After months of waiting, The Manchester Museums Project, has been awarded a major grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The £4.5 million grant, awarded in December, is the final piece in the funding jigsaw that will see £60 million invested in three stunning projects.
Involving the Manchester Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the City Art Gallery, the project will reinforce Manchester’s international reputation as a city of culture and increase access for everyone to Manchester’s treasures. Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, visiting all three venues to celebrate the event, described the developments as ‘exciting’ and in line with his department’s objectives of “widening physical and intellectual access to collections, promoting education, tackling social exclusion and supporting economic prosperity”.
Manchester Museum
The Manchester Museum’s £1.9 million share of the ERDF grant will enable it to go ahead with a two-stage project that will meet the needs of the next millennium. Parts of the museum, which is situated on Oxford Road, will stay open throughout the development. During Phase 1, due for completion next April, five of the galleries will remain open. Main features of the first phase include:
- New geology galleries featuring new specimens of dinosaurs and minerals and an exploration of the solar system.
- Purpose-built vivarium to house the museum’s unique collection of frogs. – Innovative centre for learning.
- “Science for Life” – an interactive exhibition about the human body.
- New lifts, stairways and improved links between buildings. Phase 2 of the project, due for completion at the end of 2001, includes:
- Creation of an external courtyard, new four-storey entrance and reception area.
- Large exhibition gallery to house major exhibitions.
- New purpose-built shop. – Visitor services including a new cafe, kitchen and toilets.
- New galleries to display coins, ethnography, archery, and other treasures
- New lecture theatre for public lectures and corporate hire.
- Improved storage and research facilities.
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester is situated on the site of the world’s oldest passenger railway station on Liverpool Road. Additional facilities will represent the final phase of the expansion of the museum since it opened in 1983. The scheme includes:
- Conversion of two large viaduct arches, adjacent to the 1830 Warehouse, into a science theatre for events, demonstrations, films and performances and The Communications Lab Ð a resource aimed at young people to promote an interest in science through media such as radio, recording and virtual reality. The restored 1830 Warehouse will gain new exhibitions and visitor facilities.
- The Support Centre, in the basement of the Lower Byrom Street Warehouse, will enable key collections to be brought onto the site. At present most of the museum’s collections – some of the world’s finest relating to industrial and scientific history Ð are stored off-site with no public access. – Lower Byrom Street Warehouse will gain two new galleries: Manchester Science, reflecting Manchester’s long tradition as a centre of scientific research, and North West Innovation, which will emphasise the region’s tradition of innovation in science, manufacturing, design, and cultural industries. A new glazed entrance structure will be built, and a glazed lift and staircase will provide a visitor vantage point.
Manchester City Art Gallery
Work has already begun on a £24 million scheme at the City Art Gallery to completely refurbish the Mosley Street main building and the Athenaeum on Princess Street and build a new extension linking the two. Design competition winner Michael Hopkins & Partners is working closely with the City Council and English Heritage. The new four-storey building will provide a clear route around the gallery and will include:
- Additional space for the presentation of Manchester’s internationally acclaimed art collection.
- A superb new gallery for special exhibitions. – An exciting new orientation and interpretation gallery.
- A bigger shop and cafe. – A new lecture theatre and classroom suite.
- Improved information points, toilet facilities and cloakrooms.
- Art storage and handling facilities in the basement area