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news & happenings
DIY July & an August Invitation!
'At Home' with the Modernists,
Chez Nous, Sat 28 August, 11am til 3pm.....
dear oh dear, july has flown by and we haven’t met up yet for our monthly sojourn! sarah’s marvellous Irwell wildscape walk last month must have really tired us out....
as there's not enough time to gather together for july here are a few DIY suggestions to see out the last weekend in modernist style until our august meeting -
- take the gatley pilgrim train & enjoy modernist bliss in gatley’s grill & griddle....highly recommended. possibly the only intact classic 60’s caff in the environs. find it at 45 Gatley Green, Gatley, Cheadle, a stones throw away from the station. you wont regret it...here’s what luv the city said a while back.
- or you could take a short stroll along our very own South Bank, complete with magnificent museum on its left bank! no, we’re not talking about London & the Tate but the Irwell and the Peoples History Museum -
start your mini modernist trail on deansgate opposite the cathedral, turn down chapel street to take in the splendour of Highland House and the unexpected pleasure of the service aspects of the brooding hulk of the much maligned Fairburn House, currently the Ramada. seen from the riverside its intricate levels of stairwells, podiums and swirling car park ramps are crisp, intricate, positively delicate, if a little careworn. a short walk over blackfriars bridge rewards with a hidden descent to the river under east is east restaurant.
from there you can saunter towards the calatrava bridge accompanied only by the resident cormorant and a cheeky gaggle of marauding seagulls. contemplate the marvels of its elegant engineering in the amphitheatre seating before turning to take in the graceful sophistication of albert bridge house and its tripartite composition, a view only possible from this very spot. ahead lies perhaps Leach Rhodes Walkers finest hour, the irrepressible aldine house, now Riverside, with its trademark concrete ribbing and saucy porthole windows. a swift hanger right leaving the river allows you join the path round the side of the complex rounding back up on to bridge street and the newly revamped pump house with its lovely cafe and mighty selection of cakes. weather permitting take your afternoon tea on the terrace for a riverside seat and a peek at the swans and new cygnets that tend to hang out by the mark addy kitchens....Oh & dont forget to visit the museum!
- for armchair modernists, why not become an activist at the mere click of a button and sign up to save the Hoe Centre in Plymouth. whilst it’s scandalously too late for this partially demolished cultural treasure to survive, we Modernists should stick together, so sign up, voice your discontent at the sheer inadequacy of the legislation on 20th century edifices and keep up to date with what happens next via the Plymouth facebook group. it could be us next, so Modernists Everywhere Unite!!
- still terminally bored without your mms playmates? still stuck for ideas? cravinglike minded misguided utopian strangers for no strings fun? fear not - did you know that we twitter now too? follow us @modernistsoc....
july highlights and headlines:
suddenly it seems that the modernist period can’t stay out of the news and very little of it is cheering.
recently you can’t have missed this contrasting tales of 2 cities, with good news for Milton Keynes as its superb shopping centre gets listing and well deserved recognition, the triumph short lived with a bitter blow to brutalism as Gateshead demolishes its finest brooding beauty for yet another tesco.
back in our own fair city some choice titbits have been reported. the recession means a reprieve of sorts for lovers of the magnificent Manchester House. we’ve been keeping an eye out for this for a while as it was long earmarked for demolition as part of the spinningfield makeover. fingers crossed for a suitable revamp for this underappreciated landmark. inevitably another food giant is involved...
the long awaited fate of gateway house is finally revealed with Hodder & Partners chosen for the proposed revamp - their design was one of the few not to suggest demolition. the truly iconic lazy 's' of the ever controversial seifert remains an absolute jewel in the city, knocking socks off the paltry new builds opposite; so please hodder, don’t bugger it up....
blink and you missed it! st peters square revamp plans hit the old visitors centre last week, whilst over in Wythenshawe came this sorry tale concerning a modernist 75 year old church. we were soon alerted to a facebook group which sorely needs more members. join it here. last mass Sunday 12 sept before closure for good due to a leaky roof?!
finally, we are delighted to have been recently declared ‘just what every town ought to have’ by the good (and clearly very wise) people at dwell, so what better excuse to sit back on our laurels for a brief respite before our next round of autumn winter events and activities?
so, we hereby invite you to join us for an afternoon ‘At Home’ on Saturday 28 August from 11am til 3pm for a chance to lounge about and catch up on all things modern, plus some sneaky previews of upcoming projects and ideas bubbling away in our little heads....and news of a very limited september trip!
everyone welcome. rsvp or just pop your head round the door if youre passing....!
