that you will never see an orange coloured museum in Spinningfieds.

Or my dick is a fish.

Or my dick is a fish.

Is it a problem findding a gal that sucks fish?

Yea this suxxx

Or my dick is a fish.

Is that a paraphrasing of the infamous cry of "or my prick's a bloater".

Judging by my childhood memories of my dad's usage of the phrase it was part of the popular idiom of Manchester's "Fleet Street of the North" around the mid-70's.

Cheers

Thom

Is that a paraphrasing of the infamous cry of "or my prick's a bloater".

Judging by my childhood memories of my dad's usage of the phrase it was part of the popular idiom of Manchester's "Fleet Street of the North" around the mid-70's.

Cheers

Thom
The correct answer to: "Or my dick's a fish" is: "Say 'ello to a bloater"

You get 7/10 Thom.

Ahhh... i never realised it was a "call and response" style thing.

Thinking about it, the exact phrase my dad used might have been "Then my prick's a bloater", which would still work as an alternative resolution to the "Or my dick's a fish" set-up line.

You learn something new every day. Getting marked at a hearty seven out of ten in the school of life is something to be proud of.

Cheers

Thom

Taking shape:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/DSC00208.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/DSC00335.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/DSC00334.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/DSC00332.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/DSC00331.jpg

Fits in nicely with the PHM and Spinnigfields as a whole.

Looks great! When will it be fully completed? (Internally aswell)

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202009/021.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u180/markydeedroppics/City%20Centre%202009/023-1.jpg

Anotrher great addition. DSC00948.JPG FLICKR.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3301/3517638629_e2247b8925_o.jpg

^^

That is a terrible view. I can see the godawful thing twice

:lol:

its spoiled the view from this flat up for sale. up for sale with two agents and photos taken from different times, and now no proper view of the river. im having troubles uploading photos themselves

before extension

http://www.homesonview.co.uk/Scripts/ShowProperty.asp?css=&CompanyID=THORMANC&AgencyID=THGRFORD&ID=TFP01806



after extension
http://www.homesonview.co.uk/Scripts/ShowProperty.asp?css=&CompanyID=JORDMANC&AgencyID=JORDMANC&ID=JMP00592

what?? there was only a tiny patch of river on view, 100 metres away. hardly a belter of a view was it.

what?? there was only a tiny patch of river on view, 100 metres away. hardly a belter of a view was it.

well theres less of one now, save for a giant rusty tub.

what are you saying? it shouldn't have been built?

The images of the finished extension with the glass front on the riverside against the rusty drum look quite good. definately catch the eye on the bus route instead of the grey offices, but if i lived on that side of Leftbank i wouldnt particularly want anything high being built in front of my home.

We went to see one of the duplexes on the Quay Street side of Leftbank last year overlooking the Albion Market warehouse but a concern was if Granada was to flog the land on the corner of Water Street/Quay Street at the side of the Victoria and Albert Hotel and build somethin a bit to tall to block the view. As none of them have currently sold in that particular column in 3/ 4 years we wondered if anything had been planned

You can't be a NIMBY in the city.. It just doesn't make sense.

Move to a field.

You can't be a NIMBY in the city...


Move to a field...

Whitefield?

You can't be a NIMBY in the city.. It just doesn't make sense.

Move to a field.

I think you can to an extent if the views are being sold along with the apartments at extortionate costs. Not every square inch of free space in a city centre need be filled. Nice to have a balance. I'm from the area and choose to stay here because of family and so i'd prefer to buy somewhere that has some nice open views, happens to still be central with a skyline view rather than watch someone eat their tea in a building opposite.

Havent residents in Castlefield been successful at opposing something in their back yard recently? If you buy into somewhere, you have a say at least or at least be entitled to an opinion.

I think you can to an extent if the views are being sold along with the apartments at extortionate costs. Not every square inch of free space in a city centre need be filled. Nice to have a balance. I'm from the area and choose to stay here because of family and so i'd prefer to buy somewhere that has some nice open views, happens to still be central with a skyline view rather than watch someone eat their tea in a building opposite.

