One of the UK’s leading cities is to get a “funky” new addition to its skyline.
Manchester Metropolitan University’s (MMU) new All Saints Library, with a striking “zig-zag” design, has been given the go-ahead by the council’s planning committee.
The 13-storey building will replace the existing outdated library and will also house the University’s Special Collection Museum and the Manchester Poetry Library – the North West’s first public poetry library. However, councillors expressed concerns that the final building might not look like the plans, reports Manchester Evening News.
Councillor Joan Davies asked, “How much room for manoeuvre is there to change it?
“The distinction this building has is quite welcome. It would be so easy to write fragments of a poem on the side and they have not done that. I like the funkiness.”
Planning officer Dave Roscoe reassured everyone by saying, “The first question we ask is ‘can you build it?'”
Andrew Fallon, MMU’s director of estates, said after the meeting, “It will be a striking addition to our estate and the Oxford Road skyline, serving as an iconic All Saints architectural gateway to our University.
“Once built, it will provide a vibrant learning, research, and collaboration hub, empowering our University community and fostering creativity and engagement for future generations.”
Building work is set to start in autumn 2024 and finish in spring 2028, just in time for the 2028/29 academic year.
