Zaha Hadid’s Concert Hall In Manchester

The Guardian has a short review of the space with a quote from the architect herself:

“It is almost like being in a ­cocoon,” Hadid says of the curving, ­enveloping forms that now wind through the gallery. “If you are in a fluid space, the impact created is very different. The impression is more ­complex. You are perhaps more enclosed [than in a standard, rectangular concert hall], but in a soft way.”

The structure is alluringly simple – a performance space demarcated and enclosed by a single, deep ribbon of fabric, attached to a steel frame. This floats out of a back corner of the ­gallery and snakes around until it ­finally curls to the floor; along the way, it quietly performs a number of acoustic functions, creating surfaces above and behind the stage for the sound to bounce off. The fabric is an extremely stretchy white Lycra, the kind of thing cyclists wear, chopped into large ­panels by a skilful pattern-cutter based in Bristol. Leung tells me the manufacturers have suggested it be given a last-minute clean with the ­inside of a baguette, an old trick used by wedding-dress makers. “We said, ‘Can it be ordinary white bread?’ and they said, ‘No, it has to be French ­baguettes.’” The overall effect is like sails swollen by a high wind, or a gymnast’s ribbon frozen into an elegantly arcing spiral. There is an impression of great lightness. Leung explains: “It’s never a ­linear inspiration process for Zaha, but the ribbon is an architectural motif that’s very flexible. It creates a space – it performs, if you like.”

Hadid’s architects have worked closely with acousticians: Mark Howarth and Michael Whitcroft, of Manchester-based Sandy Brown ­Associates, have tested different ­versions of the design in scale-model versions and suggested adjustments accordingly. The gallery itself has also had a bit of work done to bring it up to scratch as a space for ­music – filling up holes in the ceiling, for instance.

Manchester Art Gallery

[Photographers in order: Duncan Elliot, Duncan Elliot, Daz Tazer, Wojtek Gurak and Mirkl]