Havent residents in Castlefield been successful at opposing something in their back yard recently? If you buy into somewhere, you have a say at least or at least be entitled to an opinion.

Yeah but before you buy an apartment in say Spinnigfields, you could have a look and then realise the masterplan includes that view being built on. So rather than buy and move in before it gets built and then complain when it does, you could just assume it to be built and your view obscured in the near future when you buy.

As for Castlefield, yeah an arena was built, then Nimbys moved in and got it largely closed down. I think there can be times when you move into a city and the area is going to change unfairly you have a right to complain (and not everything needs to built on no) but its unfair to move into an area and then change what is already happening just to suit you. If you don't like it, don't move there. When investing in something as large as a house, you should have a look around the area, find out about future plans, ask a few people about the place etc so if you move into a new district like Spinnigfields which is constantly under construction and then assume a little emptyish piece of land will just stay that way, you're a numpty.

I think you can to an extent if the views are being sold along with the apartments at extortionate costs. Not every square inch of free space in a city centre need be filled. Nice to have a balance. I'm from the area and choose to stay here because of family and so i'd prefer to buy somewhere that has some nice open views, happens to still be central with a skyline view rather than watch someone eat their tea in a building opposite.

Havent residents in Castlefield been successful at opposing something in their back yard recently? If you buy into somewhere, you have a say at least or at least be entitled to an opinion.

just because an estate agent lists 'excellent river views' on the ad and you pay 164k for 500 square feet doesn't give you the right to turn your nose up at every little (and in this case, very little) development.
if you actually want a river view there are apartments actually facing the river. to live in a 15 story building and complain about a 3 story one ruining things for you is proposterous and perhaps narcissistic!

most spaces in city centres, that have previously been filled, are going to be up for redevelopment sooner or later. developers are going to want to get maximum use of their land. manchester has been a dense city for over 100 years. look at the victorian blocks.

castlefield residents opposed something that was out of context and of low quality. i wouldn't begin to compare this museum extension to that.
if you don't want to watch someone eat their tea in the building opposite then perhaps live in the suburbs?

as for leftbank apartments, you do realise bruntwood is thinking about one day putting a 30 floor tower right on the river nearby, don't you?

if you don't want to watch someone eat their tea in the building opposite then perhaps live in the suburbs?



As someone who aint from the suburbs or who wouldn't particularly wanna live there i'd simply not buy a flat with a building opposite. I'd want a view. If i was narcissistic i'd want a building made of glass so i could see my own reflection in it. Not a rusty one.

today

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2009_05_19/IMG_7754%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2009_05_19/IMG_7756%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2009_05_19/IMG_7763%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2009_05_19/IMG_7764%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2009_05_19/IMG_7769%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2009_05_19/IMG_7759%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2009_05_19/IMG_7755%20copy.jpg

It's class this building. It hath the grit.

nice building,no flag for the courthouse i thought they all had to have em now?

the law was changed recently to allow more types of buildings to fly the cross. i think.

nice building,no flag for the courthouse i thought they all had to have em now?

Comdot I'm loving these recent pics :). The colour of the museum extension is fantastic in the first pic, it looks like a render.

:)

http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm469/carlf18/019.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38655193@N05/3651395365/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2474/3651395365_3894fa4d01.jpg?v=0

pics from sunday.

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2%208%2009/IMG_9081%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2%208%2009/IMG_9080%20copy.jpg

http://www.nickgrayson.net/ssc/2%208%2009/IMG_9078%20copy.jpg

...

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab231/markydeedropg1/City%20Centre%202009/185.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab231/markydeedropg1/City%20Centre%202009/184.jpg

now that its starting to even out colour wise i quite like it! sticks out a bit though!

The minimalistic burnt orange bunker.

Very nice.

Looks like the Peoples History Museum was be reopening in 2009 as the reopening has been pushed back to early 2010 from the original late 2009 reopening.

http://www.phm.org.uk/newmuseumintro.htm

Should help the pedestrian flow along left bank a little when this opens and any help would be appreciated i'm sure. Still no news on the bridge though eh?

