Imperial War Museum North – Competition to Develop External Spaces

Imperial War Museum North is about people and their stories, about how lives have been, and still are, shaped by war and conflict.

Imperial War Museum North (IWMN) is the 5th branch of the Imperial War Museum and, the first outside the South East of England. Designed by Daniel Libeskind and opened in 2002, the concept for the building is that of a globe shattered info fragments and then reassembled as an iconic emblem of conflict. The overall effect is of disorientation, with sloping floors and unusual angles throughout, reflecting the disorientation of war.

The visitor experience at Imperial War Museum North is potentially intense and emotional, and it is hoped that this experience can be extended into the spaces around the building. It is intended that these
external spaces will become an integral part of the museum, introducing, reflecting and developing the museum’s content and message whilst responding to and enhancing its architecture and location. These spaces must attract visitors, direct them around and into the building, introduce them to the message and content, and reward them with a memorable, unique museum experience, whilst offering a clear and distinctive sense of destination within The Quays regeneration area in Trafford.

Anchored by the strong architecture of IWMN and The Lowry, the Quays blends together the areas of Salford Quays and Trafford Wharf into a single destination as Greater Manchester’s dramatically rejuvenated waterfront. Currently under development is MediaCity:uk, a major digital campus that will host five BBC departments and much more besides.
This provides an exciting opportunity to capitalise on the international focus that will soon be on the area, and to create something that is dramatic and spectacular, that at the same time successfully integrates with the context and has a clear rationale.

IWMN won a prestigious Silver Award for “Large Visitor Attraction of the Year” at the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2007 and was named as one of the top 10 buildings of the last century in the 2008 Rough Guide to England.

The competition will take the form of a two-stage process which in the first instance seeks expressions of interest from multi-disciplinary design teams with exceptional design skills.

Competition Brief (PDF)