HOME center for international contemporary art, theater and film, Manchester

도시 속에서 즐기는 두 번째 집 개념의 복합문화공간, 맨체스터 홈

개방적인 공공 소통의 장이자 사회적 만남의 이정표 같은 역할을 맡아

맨체스터의 도시 중심가에 위치한 홈(HOME)은 문화행사와 더불어 시의 다양한 예술프로젝트의 생산자 역할을 하는 복합문화공간이다. 건물의 이름에서 전해오는 친숙함처럼 홈(HOME)은 첫 번째 스트리트존과 도시의 중심을 잇는 철도 아치와 함께 형성된 새로운 공공 광장 사이의 삼각형 지역에 다소곳이 자리한다. 대지가 지닌 생김새에 맞추어 건물이 앉혀졌고 삼각형의 모양과 둥근 코너가 시각적으로 강한 효과를 만들어준다.

전체적인 디자인은 개방적인 공공 공간과 사회적 공간을 통해 많은 사람들을 수용할 수 있는 동시에 도시의 이정표 같은 역할을 하도록 계획되었다. 홈을 찾는 방문객들이 국제적이고 현대적인 시각적 예술, 연극, 영화를 즐기며 만드는 동시에 만나며 사회적인 만남을 이어갈 수 있도록 시도한 것이다. 건물의 외관은 공공공간을 향해 커튼월로 한껏 열려있으며, 다양하고 역동적인 수직 패턴을 통해 내부의 움직임을 흥미롭게 표정 짓고 있다. 맨체스터의 주변 날씨의 빛에 따라 외형은 다양한 모습으로 변화한다. 때론 검은색으로 어떨 때는 청색, 녹색으로 변하며 홈의 얼굴색을 다채롭게 만들고 있다. 코너 돌출부 아래에는 테라스가 마련되어 있어 카페의 연장선상이 되기도 하고 문화행사로 사용되는 공공광장과 직접적으로 연계된다.

‘홈(HOME)’이라는 건물의 이름에서 잘 드러나듯 건축가는 도시적인 거실에서 차용한 인테리어 개념과 배치를 통해 따뜻하면서도 친근함을 이끌어내고자 하였다. 7,600㎡ 면적에 끝이 둥근 삼각형의 평면 내부에는 2개의 극장(500, 150좌석)과 5개의 영화관(250, 60, 40, 40석), 레스토랑, 카페, 옥상 정원, 갤러리, 서점, 리허설공간, 업무공간과 교육공간 등이 들어서 있다. 홀과 계단실, 카페와 바 등의 벽면을 채우고 있는 노출콘크리트의 거친 마감은 오크나무의 부드럽고 따뜻함과 접목되어 공간을 더욱 세련되게 만들어준다. 날 것 같은 나무의 질감, 노출콘크리트, 철과 유리의 솔직한 재료를 사용한 것은 홈(HOME)의 예술과 문화의 단면을 있는 그대로 보여주기 위해 강조된 요소들이다.

홈(HOME)의 중심부에 있는 사뭇 큼지막한 계단실은 극장, 영화관, 갤러리를 이용하는 서로 다른 사용자들 사이를 연결하는 편안한 사회적 공간의 역할을 맡는다. 이 공간은 건물의 주 동선으로 엘리베이터를 사용하기 보다는 계단을 자주 이용할 수 있도록 고려한 건축가의 배려이다. 각 층의 바와 레스토랑은 이 특색있는 계단실로 통합되는 사이 공간에 마련되어 있다. 첫 번째 층의 레스토랑은 업무가 끝난 후 한잔의 와인과 공연 전에 식사를 할 수 있는 곳으로 예술과 문화를 아우르는 중요한 공간으로 작용한다. 음식과 음료를 제공하는 공간들 덕에 건물의 각각 다른 공간들은 독립적으로 행사를 위한 공간으로 활용될 수 있다.

1층에 마련되어 있는 주극장은 500개의 각양각색의 좌석으로 3개 층에 걸쳐 자리한다. 주극장은 관람객들이 무대로부터 15m가 넘지 않게 디자인되었다. 2층에는 150 이하의 좌석의 소규모 스튜디오 극장이 위치한다. 3층에는 5개의 최고급 극장이 마련되어 있어 프로그램에 따라 유동적일 수 있음을 보여준다. 극장과 영화관의 방음시설은 주변의 철도 운행 소리에도 방해받지 않도록 철저히 계획되어 있다. 1층에 위치한 4m의 층고를 가진 갤러리는 가장 큰 규모의 현대 시각 예술을 설치할 수 있는 곳이다. 이처럼 도시의 중심거리에서 만나게 되는 두 번째 집의 개념을 표방한 홈(HOME)은 맨체스터 거리를 특별한 문화의 집이자 만남과 교류의 공간으로 거듭나고 있다. ANN

Architects_ Mecanoo, Photo by Mecanoo, Paul Karalius

Located at First Street, HOME forms the cultural heart of one of the largest areas of development in Manchester city centre – a flagship building that acts as a catalyst for the surrounding area. As the base for the new organization formed by the merger of Corner house and The Library Theatre Company, HOME has been designed to allow for the commissioning, production and presentation of critically engaged and technically complex artistic projects, as well as the hosting of large scale cultural events. The overall budget for HOME was £25 million. Its striking exterior acts like beacon, while the welcoming public spaces and social areas within are designed to be inviting to all. HOME is like a second home, a cultural home: a place for making, meeting and socialising, alongside enjoying the very best in international contemporary visual art, theatre and film.