Coming along nicely:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/Peoples%20History%20Museum/DSC00601.jpg

Planning Application is now up for the signage for the Museum.


Peoples History Museum
Left Bank
Spinningfields
Manchester
M3 3ER

Display of individual letter brushed stainless steel fascia sign to extension

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=KRI72GBC00700

No documents are online yet though.

Went past the site earlier and the hoarding's are starting to be taken down .

Not the bestconditions, but you get the idea. Classy curved glass corner, mirrors the Corten Steel.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/Peoples%20History%20Museum/DSC00727.jpg

The stairs that complete the riverside walkway to Bridge St:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/Peoples%20History%20Museum/DSC00726.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/Peoples%20History%20Museum/DSC00725.jpg

very nice, very nice indeed. will some please get rid of that mock-victorian street lamp though please?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88519186@N00/4151576884/http://www.flickr.com/photos/88519186@N00/4151576884/www.flickr.com/photos/88519186@N00/4151576884/

http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm469/carlf18/Manchester%2012%2012%2009/IMG_1543.jpg

Am I right in thinking that once this opens you should be able to walk down by the side of the river (as shown in the pic above) all the way past the Leftbank apartments / Cafe Rouge in Spinningfields?

If so, it should create a good amount of footfall for the restaurants there, as I notice that most of them are empty all the time at the moment.

Opens 13th February 2010 according to their website: http://www.phm.org.uk

very nice, very nice indeed. will some please get rid of that mock-victorian street lamp though please?

Could be genuine, it is outside the Peoples History Museum after all. Taken from an old resi street perhaps.

Anyway, am I alone in thinking that blank white wall would make a great green wall?

Love it, im always a big fan of corten! its a nicely designed little building :)

The new cafe in the Peoples History Museum will be called The Left bank Cafe/ Bar, from the new plans for advertisments around the new building.


Peoples History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester, M3 3ER,

Installation of 4 No. poster displays and 2 No. vinyl letter signs

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/MCCList1.aspx?091896/AO/2009/C1

People's History Museum Twitter feed.

http://twitter.com/phmmcr

Democracy, in close-up.

Jan 18, 2010

Andrew Shanahan gets Carried Away at Manchester’s newest old museum.

On 13 February 2010, the People’s History Museum will open its doors to the public for the first time since November 2007. The re-opening signals the end of a long (and sometimes complicated) refurbishment, which has ended up costing in excess of £12.5 million. The museum’s director, Dr Nick Mansfield, hopes that the expanded premises and new exhibitions will restore the venue to the minds of cultural visitors after a period in which the building threatened to become something of a forgotten member of Manchester’s museums scene. This despite the fact that it is the only national museum in the city and has a collection that contains some 1,500 historic objects. So why does Mansfield hope that you will make a date to visit a museum about the history of working people in Britain?

‘The key thing is that the new galleries are bigger and there are so many wonderful objects about to be shown! With the previous building we were only able to display a fraction of what we’ve got and so our first year is really focusing on displaying more, which is marvellous,’ Mansfield says. ‘We’ve got more room to display our collections of political posters, we’ve got banners from the 1832 Reform Act, banners from the miners’ strike, and items from our archive of the labour party – including the minutes of the first labour party meeting in Ramsay McDonald’s handwriting. Then of course we’ve got Carried Away.’

Given the importance of an inspiring re-opening, it seems only fair to assume that this opening exhibition must be a good demonstration of the museum’s principles and ethos. As its name would suggest, the show features photographs of demonstrators being literally carried away from protests by authorities. It’s a deceptively simple brief but one which Catherine O’Donnell, the lead researcher for the exhibition, says will sound the perfect opening fanfare for the museum.

