Trimo’s bespoke panel solution for HOME Story by Trimo Trimo’s bespoke panel solution for HOME HOME - Arts Centre Story by Mecanoo HOME - Arts Centre

HOME - Arts Centre

Mecanoo as Architects

Cultural home 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 organisation formed by the merger of Cornerhouse 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.


Identity 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 resultsin 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.


Intimacy 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.


Stairwell 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.


Sound insulation 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 disturbingthe operating theatres and cinemas and allows themto be used simultaneously. ¬ Programme Art and culture house of 7,600 m² with 2 theatre spaces (500 and 150 seats), 5 cinema screens(250, 150, 60, 40 and 40 seats), a restaurant, café, roof terrace, gallery space, 3 foyers, bookshop, sponsor’s room, offices, rehearsal room, work places, educational spaces, dressing rooms, expedition rooms and a public square; BREEAM Very Good certified Design 2011-2012Realisation 2013-2015Interior architect Mecanoo in collaboration with Concrete, Amsterdam / NLClient Manchester City Council / UK Projectmanagement MACE, Manchester / UKStructural, electrical and mechanical engineer; fire safety, acoustics and building physics consultant BuroHappold Engineering, Manchester and Glasgow / UK Design management and costconsultant AECOM Design Management, London / UK Theatre consultant Theateradvies, Amsterdam / NL and Charcoal blue, London / UK Landscape architect Planit-IE, Manchester / UK Main contractor Wates Construction, Manchester / UK

Trimo’s bespoke panel solution for HOME

Trimo as Manufacturers

The HOME Arts Centre forms the cultural heart of one of the largest areas of development in Manchester city centre. Project architect Ernst ter Horst from Mecanoo worked closely with manufacturer Trimo to design a facade that is stunning from all aspects. The glazed exterior is adorned with irregularly spaced fins and opens up where public areas are located, giving the building a varied and dynamic appearance. Depending on the weather, the colour of this iridescent facade changes from black to blue to green.


The facade specification called for elements such as self-spanning slab-to-slab panels, the articulation of the panels joints with integral vertical fins, integrated glazing and a unique stainless steel dual colour front skin. This specification was realised using Trimo’s Qbiss One facade solution. Compared with other systems which use a ‘cut and fold’ approach, with panels that need to be sealed manually and then touched up with paint, Qbiss One provides a completely prefabricated solution. Furthermore, unlike conventional built up wall systems, Qbiss One is self-supporting. Eliminating the need for any additional support or substructure, total build time is thus reduced.


The completed facade solution is a stunning addition to Manchester’s city centre skyline and adds to Mecanoo architect’s growing list of award winning buildings.


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HOME, a £25m, multi-disciplinary art centre, was designed by Mecanoo Architects, based in the Netherlands. HOME is part of the development of the creative quarter in Manchester, and is the largest arts centre in the UK outside the capital city of London. It boasts a 500-seat theatre, five cinema screens, a gallery and studio space and a café, bar and restaurant.


Project Requirements


Project architect Ernst ter Horst designed the building’s exterior to be stunning from all aspects. Its curved, triangular shape - made possible using Trimo’s Qbiss One façade solution - captures the eye, delivering a strong focal point for the area.


From a design perspective, the façade requirement was challenging and called for innovative thinking by Trimo; a leader provider of building envelope solutions. The project required a close working relationship between Trimo and Mecanoo, to ensure the aesthetic elements and performance targets of the specification could be reached.


The façade specification called for elements such as self-spanning slab-to-slab panels, the articulation of the panel joints, with integral vertical fins, integrated glazing, and a unique stainless steel dual colour front skin.


Solution


Trimo addressed Mecanoo’s requirements with its Qbiss One façade solution. Compared to alternative products which use a ‘cut and fold’ approach, with panels needing to be sealed manually then touched up with paint, Qbiss One provides a completely prefabricated solution. Its unique rounded corner provides a superior aesthetic appearance while also preventing any potential threat of corrosion.


Unlike conventional built up wall systems, Qbiss One is self-supporting. It eliminates the need for any additional support or substructure, reducing total building time. There is no need for a brick or concrete wall or any on-site cutting or post-production modification. Developed with sustainability in mind, Qbiss One is made of environmentally friendly materials, is 98% recyclable and has a low CO2 footprint of just 44kg/m2 during the lifetime of the building; enabling HOME to meet Manchester City Council’s policy for low carbon development, sustainable procurement and operation.


Results The completed façade solution provides a stunning and unique addition to Manchester’s city centre skyline and adds to Mecanoo architect’s growing list of award winning buildings. The configuration of the building blends public and social to create a harmonised, well balanced structure. The building’s triangular shape, combined with Qbiss One’s curved façade sets it apart from adjacent developments and provide a welcoming yet contemporary exterior.


“Thanks to the commitment and expertise of the Trimo team, we collaboratively developed an innovative evolution in the Qbiss range in marine grade stainless steel, with spectacular results.” – Ernst ter Horst

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