Following yet another week of frenzied activity. Work in several areas of the building is nearing practical completion. The public can expect to have their first sight of selected areas of the newly refurbished, and newly named, Great Western Warehouse building this weekend. The Information Area, Shop, Cafe and Basement toilets are expected to be the first areas of the building to be opened to the public, possibly as early as this weekend.
The Ground Floor Shop and Café were handed back to MOSI earlier this week for cleaning and stocking, whilst on the Second Floor, carpet has been fitted and the respective fit-out teams have moved into the Conferencing and Banqueting areas to put the final touches to our inspiring new meeting facilities.
The removal of the iconic Experiment mini, captured in this excellent time-captured video by our photographer Michael England, became one of the most symbolic moments of the project so far. The removal of the mini signified the demolition and removal of the final remains of the old building.
Earlier today, in the most momentous sign of the progress being made within the building, the Mini was returned to its throne at the heart of the brand new Experiment gallery by MOSI’s own Technical Services team.
The Lifting the Mini interactive exhibit is located below an atrium cut within the second floor, enabling it to rise between floors, giving a spectacular and totally unique experience for our conference clients and educational groups on second floor, who will see the mini literally popping up from beneath them!
This is by no means the last of the incredible new experiences that we have in store for our visitors in the exciting new gallery spaces. Please keep checking back for news on how the building is progressing, and the other surprises we have up our sleeves.
The refurbishment has hit fever pitch over the last fortnight, with a team of almost 200 construction workers and specialist sub-contractors working into the night to ensure that the building will be delivered on schedule.
The team have made astonishing progress in the Ground Floor, which has been a particular hive of activity over the last week. Construction work is largely complete in the shop, café and information area. Since the last update, flooring, lighting and mains power have also been installed in all of these areas. The fit out of the shop display furniture is nearing completion with only final works, such as the installation of a false ceiling, remaining. The café area is also progressing at a rapid pace, having been handed over to our catering fit out team, who are busy installing the servery and display furniture.
The entrance to the Museum has been completely overhauled as part of this project. The Main Entrance has been relocated to make access to our outstanding galleries and facilities much easier for our visitors. New folding entrance doors have been installed and are being tested. In our brand new entrance foyer, construction work is again nearing completion, and the area is in the process of being transferred to the respective fit out teams. New flooring has been laid, lighting and electrics are being worked on and a new information desk is being installed at this very moment!
These areas of the Ground Floor will be the first areas of the new building that the public will have the opportunity to view. Excitingly, this could be much sooner than you would imagine.
Due to the allocation of most of the teams’ resources towards the ground floor, work on the other floors has been limited. On the Second Floor, the Education suite has been fully decorated with furniture has been fitted in the classrooms, whilst good progress has been made in the conference suite, which has also been fully decorated, with glazing and lighting installed. There are just some final works remaining on the flooring and final glazing of the atrium areas.
Work on the First floor has been limited. Flooring has been installed in the restaurant area, and this will shortly be undergoing a full fit out by catering contractors, who are currently hard at work installed our new kitchen.
Finally, the first area to reach practical completion has been the basement toilet area, which is now practically complete and has been handed back to MOSI by the building team for cleaning.
Progress updates will be coming thick and fast over the coming weeks, so please check back regularly. Don’t forget to add your comments. We are eager to hear from you and we want your thoughts on what you’ve seen so far, and what your hopes are for the new building.
Work has continued at a remarkable pace over the last few weeks, with the building team working long and hard to ensure that the refurbishment continues to take shape. Structural work in the educational and conferencing suites is largely complete, the building team have since progressed onto redecoration and the mechanical and electrical installation. There has even been some furniture installed!
The shop and café in particular beginning to become more recognisable to the untrained eye. Both areas have all new flooring, and the shop fitters been busy installing new display shelving and roller shutters. The team are continuing to prepare the main ground floor spaces to house our incredible new Revolution MOSI gallery and a hugely improved and much more welcoming entrance area.
On the first floor, flooring is being installed in the new Experiment gallery whilst the designers AVIAF and MOSI’s own Technical Services team are collaborating off-site on a mix of brand new exhibits and refurbished classics that will take pride of place within the gallery.
kin design agency have been appointed to develop our exciting new gallery Revolution Manchester. It's early days yet, but the team are working on a number of highly interactive exhibits, games and creative art which will captivate you, and inform you about how Manchester changed the world. London-based kin have been involved in very high profile interactive installations for the likes of London College of fashion, Nokia and Tommy Hilfiger, so expect the unexpected!
