Reflections on Manchester
Posted on July 4, 2010
Visitors to The Manchester Museum will find that a new temporary structure called Reflective Room has appeared in the Museum’s Courtyard from this week.
| The structure was chosen as the winning design in a competition between 5th year Architecture students from the Prototype and Re_Map studio units at the Manchester School of Architecture (msa) and will be in the Courtyard until October – entry is free.
The Courtyard Project invited the students to design an environment within the Courtyard space outside The Manchester Museum’s entrance to align with the summer programme and exhibitions and to form part of the preparations for the major redevelopment of the Museum’s Animal Life 1 (mammals) gallery, closing in September 2010 and reopening in May 2011. A shortlist of five proposals were selected and developed further, a summary of which you can see on display at the Museum. Inspired by the changes that unfold in the Courtyard over the course of the day, the Reflective Room team designed a new environment in which people can reflect and re-engage with their surroundings. Using everyday materials, including plywood and black glazed ceramic tiles, its design is both subtle and delicate and creates an experiential space. The aim is to utilise the ordinary to create the sublime. Fabricating a room within the Courtyard space will enable people to sit and relax whilst reviving their awareness of the environment. Enclosing this space will enable the courtyard to be revealed in a less direct way, reducing it to a more accessible human size. |
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Reflective Room is supported by:
The Manchester School of Architecture which was formed in 1996, as an innovative collaboration between Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester.
The Manchester Institute for Research and Innovation in Art and Design – MIRIAD – based at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Pilkington’s Tiles Plc – established in 1891 and is the UK’s largest manufacturer of ceramic tiles. The tiles, which have been donated for the project, are manufactured at the factory and UK Head Office, in Manchester.
Atelier One is an Engineering consultancy committed to creating innovative solutions which are appropriate for and contribute to building design through the close collaboration with the design team.