‘I think the People’s History Museum tells the story of individuals, as well as those of the wider political movements,’ explains O’Donnell. ‘This exhibition is about normal people living extraordinary lives and the images in Carried Away are snapshots of these individual moments of defiance. One of the things that struck me when I was selecting images for the exhibition is that it takes a lot of guts to get arrested for something you believe in and these images capture that particular moment when people do just that and say, “screw the consequences, this is really important – it’s something more important than me.”‘

To emphasise O’Donnell’s point, the museum has tried to trace as many of the people shown in the photographs as possible, recording their stories of what happened before and after the pictures were taken. Incredibly, through local media campaigns, O’Donnell and her team have already found five protest protagonists and have included their accounts within the exhibition itself. And anyone visiting the museum is encouraged to share their version of the events on display, which will allow the show to evolve as more and more people see it.

The exhibition’s simple premise neatly demonstrates that shared struggle is central to any political change, regardless of era. The images, for example, cover a number of key moments in the progression towards democracy, ranging from the Suffragettes, represented by a 1909 photograph of a defiant Dora Marsden protesting outside Manchester University, to images of the miners’ strikes from the 1980s. In all of the images, whether they show people standing up for equality, anti-fascism or nuclear disarmament, it is the sense of unity between these moments of defiance that makes the most interesting point about the struggles that still go on today.

‘We have a tragic image in the exhibition of a man called Kevin Gately at an anti-fascist rally in the 70s,’ says O’Donnell. ‘We’ve got one picture of him being dragged away by the police and another of him on a stretcher. Sadly he later died – so although some of the images are quite quirky, there are also some terrible outcomes to these struggles. A lot of the themes raised by the photographs are very contemporary; they connect directly with protests and conversations that are going on now. You can see an image of someone being violently arrested by a policeman and it brings to mind recent stories like Ian Tomlinson.’

The question of relevance is one that concerns Mansfield and he says it’s an ongoing battle to keep a museum dedicated to the story of democracy in the UK relevant to a modern audience. ‘Younger people especially assume that democracy is 700 years old and that it’s something to do with Magna Carta, whereas it’s a really recent story. The pure “one person one vote” idea of democracy only really evolved into the late 1960s,’ Mansfield says. ‘It’s vital we remember that the story of democracy is ongoing and when we live in a time when there are more people voting for Big Brother than there are voting in the general election it’s essential that we keep people engaged, because otherwise who is going to keep politicians on their toes?’

Carried Away opens at the newly re-opened People’s History Museum on 13 February 2010. Andrew Shanahan is an award-winning freelance writer with work ranging from journalism with The Guardian and The Independent and national magazine titles to scriptwriting with the BBC. He has also developed a series of innovative writing projects for the internet with Moving Audio.

http://www.creativetourist.com/features/democracy-in-close-up

Mods.

Can we move it to the completed thread please. Pics below article.

MEN.

People's History Museum set to re-open
February 10, 2010



Manchester's People's History Museum opens its doors this weekend after a £13m revamp – and the MEN has had a sneak preview.

The musuem houses a treasure trove of items dating back to the earliest days of the vote, taking in the birth of trade unions, modern political parties, and Suffragette movements.


The former Edwardian water pumphouse – which has been closed for two years * was built by the same architect who designed the Manchester's famous Victoria Baths. It now boasts an eye-catching extension building clad in a distinctive rusted metal.

Key moments such as the Peterloo massacre and the founding of the Co-op movement are vitally linked to Manchester.

The history of the 300-year-old fight for democracy will be brought to life with the latest audio and video displays. Actors will play the role of 19th century activists and young visitors will get the chance to work in a reproduction Victorian sweatshop.

As well as historical exhibits, there are also displays on modern movements including the Miners' Strike, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and the gay rights movement.

It contains treasured materials, ranging from the writing desk of political reformer Thomas Paine, to diaries and letters of famous politicians, to puppets from TV satire Spitting Image.

The museum, by the banks of the River Irwell, reopens to the public on Saturday .

It also boasts an archive with 4,000 boxes of documents, which include the official records of the Labour Party and personal papers of politicians such as Michael Foot.

The building is also home to a one-of-a-kind conservation studio which specialises in restoring time-aged banners and historic textiles.

