HOME, Manchester’s newest place-to-be for theatre, film and visual art, has been named winner of a National Award by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
The judges praised Mecanoo’s design, saying:
“The deceptively simple form and enclosure masks a complexity of interconnected and overlapping spaces and functions that are a lesson in being just right. There’s a lack of pretension within the building that reflects the client brief perfectly. Its position (adjacent to a very busy rail line) posed serious technical problems, which appear to have been handled extremely well, and the building gives back more to the public sphere than its neighbours. There was a sense of generosity within the spaces that was unexpected – it was surely devised in section rather than plan-led – and this, combined with simple honest detailing, has created a confident building that is unlikely to date or be unable to be adapted in the future.”
Commissioned by the Manchester City Council, HOME received its one millionth visitors just a year after opening in May 2015. As one of 46 national winners, HOME will now be considered for the RIBA Stirling Prize - the biggest prize in UK architecture.