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Go Wild in the City - June Outings & Activities:
Sunday 27 June, 1pm, meet Manchester Cathedral
dear modernists, urbanists, ramblers, amblers and flaneurs,
after months of pounding the pavements & scouring the city compiling our Modernist Map and May's urban trails through the history of the public telephone box, a welcome glimmer of summer blinking through mms windows, says its high time we revelled in the delights of the urban wildscape.
so without further ado, we bring you
Tales of the Riverbank: In search of nature in the heart of the city?
Join us on an investigative journey to find out how life on the riverbank has evolved through changing times. How have architects and planners responded to the presence of elemental forces of nature in the city centre? Sarah’s walk will follow the River Irwell uncovering tales of ecological development in the urban environment...
Meet at 1pm outside Manchester Cathedral on Sunday 27th June.
Please consult the skies, or the weather forecast, and dress appropriately for riverside walking.
.....meanwhile for those of you in the mood for an instant dose of modernist public art, why not nip over to Hudderfield’s Civic Society Week, 16-22 June 2010, who are ‘treating the town as an outdoor art gallery’ with a series of free guided walks and an exhibition in the gorgeous Queensgate market. details here - www.huddersfieldcivicsociety.org.uk,
here’s hoping the weather holds for the 27th - see you there for a little walk on the wild side, free to book and all welcome as always....
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Modernist month of May – updates, events and invitations
Against the backdrop and the drama of a general election, we are presently squirreled away in mms headquarters preparing the finishing touches to a whole host of activities, gatherings and installations for your modernist delight and delectation.
It all kicks off Friday 7 May with the preview of our Manchester Modernist Map, in partnership with Taylor Young Architects, an interactive online map of 20th century Manchester’s architectural landmarks, presented as part of MADF2010.
Do join us at the Hub, Riverside/Aldine House, New Bailey St, over a glass of wine prior to its launch at the RIBA Architruck in Piccadilly Gardens from 10-14 May. You can also catch it from the 12 – 23 May at the FutureEverything Hive showcase.
MADF – Manchester Architecture & Design Festival
EVENT DETAIL
Hot on the heels of our map activities we are delighted to announce the launch of ‘Conversations We Wish We’d Had’, a new sound commission by Ailís Ní Ríain, at the K6 red telephone kiosk at MOSI (the Museum of Science and Industry), daily from 12 – 23 May, part of FutureEverything Showcase.
Intrigued? Why not book onto one of our daily walks starting 2pm at Central Library Steps, tracing the route between the city’s 4 remaining K6 iconic phone boxes ending at the MOSI kiosk and its temporary sound installation. These are free events but click here to book, as places are limited.
We will also be hosting an afternoon tea party at MOSI on Saturday 15 May, gathering at 3.30pm by the Kiosk at the Power Hall. All welcome, and free entry but please RSVP to ensure copious supplies of cake for us all!
Finally a big thank you to everyone who turned up in such large numbers to the Lets Meet at the Odeon event at the beginning of the week for projections, popcorn and gentle protest outside the former Odeon on Oxford St. Nearly 100 signatures were gathered objecting to the proposed demolition, which have now been lodged with the Planning Department.
Watch out for updates on our website but in the meantime check out the media coverage in the Manchester Muleand Inside the M60.
So do make a note in your diaries for all these upcoming events!