Museum bosses have set themselves a modest target of 80,000 visitors a year, but say thousands more annual visitors over the years.

The newly-refurbished Engine Hall, the former entrance for the museum, will act as a temporary exhibition and function space.

Andy Pearce, deputy museum director, said: “We are the only national museum in Manchester and the only museum in the UK looking at democracy.

“Many of those key political movements which led to the vote have their roots in Manchester, which makes the city our ideal home.

“We hope that by showing the history of the fight for the vote, it will encourage some debate about the future of democracy.”

The national museum, refurbished with lottery cash, was founded in London by amateur industrial historians and moved to Manchester in the 1980s.

For an in-depth interview with Andy Pearce see City Life supplement on Friday.

http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/res/666.$plit/C_71_article_1192242_image_list_image_list_item_0_image.jpg?10%2F02%2F2010%2018%3A28%3A29%3A607

Others here. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/g/1192242_peoples_history_museum_set_to_reopen

Brilliant. Will make it a regular haunt for Heaton and Family.





Then in ten years time.

Now watch it dissolve into The National Museum of Fast Food or something........

Brilliant. Will make it a regular haunt for Heaton and Family.





Then in ten years time.

Now watch it dissolve into The National Museum of Fast Food or something........

Like the rust/dissolve pun.

http://i46.tinypic.com/24y04lu.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/1zxxxrq.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/f4nped.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/50pd89.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/2622xhd.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/2zgu2vt.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/52gh03.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2dhzn01.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/ehnsas.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/efmcty.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/34g1xqq.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/2ibohnq.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/2pp0ebk.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2j3k48p.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/2ykz33m.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2gxn3ex.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/65ojdh.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/23hueeb.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/10gz2jd.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2cdgb42.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/28b9z7o.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2jevhaq.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/212tye0.jpg

Great photos marky, looking forward to visiting People's History Museum, looked like it was pretty busy for its opening weekend, hope they open up the access down to leftbank soon, looks like from your photos it is still closed off.

The website for People's History Museum has now been relaunched.

http://www.phm.org.uk/

Still closed off at the moment. Hopefully open soon.

Excellent! I'll definitely be going there sometime soon.

Yeh, I concur with flange, I hope they open up the riverside walk to Leftbank soon. Should boost the footfall past some of the empty restaurants there.

The railings had been bent back tonight and there was access open to walk along from the museum side straight down to the Leftbank promenade. A couple of chefs from Zizzis were sat having a fag on the walkway

The pathway and stairs are still closed by the People History Museums, the barries are still up around the area, there are signs on them saying it will reopen next Tuesday 2nd March.

Animation of The New People’s History Museum

Fri 26th February, 6pm to 9pm

Spinningfields, Manchester

On Friday 26 February, the new People’s History Museum’s will host a private launch party, one week before the official launch of the new museum. To mark the beginning of the countdown to the official opening, and to celebrate the opening of the museum’s new building, we will create a beautiful visual statement.

Using lighting effects and pyrotechnic elements to highlight the juxtaposition of the traditional old, and contemporary new building, the site will be animated with a flowing wave of changing coloured lights and moving flames. The event will also mark the launch of the museum’s new logo and brand which will be incorporated into the evening’s animation.

To see the full impact of the animation on the outside of the building, pop down and see the museum from the Salford side of the River Irwell.

The lighting animation will continue for the following week until 5 March from 5pm until midnight every day, so make sure you come down to Spinningfields to have a look.
http://www.walktheplank.co.uk/coming-soon/wtp-shows-and-events

People's History Museum re-opens in Manchester

Photographs of scuffling miners, suffragettes and poll tax protesters are the defining images of the new-look People's History Museum in Manchester.

The building closed in October 2007 to undergo a £12.5m redevelopment.

A revolutionary steel-clad extension has now been added to the original Pump House in Spinningfields.

The building opens with 'Carried Away', an exhibition of photographs showing people being arrested by police while staging public demonstrations.

'Striking'

Museum director Nick Mansfield said he was delighted to re-open the People's History Museum to the public once again.

