The Imperial War Museum North is often seen as an example of deconstructivist architecture (Shaw, Scholes, & Thurgood. 2008). Conceptually the three main structures represent the three interlocking shards of the globe (Fig. 6), each being a different territory of war: Land, air and water (Studio Libeskind, 2020). The idea for this concept was said to have been from Libeskind dropping a teapot from his window and gathering the remains of what was to eventually become the shape of his design (Rushforth, 2003). The funding for the IWMN had been cut but despite this setback Libeskind remained set on there being a strong and stark form without any compromise to the original concept, insisting that the budget cuts would actually help in some ways (Herbert, 2000).
Figure 6. Imperial War Musuem concept drawing, drawn by author.
Figure 7. Imperial War Musuem site in the 1900s, Retrieved from DigiMaps
The site in Salford was previously a brownfield site previously used as a shipping dock before it became derelict in the 1980s. Since then numerous regeneration projects have occurred to help boost the cultural and economic value of the area, the Imperial War Museum North being one of them (Baing, Andreas Schulze, & Wong, Cecilia. 2018). The hope for this regeneration scheme was to help improve and solidify Salfords Quays place branding and image with a flagship landmark, with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao being used as a precedent with the risk of the outcomes and aims not being achieved still present (Kavaratzis, Mihalis, & Ashworth, Greg. 2015). However, since it’s opening in July 2002, the museum has attracted over one million three hundred fifty thousand visitors and won numerous architectural awards (Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, 2007). The area of Salford Quays had also undergone a major transformation due to the opening of the Imperial War Museum North, Lowry Centre and development of MediaCity are accredited for putting Salford on the map by some critics and even referred to as “Salford’s Guggenheim” because of the influx of visitors and tourists to the area (Aldersey-Williams, 2000). 6.
