Green light for Greater Manchester center of excellence for the arts
Salford City Council’s planning panel has unanimously granted planning permission for the development of a £38m Arts Building for the University of Salford which will provide state-of-the-art performance and teaching spaces for students and the local community. The project features a theatre and performance spaces, the new building will house students studying in areas such as music, design and performance and forms part of a major redevelopment of the University campus as well as student spaces. The new building will also include a café, and the theatre and studio facilities will be used to give performances and exhibitions open to the public. The project will involve building a 16,000 sq m seven storey Arts Building, which has been designed by architects firm Stride Treglown which has a reputation for designing and delivering award winning, sustainable and contemporary design which always exceeds expectations. The structural engineer Gifford is to act as a visually striking gateway to the site.It includes a public square and access routes to link the university and a new student village with the nearby Salford Crescent railway station and the local communities around the campus.The seven-storey building is the first phase of a £75m master plan. This includes a refurbished and extended Chapman Building, currently underway, as well as the new arts building, and £30m student halls of residence overlooking Peel Park. There will also be tuition and social learning areas to help students achieve their full potential in the best possible environment. The Arts Building will be sited adjacent to this development – creating a welcoming public space in the centre of the campus which will become a hub for students, staff and local people. And, as part of the University’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and improving campus sustainability, the new building will have the world-leading BREEAM accreditation status. Students from the School of Media, Music & Performance and the School of Art & Design will be the predominant users of the building, vacating the current Adelphi and Centenary Buildings. Students from these schools will also be housed in the new facility at MediaCityUK which opens on October 4 2011. The project is being worked on by planning consultants, Turley Associates and work will begin in the autumn of this year for completion mid-2014. Vice-Chancellor, Professor Martin Hall said: “This building and our wider Campus Plan are part of the University’s strong commitment to the regeneration of Central Salford, in the context of the City Council’s vision for this area and the work done over many years by the Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company. “It will be an important cultural centre for the people of Salford and will provide our students with a space to allow them to fully develop their skills.”