Hope to see you thids Friday for a glass of wine and some cartographical imaginings, or out and about at the Architruck, as well as at the MOSI kiosk installation to experience Ailis Ni Riain’s Conversations we wished we’d Had...
mms modernist month of may
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peepholes and portholes - vistas into tomorrow’s world...
this month we have mostly been eyeing up some of the weird and wonderful futuristic architectural whimsies gracing our city. futuristic that is in that distinctly thunderbirds, pans people, commodore-pet word processor kind of way.
in the grip of wilson’s white heat of technology, visions of the future became a la mode, reflected in literature, the arts, graphic design and music. and throughout the sixties & seventies it seemed the future (our present day) was literally being invented, peered at and tested before our eager but incredulous eyes.....and the public couldn’t get enough of these glimpses, these vistas into the 21st century. as the television set dominated more and more ordinary living rooms, we could watch men land on the moon whilst star trek brought the final frontier directly into our living rooms. as the song said, it felt as though everyone had gone to the moon!
nearer to home tomorrow’s world put the glamour of the space age rigorously to the test, auntie beeb style - what could be more reassuring than having the first mobile phone or ATM machine explained and demonstrated by an immaculately besuited boffin who just happened to be a former spitfire pilot?! chaperoned by the debonair mr baxter we bagged a front row seat aboard the very first hovercraft and joined in the very first flight of Concorde!
locally even the Manchester Evening News joined in with a weeklong special report called Life in The Year 2000. mms friend costel harnasz sent us a fascinating extract from it entitled ‘Manchester – city of open air’, which envisaged what the city centre might be like come the millennium. it’s a fascinating read - it foretold the transforming of gaunt old warehouses into lofts with thousands of urbanistas enjoying a city free of traffic, central and Liverpool rd stations reinvented as conference centre and science museum, reclaimed waterways and marinas stuffed full of pleasure craft and narrow boat dwellers, and a spring cleaned river Irwell an anglers’ heaven. on land, plans for a light railway linking the north west to the capital get a mention, with a city tube system a key ambition.
little wonder that so much architecture of the period seems obsessed with ocularity, literally framing our city views with squared, funnel, fishbowl or porthole windows. not for them the sheer transparency of the late nineties but instead, perhaps influenced by the introduction of polaroids, portable televisions and home computers with their personalised access to high tech, intriguing peepholes into a distant horizon we were collectively beginning to comprehend....
so for our current features of the month we bring you just three of the many buildings scattered across the city whose windows visually echo the recurring motif of this future obsessed interlude. once you’ve focused in you’ll be spotting them everywhere: get acquainted with your very own modernist microscope into an imagined 21st century....
mms features april 2010
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April Outing!
Saturday 10 April, tour of Huddersfield Marketplace, 12noon.
this month’s get together is an invitation to a 40th birthday party!
the marvellous Huddersfield Gem, a community group formed to study and promote interest in the Queensgate market hall and to safeguard its future,are offering free tours in celebration of its 40th birthday this coming Saturday, 10 April, to which the mms have been cordially invited! this includes access to parts not normally open to the public, so why not join us and make an afternoon of it together.....
Queensgate market is a unique structure, roofed with 21 freestanding asymmetric hyperbolic paraboloid shells sheltering a modern shopping centre and the world’s largest ceramic sculpture, now rightly recognised as an architectural wonder.
the future of market was, from 2003 -2008 threatened by redevelopment plans that could have demolished the building.
the building was listed grade II in 2005 and in 2007 was awarded the highest honour of the Concrete Society, the society’s prestigious Certificate of Excellence for a mature structure.
all this couldn’t have been achieved without the tireless dedication and hard work of the Huddersfield Gem group, and we can’t think of a better April mms outing than this chance to help celebrate their success in saving what the 20th century society recently called “one of the most delightful and inspiring public buildings of its date and a fantastic example of how art and architecture can work in unison.”
so this Saturday we will be gathering at Piccadilly Station at 10.30am (under the destination board) to take the 10.57 to Huddersfield leaving from platform 3, arriving in time to join the noon tour of the market.
Return tickets are about £10.30. Alternatively you can make your own way to Huddersfield and meet us at the bottom of the Library and Art Gallery steps on Princess Alexandra Walk at 11.50am.
please let us know if you would like to join us at either end so that we can send approximate numbers to the organisers.
for more information on the market place or the Gems activities do visit their website - http://www.monoculartimes.co.uk/huddersfieldgem/pressreleases/290310.shtml
hope to see you on Saturday. and don’t forget - dress for outdoors!
