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Umist
History of the Campus
White Heat
MArch1
Master of Architecture
2021/2022The project involves a historical survey of the Umist campus.
The analysis of the historical development of the site begins with its state immediately prior to the first industrial exploitation in the mid-18th century to its current situation.
Study models, drawings, and interactive videos were produced to capture the atmosphere and facets of the different periods.
Enjoy the experience
Swipe to view content from mobile or use keyboard arrows -
Primarily marshes and farmland
1575-1800Primarily marshes
The urbanization of the natural lands of future Manchester also determined the names of the territories according to the natural conditions of departure: woods, heaths or swampy areas. With the industrial revolution, the agricultural revolution, which began almost a century earlier, experienced a strong increase in productivity through mechanization resulting in an increase in population and massive urbanization of territories. -
Duke’s tunnel
1789Duke's tunnel
In 1789, a tunnel was built connecting the station area with a lower level of the Medlock River.
It was used to transport coal from the Worsley mines to the station.
When the river was navigable with barges, they were pushed into the tunnel with their feet.
Coal was carried from the station to the ships.
The route along the Medlock River turned around at Garrett Dye Works and went through Duke's Tunnel. -
Period
1807-1813
Chorlton-On-Medlock
There are almost no buildings beyond the Medlock, although the streets (including Grosvenor Square) have already been laid out. The streets were given aristocratic names to reflect the type of development this was supposed to become. At this time, this area was still largely rural, although some building work has taken place.
Fish Ponds
• There were a number of fish ponds which probably existed from medieval times, now covered by Whitworth street.
• A small group of cottages stood opposite the ponds, which is where the name Fish pond Street came from.
Dukes Tunnel
• Opening in April 1789, the tunnel was used to transport coal from the river Medlock to a coal yard for domestic use.
• As the river and by extension the tunnel is lower than street level, a shaft was dug at the end of Dukes tunnel to lift coal up to the coal yard.
• The Tunnel follows Shooters brook which was long covered and lost beneath the streets, the brook still runs into the tunnel to this day.
• Coal would be loaded onto Starvationer boats as the tunnel was so narrow at points.
• The tunnel was disused and the shaft was covered as the emerging Rochdale canal brought coal into the city.
Garret Mill
• Nearby was the Garret Mill owned by Messers Thackeray and Whitehead.
• The mill was built circa 1760 by Mr Gartside who attempted to work a number of swivel-looms “with a capital water wheel” on the River Medlock.
• This attempt was unsuccessful and the mill was converted to cotton spinning. The spinning machinery was on Sir Richard Arkwright’s plan and was worked by water wheels on the river Medlock.
Rochdale Canal
• The construction of the Rochdale Canal began in 1794 and was opened in stages before fully opening in 1804.
• It became the main highway of commerce between Lancashire and Yorkshire, with types of cargo including coal, agricultural produce, and materials for the textile industry.
• The canal sped up the rate of industrial development as factories and warehouses were built along the canal
Granby-Row School
• Granby-row school was opened April 20 1813.
• Accommodation for 300 girls and 300 boys.
• Boys educated similarly to the Lancastrian method.
• Girls were taught in addition to reading and writing, how to sew and knit, to prepare them with skills to work in the cotton mills. -
Period
1813-1824
1819 Peterloo Massacre
On 16th of Aug, a peaceful protest of up to 60,000 people of the working class in St. Peter’s Field turned into a tragedy. Ordered by Manchester Magistrates, a horseback cavalry possessing sabres and clubs charged into the crowd which resulted in around 500 injuries and 11 deaths including a child. The protest demanded political reform such as working class’ right to vote, a voice in the parliament, and for their needs and wants to be addressed. The event set the foundation for the eventual Parliamentary Democracy and Great Reform Act of 1832.
1811 -1816 Luddism
The movement revolved around opposition towards the use of machinery especially in mills as the caused unemployment of skilled workers in the sector and decline of livelihood. “Machine Breaking” was one of the tactics used by the Luddites to put pressure on employers.
1821 The Manchester Guardian
It was founded by John Edward Taylor in 1821 and first published on 5 May of that year. The paper was intended to promote the liberal interest in the aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre
1815 Corn Laws
It caused great distress among the working classes in the towns. These people were unable to grow their own food and had to pay the high prices in order to stay alive.
1824 First Bus Service in UK
Established by John Greenwood. The omnibus service functioned via a horse and a cart and operated between Pendelton and Manchester.
