A VIVA S TUDIO S EMEA
MANCHESTER / UK
L a ndm a r k c u l t u r a l s p a c e o p e ns in M a nch es te r w i t h s e e m i n g l y limitle ss p r oduction p o s s i b i l i t i e s , r e d e f ining w h a t it m e a n s t o b e m u l t i p u rpose .
Arguably the most exciting new creative space to open in the UK in several years, Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, has been built and equipped with flexibility in mind. Factory International is the organisation behind both Manchester International Festival (MIF), and the new venue, and it commissions, produces and presents an ambitious year-round programme of original creative work across the spectrum of music, performance, visual arts and popular culture, and special events at its new venue, online, and internationally, as well as staging the citywide festival every other year. Located in the St John’s neighbourhood to the west of the city of Manchester, Aviva Studios is based around large, open, adaptable spaces that can be constantly reconfigured to suit artistic needs. The 13,350 sq m building features two performance spaces that work together. The 21m-high Warehouse has a capacity for up to 5,000 people (standing), which can be divided by two movable, full-height acoustic walls to create two separate spaces, while the Hall is a flexible auditorium, which can hold 1,603 seated or 2,000 standing. The proscenium in the Hall can fully open into the Warehouse, allowing its stage to run deep into the Warehouse. The design of the building was led by architectural firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), with several vendors brought in to ensure its technological requirements were met. “The ethos behind the venue is artist flexibility,” said Paul Moore, Factory International Director of Production and Operations. “It is an amazing space to reconfigure and explore all of its possibilities, and it is a testament to our industry how well all the different vendors and contractors involved in this project worked together to deliver it.” After winning the tender process to provide theatre consultancy for the venue, Charcoalblue was pivotal in bringing the building’s inspiring artistic vision to life, resulting in a ground-breaking new theatre typology: an arts warehouse. Several specialist companies worked with the venue staff, and often with each other across the various technological elements within the building. These included J&C Joel, White Light (WL) - a d&b Solutions company, Adlib, Solotech, Unusual Rigging and Torpedo Factory Group. Charcoalblue brought in local stage engineering firm J&C Joel to deliver the steelwork across the two performance spaces. “In many ways, we make the building work from a theatrical point of view – there’s the building shell, and we provide the equipment that makes it work as a theatre or performance venue,” said Conor McGivern, Special Projects Manager, J&C Joel. “For an iconic and groundbreaking project of this size there had to be a constant dialogue with the main contractors to ensure a successful delivery, because unless the equipment we provide is installed successfully and works, it won’t function as a theatre.” McGivern and his team delivered multiple elements across both
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