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Now is a good time to Save the Odeon!
The planning permission for the demolition of the Odeon, Oxford Street, Manchester is about to run out.
The developer needs to reapply. We can all put pressure on the planners to reject this. We now have a second chance to stop the demolition.
You still have time to comment on the application. We all need to comment on the application - online or in writing.
Click here to go to the application:
If you click on Submit Comments and tick the 'I live outside the area' button you can leave comments. (You don’t have to live outside the area to use this box, but it’s a simpler way to the comments form.)
We need to make comments that are relevant to the planning process and the main arguments should be along the lines of: (put them into your own words!)
a)The original application was fundamentally flawed:
It was too big. It overwhelms all the buildings around it. The mass and elevations create a large white box - totally at odds with the materials and form of its neighbours.
The original application was made when the Manchester property market was over heated. There was little evidence of the demand for this large amount of office space at the time and, as the economy is hardly out of recession, the argument for increased office space is questionable. There is an over supply of office space in Manchester.
b) The original building makes a positive contribution to the Conservation Area.
The new office development and the demolition of the Odeon does nothing to contribute to the Conservation Area in which it sits, new developments should preserveor enhance the historic character of the area, this proposal does neither. This proposal should therefore not receive Conservation Area consent.
Little or no attempt was made to find an alternative use for the building. In the mean time the Royal Opera have sought a home in Manchester and the Library Theatre is temporarily homeless, both these could have been ‘potential’ new occupants.
c) The building should not be left to decay into an eyesore – if planning permission is granted, the council should enforce the developer to act on it - and not merely allow the developer to use planning permission as a temporary holding position, in order for them to wait until they chose to maximize their own profitability from their asset.
Click here to go to the application:
News & updates for March
spring is finally showing its face with daffs and tulips suddenly peaking up from the soil, so its fitting that our next get together is al fresco...
the second mancunian way walking tour is another chance to join us as we navigate the paths and underpasses around the flyover and amazingly it is already fully booked. but don’t despair, do continue to register your interest as we are already planning a future walk with a twist! soregister here and we will keep you informed of future special flyover activities!
thanks to all of the marvelous modernistas who popped in to hq last month to welcome us into our new home. our little office was stuffed to capacity and we hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did (special thanks to dale for looking after the bar so splendidly!)
our vox pop and mini surveys revealed tantalizing glimpses of you and we will be taking them into account as we plan our forthcoming events and adventures….it should come as no surprise that you relish liaisonsdangereuses, tall buildings and the unexpected; a surprising number of you describe yourselves as brutalists; and piccadilly plaza and the mancunian way figured high in your list of favourite buildings. we’re still trying to work out how to arrange that trip to the moon that one of you wanted though....!
april sees the mms taking part in themanchester architecture and design festivalwith an exciting collaboration, so until then wipe those tears of disappointment from your eyes with this mini guide to other modernist adventures to keep you occupied:
- don’t miss a gorgeous photographic exhibition now showing at the national conservation centre, on the legendary 5th floor of liverpool’s lewis’s department store, orlook out for the large scale photographs in the windows on ranelagh street, opposite the adelphi hotel. take a peek at these images inthe guardian to whet your appetite. there’s also a talkwith photographer Stephen King about the project on wednesday 10 march at 12 noon, if you’re in the vicinity – details here.
- over in huddersfield this thursday 11 march the renowned Alan Powers (professor in architecture and cultural history at the University of Greenwich, chairman of The twentieth century society and expert on 20th century architecture and design) will be discussing ‘Views of British modern architecture’at the University of Huddersfield in the canalside west lecture theatre, firth street.the event is at 5.30pm (refreshments served from 5.00pm), is free of charge and open to all. contact dr Jodie Matthews to reserve a place and for more information.
- nearer to home, new manchester walks have a concrete theme for those of you with a fiver to spare on friday 19 Mar, 2.30pm, from Malmaison.
alternatively you might wish to spend a moment or two writing to express your dismay at margaret hodges determination to obliterate the nation’s entire post war landscape!
whatever you do, enjoy the rest of march and watch out for lots of exciting activity in april and may for madf and futureEverything, details to follow,
your mad march hares xx
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Come to our Housewarming!