1824 Manchester Mechanics Institute
It served as a platform for adult education to working men, especially in the areas of science and technology. Eminent men were at the meeting including John Dalton, the father of atomic theory. This became the birthplace of and Technology (UMIST). but did not get it’s modern name til 1966. -
Rise of the Luddites
1813Rise of the Luddites
Many Luddite uprisings took place as a result of an initial protest against machinery that threatened the replacement of workers' forces.
The word 'Luddites' came from textile workers who opposed the introduction of mechanized looms and looms by destroying them.
The revolt was led by Ned Ludd, who became a legendary figurehead. -
The Peterloo massacre
1819The Peterloo massacre
At St Peter's Field, Manchester the Peterloo Massacre took place on August 16, 1819.
The reform of parliamentary representation demanded by a crowd of 60,000 people was suppressed by the cavalry.
In this action fifteen people died when the gallery charged the crowd. -
Period
1824-1848
Beginning of the Industrial Revolution
Took the biggest toll on the poor sections of society.
The poor ended up in either slums or no shelter at all
Characteristics of the dwellings
• Irregularly built
• 3-4 rooms plus a kitchen
• Surrounded by unpaved streets
• Almost no ventilation
• Improper drainage and Foul Smell
• Wet clothes hung in lines for drying
• Crowded settlements
Planning of Manchester
Commercial – Centralized.
Working Class – Settled around the factories.
Middle Class - Lining the working class, separating them from the Upper Class.
Upper Class – Living in the suburbs. Villas with gardens.
• Main roads were lined with shops on lower levels and some upper floors were occupied.
• As we go away from the road, the type of shops/residences become less fancy.
Hides the actual misery of the living conditions of the working class from the outside world.
Planning of dwellings
• Found all over Manchester.
• Rows of single houses on clay.
First row, with courts - Highest rent.
Followed by Third row.
Lowest rent - Middle row. Back street - dark, dingy, unsanitary. -
Railway system in Manchester
1830Railway system in Manchester
The world's first interurban railroad, arose in 1830, was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR).
It connected the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester.
It was built for trade and to quickly transfer goods to the port of Liverpool.
It was a public carrier with passengers as well as freight. -
Working class
1840Working class
In the 1840s, at the beginning of the Victorian period, Britain's working classes worked two-thirds in factories or on the land.
Britain, the dominant world economy in the 1840s, had a workforce split 36% in manufacturing and a further 22% in agriculture and fishing, while 33% worked in services, half of them as domestic servants. -
Period
1848-1870
Victorian Manchester
By the second half of the 19th century, Manchester saw enormous growth and diversification.
The city became a hub for trade - encouraging engineering advancements.
• 1847: The station is renamed London Road.
• 1849: The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lynne and Manchester Railway becomes part of the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
• 1849: Platforms for the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway are built next to London Road.
• 1860: Overcrowding and disagreements between the London and North Western and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railways were making the situation at London Road difficult.
• 1862: Agreement between the two railway companies saw London Road Station rebuilt.
Station and Railway viaduct
The Birmingham-London railway line has now been established and a station at Bank Top (later London Road and now Piccadilly Station) has opened.
It formed an incentive for new industrial buildings close to the railways.
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Altrincham Railway
1849
Altrincham Railway
The Altrincham station served the area now known as Greater Manchester from 1849 to 1881.
It was constructed by the Manchester, South Central and Altrincham Railway.
The station was located on a line that also runs from Manchester to Altrincham. -
Jackson Mills
1860
Jackson Mills
The Jackson Street Cotton Mills was designed in the 1860s by architect Abraham Henthorn Stott.
In 1960 the Jackson Street Cotton Mills was incorporated into the Umist campus.
The designers H. S. Fairhurst and Sons were responsible for the conversion and extension of the building. -
Period
1870-1900
Business / Factories 1853 - 1904
• Jackson St Cotton Mill (1970s peak cotton production due to automation)
• Manchester Nut & Bolt Works (opened 1845)
• London Road Iron Works (1879 peak Iron production in UK)
• Ardwick Bridge Chemical Works (on site but disused)
Business / Factories 1894 - 1915
• Expansion of Cotton Mill buildings (automation)
• Nut and Bolt Works still operational (peak production early 1900s)
• Expansion of Iron Foundry Works
• Chemical Works Buildings Demolished
Residential + Education 1853 - 1894
• Increase in educational buildings
• Decrease in residential buildingsReasons for changes
• 1870 - Primary schooling made compulsory
• Expansion in technical educational facilities
• Manchester Technical School (1883)
• 1892 - Technical School came to be known as the Manchester Municipal Technical School
• Many central districts houses stripped to make way for factories/ offices / banks
• Better transport links lead to wealthy people residing in more suburban areasSummary
• Second Industrial Revolution Iron + Steel + mass production
• Growing bigger and more vertically
• Developing transport links
• Leading to Manchester becoming commercial center
• Increase in business = more warehouse
• Decrease in residential and people moving to suburbs
• Education laws changing Increased demand for educational buildings
• Increase in University Expansion
• Start of UMIST Campus -
Second industrial revolution
1870Second industrial revolution
The technological revolution, or second industrial revolution, was a phase between the 19th-20th centuries.