Connecting the First Street zone with the city centre, the building is located on a triangular site in between the railway arches and a new public square. Its characteristic, triangular shape and rounded corners create a strong visual identity. The glazed facade adorned with irregularly spaced fins opens up where public areas are located, giving the building a varied and dynamic appearance. Depending on the weather, the colour of its iridescent facade changes from black to blue to green. A terrace is located beneath the large overhang, connecting the café bar to the public square that can be used for outdoor cultural events. Inside, the triangular floorplan results in a number of unique rooms inhabited within the three corners, including the gallery, the restaurant, and one of the five cinemas which features a curved screen.

The interior concept and layout is that of an urban living room, instilling a sense of warmth and intimacy. The rugged concrete floors and walls contrast beautifully with the warm oak of the bars. The use of raw honest materials like wood, concrete, steel and glass underline HOME’s identity and mission to provide cutting edge arts and culture. The wide central stairwell at the heart of HOME acts as an informal social space, connecting the different uses of the venue: theatre, cinema and gallery. It encourages visitors to use the stairs instead of the lifts as the main circulation route through the building. The bars on each floor and the restaurant are located in the areas in between, cleverly integrated into the characteristic stairwell. The restaurant on the first floor is an essential part of the integrated art and culture concept, where visitors can enjoy a pre-theatre meal or a glass of wine after work. By offering food and drinks at a number of locations, the different parts of the building can easily be used independently for events.

The main theatre on the first floor contains 500 colourful seats across three levels. It is designed in a way that spectators are never more than 15 metres from the stage. The adjacent foyer serves as a multifunctional space that can also be used outside of theatre hours. The smaller 150-seat flexible studio theatre space is located on the second floor. The third floor houses the five top-of-the-range cinemas in a range of sizes allowing great flexibility in programming. The four metre-high flexible gallery space on the ground floor is designed to accommodate the most ambitious of contemporary visual art installations. Outstanding sound insulation prevents the railway noises from disturbing the operating theatres and cinemas and allows them to be used simultaneously.

Mecanoo, officially founded in Delft in 1984, is made up of a highly multidisciplinary staff of over 160 creative professionals from 25 countries. The team includes architects, engineers, interior designers, urban planners, landscape architects and architectural technicians. The company is led by its original founding architect and creative director, Francine Houben, technical director Aart Fransen and financial director Peter Haasbroek, who are joined by partners Francesco Veenstra, Ellen van der Wal, Paul Ketelaars and Dick van Gameren. The extensive collective experience, gained over three decades, results in designs that are realised with technical expertise and great attention to detail. Mecanoo’s projects range from single houses to complete neighbourhoods and skyscrapers, cities and polders, schools, theatres and libraries, hotels, museums, and even a chapel. Discovering unexpected solutions for the specifics of programme and context is the foremost challenge in all of our assignments. Each design is considered in terms of its cultural setting, place and time. As such, Mecanoo treats each project as a unique design statement embedded within its context and orchestrated specifically for the people who use it. Within the practice are knowledge centres which enable us to stay current on technological and design innovations in sustainability, eco-engineering, technology, education and learning, high-rise and mobility. Preoccupied not by a focus on form, but on process, consultation, context, urban scale and integrated sustainable design strategies, the practice creates culturally significant buildings with a human touch.

Francine Houben, Architect/ Creative Director

"Architecture must appeal to all the senses. Architecture is never a purely intellectual, conceptual, or visual game alone. Architecture is about combining all the individual elements into a single concept. What counts in the end is the arrangement of form and emotion." Francine Houben (b. 1955) began to formulate the three fundamental concepts of her architectural vision whilst studying at the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Designing primarily for People, constructing spaces that are relevant to Place, and forging connections that give a building Purpose have remained consistent, underlying values to Mecanoo’s practice over the past three decades. Always seeking inspiration in the details of specific sites and locations, Francine bases her work on precise analysis coupled with an intuition built over three decades. She interweaves social, technical, playful and human aspects of space-making together in order to create a unique solution to each architectural challenge. Francine combines the disciplines of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture in an untraditional way, with a profound sensitivity for light and beauty. Her use of materials, which often contrast in a complementary way, are the sum total of her creative expression.

Interior architect : Mecanoo in collaboration with Concrete, Amsterdam/ NL

Client : Manchester City Council/ UK

Project management : MACE, Manchester/ UK

Structural, electrical and mechanical engineer : fire safety, acoustics and building physics consultant : BuroHappold Engineering, Manchester and Glasgow/ UK

Design management and cost consultant : AECOM Design Management, London/ UK

Theatre consultant : Theateradvies, Amsterdam/ NL and Charcoalblue, London/ UK

Landscape architect : Planit-IE, Manchester/ UK

Main contractor : Wates Construction, Manchester/ UK

Location: First Street, Manchester, United Kingdom

Size: 7,600㎡