"We wanted to launch the new museum with an exhibition that would show off some of our most powerful images," he said.

"The photographs show the very moment of arrest, which usually involved some degree of force, hence the exhibition's title 'Carried Away.'

Adding: "Some can even be quite amusing, while others, particularly the miners' strike images show real bitterness and anger."

The new People's History Museum extension is a striking new addition to the original building on Bridge Street.

Clad in Corten, a type of weathering steel designed to rust, it is joined to the Pump House by a glazed walkway and provides more than 1300 sq m of new gallery space as well as a conservation studio, archive area, shop and cafe bar.

Banners

Manchester's only national museum, it houses 1,500 artefacts, including the world's oldest trade union and miners' banners.

Also on show is the table where the 18th century writer and revolutionary, Thomas Paine, wrote his ground-breaking publication 'Rights of Man.'

The main galleries open with the story of the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester in 1819, which resulted in the first reform of Parliament in 1832, giving some men the vote.

The galleries then track the rise of revolutionaries and reformers, who fought for the ideas behind many political reforms including the welfare state, the NHS and government housing.

New displays include the world's largest collection of radical banners, the rise of the Co-operative movement, and information on how 19th century workers won and spent their leisure time.

The new look People's History Museum admitted its first visitors on Saturday 13 February but will open officially on 5 March 2010.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8536000/8536818.stm

Here is a video of the testing of the lightshow on Thursday night, for the light show that was held for the opening on Friday night, the light show and pyrotechnics will carry on for the rest of the week unti Friday 5th March.

http://vimeo.com/9744130

Party time at People's History Museum

March 01, 2010

The People’s History Museum held a party for 650 people to mark its £12.5m refurbishment and reopening.
The city centre museum, which has been closed since October 2007, held the first of a series of celebrations to mark the occasion.

Staff from the Princess Street social history museum were joined by representativesguests from other Manchester city galleries and museums. with the chance to see at the Princess Street museum's new building and exhibits.

On show was the new 1,600 sq ft gallery space featuring the museum's collection of historic banners and the new textile conservation laboratory, the largest in the north of England, and the Manchester Community Choir performed.

MPs, councillors and representatives from Heritage Lottery and the North West Development Agency will attend a second reception on March 5 as part of the re-opening celebrations.

Museum director Nick Mansfield said: "The reaction since we re-opened has been very positive and overwhelmingly people see it as an extraordinary museum which is setting a new benchmark.

"We hope people will come in on their lunch breaks to have a look but it also offers a full day out."

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1194170_party_time_at_peoples_history_museum

True North discusses People's History Museum identity

Friday, 12 March 2010

Manchester's People History Museum reopened to the public last weekend, featuring branding from local agency True North and a web presence developed by Reading Room.

True North was appointed to brand the now extended museum - Manchester's only national museum - in late 2008 and set about trying to discover "the essence of the museum and what it represents" through interviews and workshop processes.

People powerIn the end the team hit upon the central premise of 'Ideas have always been worth fighting for,’ as explained by creative director Alan Herron:

"The People’s History Museum has always been about the history of people fighting for their right," he said.

"The new extension is also radical as it is the first building in the UK to be made from a Cor-Ten metal shell. We needed to create a bold statement that reflected this forward-thinking."

Herron continued: "There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to ‘Ideas have always been worth fighting for’ from staff, stakeholders and from the prospective audience.

"We carried the idea of protest through stickers, banners and used the archive of photographs of marches to convey the power of ordinary people.”

Fellow Manchester agency Reading Room created the new website for the museum after being appointed last summer.

The PHM's site redevelopment cost £12.5m.

http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-marketing-services/true-north-discusses-people's-history-museum-identity-201003127649/

The riverside walk from Leftbank to the People's History Museum is now open to the public. It's probably only 50 metres, but makes a real difference and is a pleasant if short part of a stroll from A to B. I look forward to the time when the whole Irwell City Park project is complete and you can walk run, or relax by any and every part of the banks of the Irwell from Salford Uni, to MediaCity.

