Chetham's New School building
Tuesday 20th October 2009
HARMONIC START FOR CHETHAM'S NEW BUILDING
The first stage of the £36million investment at Chetham's School of
Music got underway today as the initial construction works started for the
development of the new school building.
The new building will be located in the heart of the Medieval
Quarter of Manchester between Victoria Station, the MEN Arena and Chetham's. It
will provide state-of-the-art music and academic facilities for the 290
students at the School. It will also include two performance spaces including a
full orchestral auditorium with 400 seats.
The preparatory work will include the removal of backfill materials
and the stabilisation of the old Victorian basement retaining walls around the new
building site perimeter. This will take approximately 13 weeks and will pave
the way for construction of the building to start in early 2010.
Claire Hickman, head of Chetham's commented; “This is a very
exciting time for Chetham's, these works signal the beginning of a new era for
the School. The investment in the buildings will not only provide the best
facilities for our students and staff to grow and learn, but they will also
provide our partners with greater opportunities to work with us.”
Once the new school building is complete, the latter phases of
Chetham's master-plan will begin. This will include refurbishment and
conversion works to the existing Millgate and Nicholls buildings; these
buildings which currently house the existing classrooms will be transformed
into suitable accommodation for the students. Additional refurbishment to the
boys' dormitory and current performance venue in Whiteley Hall will also be
undertaken.
Claire Hickman added; “The Masterplan will make Chetham's, the
medieval crown of Manchester, more visible and accessible. Our vision is to
expand into new areas in which we're keen to develop, not just for the School
but for the wider community.”
Chetham's is also working towards making the Medieval Quarter of the
City more accessible to the general public. The proposals include a visitor's
centre, guided tours of the buildings and making the Medieval Library
accessible directly from Deansgate.
The architect is Stephenson Bell and Drivers Jonas is project
managing the building of the new school. Chetham's is being advised throughout
the development programme by Michael Oglesby from leading commercial property
developer, Bruntwood.
