Factory International by OMA is set to be a moveable feast
Factory International by OMA is a Manchester cultural centre designed to break barriers between audience and performer

One thing is certain; when Factory International opens in Manchester this coming autumn, it will be like nothing the art world has seen before. OMA is adept at creating architecture that challenges and surprises, especially in the field of performance. Ellen van Loon, the OMA partner in charge of the project, was also behind the practice’s seminal Casa da Música in Porto (2005), while the studio’s more recent Taipei Performing Arts Center (2022) is nothing if not unconventional, all bold shapes and embracing public, community life.
The same can be said for Factory International, which sees a soft opening this June, allowing its first guests in to enjoy a series of events during the Manchester International Festival’s (MIF) 2023 edition - while continuing to finesse construction work towards a full, official opening in October.
Factory International aims to break barriers
What makes it special? It aims to break the barriers, quite literally, between audience and the performers; the front and back of stage. ‘The most important thing for me is that this is a building for the next generation, a building that gives people a place to try new things, not to conform to what you should do – a testing ground, an incubator,’ Van Loon says.
‘The challenge with this project was that it was anything but a traditional theatre. We were discussing the shape of a new era for theatre; a building that doesn’t have a front of house or back of house distinction – every space needed to be used for everything.’
Factory International: led by openness and adaptability
This indeed encapsulates the spirit of Factory International. The fairly raw structure was purposely conceived to be malleable. It draws inspiration from warehouses, both in the sense of a space that can hold whatever you need it to, but also it terms of its neighbourhood’s heritage, as it translates the area’s spirit of place for the 21st century – it is situated in a part of town by the River Irwell that may now be changing, but was not too long ago full of industrial buildings, ‘surrounded by civil engineering,’ Van Loon explains.
Inside, this corresponds to extreme openness and adaptability. The backstage connects to the performance hall through a large round window. This symbolises van Loon’s attempt to provide artists with contemporary, liveable spaces to rest and prepare between shows. Dressing areas are typically dark, simple places but these are not only purpose-designed but feature ample natural light and a direct connection to the stage.
Around the stage, equipment is visible everywhere, even the bits the public normally doesn’t see. ‘Of course we had to make sure that it’s all safe, but also that everything remains open and transparent,’ says Van Loon. Unsurprisingly, this makes a building very flexible - the antithesis of the typical example of a theatre where everything is fixed and all the technical elements are hidden away. ‘You can build the fly tower wherever you want, the large grid enables you to hoist and rig in any position you want. There is fixed seating on the balcony, but everything else is movable.’
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
As a result, the architectural context has led to interesting discussions with artists. ‘Artists are surprised, and sometimes bemused by [the building],’ Van Loon smiles. ‘I wanted to create something that takes them out of their comfort zone.’ There is true dialogue between building and users here, as both the building can change to fit a performance’s needs, but the artists also respond to the building in unexpected ways. OMA worked closely with MIF and its artistic director and chief executive John McGrath to fine-tune every element, from its clever purpose-built truck lift to bring in large elements, and its movable acoustic wall that can divide up the main hall into two, to its 1600-seat auditorium that can accommodate anything from ballet, theatre, music to cross-art performances.
‘We love to work on performance buildings. Every time we dream further!’ concludes Van Loon. ‘That is the joy of reinventing the performance building.’
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Glenn Sestig brings his fashion-infused design to a French Riviera flagship
The Belgian architect is the creative force behind the modern-meets-Mediterranean design of shoe label Morobé’s new store in Saint-Tropez
-
Stay in a pastel-hued Puglian palazzo as it starts a new chapter
A haven for the design-minded, Palazzo Daniele reopens following a thoughtful restoration by Milan-based Studio Palomba Serafini
-
‘As an artist, I’ve never felt more useful than now’: Steve McQueen on his monumental film screening in Amsterdam
The film director on why now felt like the right time to screen a previously unseen 34-hour version of his 2023 documentary ‘Occupied City’, on the façade of the Rijksmuseum
-
In memoriam: Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, 1939-2025
Pioneering British architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has died at the age of 85; we honour the creative who marked 20th-century architecture like few others
-
The new 2025 London Open House Festival tours to book
2025 London Open House launches this weekend, running 13-21 September; here, we celebrate the newcomers in the residential realm, flagging the exciting additions to the festival's growing home tour programme
-
The wait is over – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist is here
The restored home of Big Ben, creative housing for different needs, and a centre for medical innovation – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist has just been announced, and its six entries are as diverse as they can be
-
Slides, clouds and a box of presents: it’s the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s quirky new pavilion
At the Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London, ArtPlay Pavilion by Carmody Groarke and a rich Sculpture Garden open, fusing culture and fun for young audiences
-
Bay House brings restrained modern forms and low-energy design to the Devon coast
A house with heart, McLean Quinlan’s Bay House is a sizeable seaside property that works with the landscape to mitigate impact and maximise views of the sea
-
A whopping 92% of this slick London office fit-out came from reused materials
Could PLP Architecture's new workspace provide a new model for circularity?
-
Meet the landscape studio reviving the eco-brutalist Barbican Conservatory
London-based Harris Bugg Studio is working on refreshing the Barbican Conservatory as part of the brutalist icon's ongoing renewal; we meet the landscape designers to find out more
-
A refreshed Victorian home in London is soft, elegant and primed for hosting
Sobremesa house by architects Studio McW shows off its renovation and extension, designed for entertaining