The PHM bar was open at 7:30 too. Good to see. Let's hope it becomes as popular a social spot as perhaps the CornerHouse Bar is.

Also the Flock of Doves/Peace statue has disappeared. Any clues? The plinth is still there so I sincerely hope it is just being cleaned. It's a favourite of mine.

Yep, the riverside walk's a nice addition. But I noticed that the benches placed along there look a bit battered. I hope they replace them soon, and a bit of greenery / flowers along there would be good.

Also the Flock of Doves/Peace statue has disappeared. Any clues? The plinth is still there so I sincerely hope it is just being cleaned. It's a favourite of mine.

I was wondering about the Dove of Peace too, and I asked a member of staff at the PHM today. Yes they have been sent for cleaning and will return.

Reading about the sculpture I was interested to learn that it came from the same 1985 Sculpture for Peace competition that brought us Barbara Pearson's Messenger of Peace (Lady Feeding the Pigeons) in the Peace Gardens.

Doves of Peace was the runner-up in the competition but the panel liked it so much that they decided to commission it as well. Those were the days. It is by Michael Lyons who was lecturer in Fine Art at Manchester Polytechnic.

Cheers Gari.

Went to the People's History Museum yesterday for the first time, is such a great museum, you can defiantly see how the extension has helped the museum, so much information and a great day out to go around.

A little over-exposed, but a nice contract of the sturdy rust finish, against the more placid colours of CJC and the strong curve, versus the right-angles.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/Picture381.jpg

Visited the museum for the first time over the weekend and was extremely impressed. Very well presented exhibits, and good hands on elements. Will definitely visit again.

The Dove of Peace sculpture is now back in place.

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/1742/manchester276.jpg

Little article in the Guardian,

The People's History Museum provides pieces of a global jigsaw

A resource of international standing, redressing imbalances in how history is preserved and shared, is losing central funding
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/04/peoples-history-museum-funding

Manchester museum heads Art Fund vote

17 Feb 2011, 10:29

The renovation and expansion of the People's History Museum is currently number one in an online poll of the best museum project in the country completed in 2010.

People's History Museum has 28.6% of votes, followed by Roberts Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway on 18.4% and the Roman Baths Museum in Bath with 13.1%.

There are ten museums on the long list for the £100,000 prize. A shortlist of four will be announced in May and the winner in June.

However, the winner is decided by a judging panel, chaired by Michael Portillo, which only has to take the online vote into account as a gauge of public support.

The redevelopment of People's History Museum was designed by architects Austin-Smith:Lord and carried out by Wates Construction.

The Art Fund Prize is administered by The Museum Prize, a charitable company created in 2001 by National Heritage, the Museums Association, The Art Fund and the Campaign for Museums.

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/8340-manchester-museum-heads-art-fund-prize-vote.html

Don't get me wrong I loved the exhibits, but the new exterior is wayyyy off. I mean you can just tell it was a cheap and rushed job. I can't understand why a building of so much importance was given a rusty piece of metal as a facade.

It's totally insulting to working class history. If this was a building commemoratig the upper classes, would it's exterior have been rendered so cheaply and tackily? The pump house exterior, by the way, is marvellous.

I know what you're all going to say- that it's all about clean modernist lines and so forth. But the Victorians did clean lines as well- they just put a hell of a lot more thought and effort into it.

So yeah, on the whole, a total botched job. The new exterior won't last another ten years, because it totally lets the whole place down. I can't believe Manchester is the home of the nations working class history museum and this ugly extension is what they come up with.

And don't even get me started on that shit plastic bird statue. Were people even impressed with such tat in the eighties?

Went for a visit at the weekend, and it really is a great museum inside. Has a touch of the imperial war museum north about it in the way its laid out.
Def have to take a return trip.

One thing though. They really need to have a big section on Engels and Marx. Was suprised not to see much about them.

Oh and if the reception guy is reading this. If someone hands the map back to you at the end its because it says to do so so it can be reused. So don't look at me as though i'm some sort of wierdo lol.