Manchester Modernist Society HQ,
142 Chapel Street,
Thurs 18th February from 6.30pm
No more sneaking wifi in corners of cafes, no more updating our website with our laptop on our knee, because at long last the mms have their very own headquarters!
It’s always been our dream to have a little place in the heart of the city for like minded friends, urbanists and passersby to gather for cosy indoor meetings and get togethers, or to just drop in for a cuppa. And finally after months of searching we have found the perfect base straddling Manchester and Salford, overlooking some of the most evocative parts of both cities! Welcome to Chapel Street….
We have decorated (white and ‘sidewalk’ or hues of pigeon grey), put up some of our favourite posters and vintage maps of the city, scoured the best skips for suitable desks and chairs, and started to settle in. All it needs now is for you to come visit us!
So why not join us for a very special housewarming from 6.30pm on Thursday 18 February for drinks, a short film or two and a nosy through our bookcase, then on to the Kings Arms about 8.30, our new local!
All welcome, hope to see you here…
The Manchester (and Salford!) Modernists.
**** Directions: 142 Chapel St can be found just round the corner from Salford Central Station and the Kings Arms, next door to the Chapel. Our entrance is right on the street on the ground floor…
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New for January 2010!!!
MODERNIST MURALS & POPULIST PANELS....
Hey Modernistas!
Got a touch of the post festive doldrums?
Tired of sitting around gnawing on cold leftover turkey?
Dismayed at the prospect of a drab January after the excitement of recent festivities?
Or simply desperate to get out of the house & do something different instead?
Well, fear no more, help is at hand - join us for our exhilarating
January Modernist Art Expedition!!!!
Sunday 24th January - 1pm to approx 3pm
Meet at the Victoria Statue Piccadilly Gardens
opp Nobles Amusements:
An exploration of public art, murals, architectural art, sculptural concrete and surface textures
A walk through the south of the city centre and the education precincts finishing at the Contact Theatre
Not only will we look at pieces of commissioned public art but we will also see how architects have incorporated the work of sculptors and artists into their buildings and how they themselves have used materials to sculptural effect.
We shall see work by people such as Tadao Ando, William Mitchell, Victor Pasmore, Antony Holloway, William Brumby and more.
Last but not least, do follow the usual winter code - this walk takes place in Manchester during January so please dress accordingly!
See you there...!! As usual all welcome & thoroughly free of charge....
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Seasons Greetings!!!
Dear Friends & Modernistas,
as we write this, things have got decidedly christmassy in the city, with a flurry of snowfall adding a touch of romance and glamour to all that rushing round town trying to get that prefect secret santa pressie...! even the view out of our window by the mancunian way is beautified by a shimmering of snow lingering along the paths and hard shoulder...
so it seemed the perfect opportunity to send a last minute seasonal missive and draw your attention to our newly updated December features of the month which also have a festive flavour with three of Mr Eddy Rhead's favourite modernist churches, and as a special treat no RIP's or At Risk's to bring down the party mood!
we have also just been flying the flag for modernism in Creative Tourist this month - check out the December Three for Me section here - http://www.creativetourist.com/word-of-mouth/three-for-me-top-modern-landmarks
lots of things being planned for 2010 kicking off with a fabulous walking tour of the city's public art in january! watch this space!!
but until then we wish you peace, jollity and goodwill over the coming weeks....xxxx
December Event
All in all December flies by in a round of endless festive commitments, so this month our get together aims to soothe your weary limbs between all the other distractions and duties.
Join us for a lazy afternoon of festive refreshment, a natter & catch up at the North Pole bar next Sunday, 13 December from 2pm onwards.......situated conveniently in Spinningfields next to the ice skating rink, just behind the Law courts. who knows if there's frost or snow we might even brave the rink and go for a spin!
location details here - http://www.northpolebar.com/location.html
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past events
November 09 - Granadaland
October 09 - Postcard Launch
September 09 - Urbanism 09
August 09 - Mancunian Way
July 09 - Tea Party
June - Henry Moore Institute
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