The Design Brief
In 2009 an open architectural
competition to remodel the Whitworth
was launched. The design brief was
to make the gallery’s internationally
important collection of fine art, textiles
and wallpaper more accessible to a
wider range of visitors, to make better
use of the existing gallery spaces and
to establish a relationship with the
surrounding grounds and park.
McInnes Usher McKnight Architects
(MUMA), who won the competition (over
138 other entries) have certainly achieved
that.
Their acclaimed design has re-ordered
the existing gallery spaces and also
expanded the building by one third
whilst doubling the publically accessible
spac e and creating a new entrance
that connects the gallery with the
surrounding park.
At the heart of this physical
transformation is the creation of an
elegant glass, stainless steel and brick
extension, including two new wings,
which extend into the park from the back
of the existing building. The two wings
are connected by a glass promenade
gallery, which wraps the existing
exhibition galleries providing a vantage
point from which to view the art garden
and park beyond.
To the south is the transparent slender
café wing, a cantilevered glass structure,
which houses the café and Learning
Studio and is designed to sit along the
trees of Whitworth Park overlooking the
newly designed Art Garden.
To the north the taller solid brick built
form of the Landscape Gallery, with its
grand high-level window and ground
floor Study Centre, provides an urban
edge as well as a visual and acoustic
buffer, which counterbalances the lighter
structure of the transparent glass café
and promenade with its slender stainless
steel mullions.
Extraordinary Brickwork
Working closely with the architects,
Northcot produced several sample
blends and brick panels to finalise the
bespoke ‘Whitworth Blend’.
The new brick was based on existing
smooth faced blends (Avon Smooth
and Victorian Mellow), which were then
darkened with re-cycled Pulverised Fuel
Ash (PFA) and the use of special ‘setting
patterns’ in the kiln. Traditional firing in
one of the last remaining coal-fired kilns
in the country ensured a natural subtlety
of tone throughout.
“Reflecting the craftsmanship evident
in Beaumont’s galleries, the extension
combines modern construction
techniques with contemporary
craftsmanship throughout, manifest in
the brickwork patterns and handmade
special bricks.” write MUMA.
“As MUMA expect the very highest
standards, we knew we had to get the
tone and texture of both the machine
made bricks and handmade specials
absolutely spot on,” said Northcot works
manager Dale Moss.
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Integral to the redevelopment is
the impressive red brickwork of the
expansive north wing and the lower
ground levels, which comprises
approximately 90,000 smooth machine
made bricks, giving continuity to the
extension from the original Beaumont
building and an important visual link to
the city’s industrial past.
The imposing north façade features
an intricate ‘slash and stich’ brickwork
pattern, which draws inspiration from
fabrics within the gallery’s extensive
textile collection. This is made from
a variety of handmade ‘special’ bricks,
which link together to give the
impression of interwoven textile threads
and torn fabric, which has been stitched
back together.
Northcot Brick, a manufacturer known for
its advanced colour-matching expertise
and traditional bench-mould techniques
that have hardly changed over the
centuries, was invited to create a bespoke
blend to complement the original dark
red bricks of the Edwardian building.