It began a period of rapid industrialization and standardization. Beginning in 1870, many manufacturing and production innovations were adopted.
The expansion of rail and telegraph lines after 1870 enabled an unprecedented movement of people and ideas, culminating in a new wave of globalization.
The revolution continued into the 20th century with the electrification of factories. -
Umist campus
1880-1900Umist campus
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was preceded by Manchester Mechanics' Institution, an organization based in St. Peter's Square.
The growth of the school required a new location.
It was John Henry Reynolds in 1883 who converted the Mechanics' Institute into the Manchester Technical School so that Britain would not lose its leading position as an industrial nation.
Modeled on German technical high schools, a huge new building, now called the Sackville Street Building, was opened in 1902.
In 1956 the College of Technology gained independent status as an undergraduate college after non-degree work was moved to some of the community colleges.
In 1966, during a period of rapid expansion, the College of Technology was renamed the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Finally in 1994 UMIST became a fully autonomous university with its own degree-granting powers. -
Sackville Building
1895
Sackville Building
In the expansion of the Manchester Municipal Technical School, construction of the Sackville Street Building that began in 1895 ended in 1902.
The building was transformed into a grand structure with French Renaissance style.
It was opened in 1902 by Arthur Balfour. -
Period
1900-1908
UMIST 1900 Site Map
• Jackson St Cotton Mill (1970s peak cotton production due to automation)
• Manchester Nut & Bolt Works (opened 1845)
• London Road Iron Works (1879 peak Iron production in UK)
• Ardwick Bridge Chemical Works (on site but disused)
Industries
• The Cotton Mill- Cotton remained a significant part of commerce in Manchester during the early part of the 1900’s
• The Railway- The railway helped to strengthen Manchester’s trade, being situated closely to factories and warehouses for exporting
• Industrial Works- Throughout the 1900’s Manchester produced industrial products such as munitions, structural steel, chains, wire and electrical equipment on a massive scale
Sackville Street Building, 1902
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Period
1908-2022
University
The North Campus Site was created in the 1960s for the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), when the river was culverted.
The site is bounded to the north by Whitworth Street and the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway Viaduct (MSJ&AR viaduct), to the east by Cobourg Street and London Road, to the south by the Mancunian Way and to the west by Princess Street.
Renold Building
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Renold Building
1960
Renold Building
The Renold Building was opened on November 23, 1962 for the Manchester College of Science and Technology, later known as UMIST.
The project fit in as a campus expansion made in the 1960s.
The building is constructed of concrete. A two-story high base supports a six-level tower. On the side, the facades are entirely glazed with a movement in the facade that makes it vibrant. As an innovation over British academic planning at the time, the central structure houses several auditoriums that would otherwise have been dispersed in separate buildings.
Currently the building according to the Guardian is among the British Brutalist buildings most at risk of demolition and development. -
Barnes Wallis Building
1964
Barnes Wallis Building
The Barnes Wallis Building forms part of the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Accomplished.
Its peculiarity is the fact that although it is a single building, designed between 1963-66 by architect W. A. Gibbon of Cruikshank & Seward, the two parts that compose it have different names and users. The scale and form have been determined to create a relationship with the previous building.
Entirely constructed of white concrete. -
Graphene Building
2017
Graphene Building
The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) is the first development, carried out in 2018 by Raphael Viñoly's project, as part of the University of Manchester's North Campus Masterplan.
It consists of three floors with a fixed arrangement of modular laboratories, maximizing internal flexibility. The highly specialized, technical space allows for modifications to the building.
The building relates to the main street via glazed work that reveals the important work and innovation that takes place within. Similarly, the overhang of the upper floors connects the building more to the city. -
MArch1 - White Heat
2022
Model of the buildings
Comparison of historical maps
Assembled model
Final model with projections