And for all those visitors who have thought that MOSI could do with a few more toilets, good news is afoot in our redevelopment. The basement of the warehouse has been opened up to public access and the huge boiler which powers the steam engines in the Power Hall has been moved... leaving room for dozens of shiny new loos.
here are the first ones going in. There will be more!
Installation work is now progressing at a break-neck speed at the MOSI redevelopment both inside and outside. The first of the two stair towers has been erected, painted, and now glazing is being installed, with the second tower not too far behind.
Remember this? As part of the building re-design, we are re-working the old entrance area, with the objective of making life much less complicated for our visitors. The ball and cone sculpture has been moved but will be back! We have removed several glazing panels from the old building structure, to create the new entrance to MOSI in the area here shown as a window to the left. That means visitors will walk straight into the atmospheric new orientation hall, rather than the coffee shop as previously.
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a mini revolution going on at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester) in Castlefield. Although the Museum's other four buildings are open as usual to visitors, in our main building the diggers and cranes are in and a major redevelopment project is underway. We’re very excited about the changes that are going on inside and we want to give you the news about its progress live, as it happens. This blog, penned by Stephen Hoyle from our Technical Services department, will give you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse at what the team of builders, architects and designers are doing at your favourite family museum.
Please note that all our galleries apart from Xperiment remain open and we have a packed summer programme of events for all the family. Check the website for more details.
This picture shows the giant new lift cores being erected. The lifts and stairs will be inside new glass towers on the outside of the building to replace the old access ramps, which dominated the middle of the main building (see below).
For more information about the plans for the redevelopment project please visit our website
The main building redevelopment is the first phase of Revolution MOSI, the Museum’s ambitious redevelopment plan, which (subject to funding) could eventually include the redevelopment of the Air & Space Hall on Lower Byrom Street and a new Road Transport Gallery in Upper Campfield Market on Liverpool Road. The main building is expected to be completed by October 2010.
This is what MOSI’s main building will look like after the redevelopment. Inside, we've lots of surprises lined up for you. Our hugely popular Experiment gallery returns (note the 'E' has returned), admittedly having had more reincarnations than the Sugababes. The new Experiment gallery will be bigger and better than ever, most of your favourite classic exhibits will be refurbished and we'll be adding plenty of new exhibits for you to grow to love in the years to come. Our brand-new learning suite will ensure that our school groups can learn in the most stylish and comfortable environment possible. Swanky new conferencing facilities will inspire and motivate you in even the most tedious of product development meetings. We're creating a bigger, better restaurant and kitchen area for you to enjoy delicious freshly cooked meals. As an added bonus we're creating an exciting new, interactive 'Revolution Manchester' gallery that will give you a fascinating introduction to how Manchester changed the world, and will signpost you to the rest of the Museum.
Holly Smallbone, 8, had an insider view of the work at MOSI when was invited on a VIP tour of the redevelopment after she wrote in to Director Tony Hill. She is pictured here looking at plans inside the site with Tony Hill and her godmother Debbie Ledgerton
Environmental concerns are an important part of the redevelopment. Many of the building materials have been recycled, including aggregates and concrete used in the creation of the barrel ceiling (see picture below) to replace the void left when the ramps were taken out, recycled concrete and steel in the lift core, recycled bank notes to be used in signs and old yoghurt pots for worktops and interactives.
Look what happened when we moved our Mini – one of the well-loved exhibits in Xperiment gallery. This video was shot by Michael England, showing how the demolition works progressed earlier this year.
This is your museum and this is your place to discuss it. Do you have any fond memories or anecdotes from the building? Do you have any photographs of the old building? What are you hoping to see in the new building? Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
You can see more fantastic snaps of the building redevelopment by photographer Michael England here
Following yet another week of frenzied activity. Work in several areas of the building is nearing practical completion. The public can expect to have their first sight of selected areas of the newly refurbished, and newly named, Great Western Warehouse building this weekend. The Information Area, Shop, Cafe and Basement toilets are expected to be the first areas of the building to be opened to the public, possibly as early as this weekend.
