Contact Theatre

Contact Theatre’s mission is to change the face of UK culture by empowering young people from all backgrounds as creative leaders and agents of social change. They are supporting the next generation of artists and creatives, and inspiring new audiences with stories and experiences that reflect the community.

Situated in the city centre, in close proximity to the university, it draws its audiences and participants from right across Manchester. In 2021 / 22 they engaged with approximately 8,000 young people (under 35), through presenting work and offering participatory and training opportunities, with online content and a range of special projects. The 2021 / 22 annual turnover was £2.7 million generated, with a permanent staff team of 30.

 

Project facts

Client: Contact Theatre (Manchester Young People’s Theatre trading as Contact)

Location – Manchester

Design team:

• Architects – Sheppard Robson
• Mechanical and Engineering and Acoustic Engineers – Max Fordham 
• Main contractor – F Parkinson Ltd
• Project management – MACE
• Structural engineering – Civic Engineers 
• Quantity surveyors – Simon Fenton Partnership 
• Natural ventilation – James Mercer Group
• Theatre consultants – Theatre Projects 
• Kitchen consultant – Keith Winton 
• Specialist AV – Whitelight 
• Electrical contractor – Copelands 

Procurement approach: traditional 

Build time: two years. Construction started on site in January 2018, practical completion in July 2020, with soft opening and a delayed first full season in autumn 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Overall cost: £7.15 million

























 

Sources of funding:

• Arts Council England - 55%
• Manchester City Council - 7% with a £300,000 grant and £200,000 loan
• trusts and foundations 27% (£1.95 million including Garfield Weston, Wellcome, Foyle, Oglesby and Wolfson); and the balance from help in kind, contact’s own funds, and corporate and individual giving.

General description of the works

The project involved extension and refurbishment. The extension element was three storeys (300m2) which were metal-clad, with two distinctive ventilation chimneys. Inside, on the ground floor new performance spaces and an arts and health development space were incorporated into the footprint. On the first floor, existing offices were refurbished and new young enterprise offices for artists and cultural organisations to hire and a private meeting space were accommodated. A state-of-the-art new recording and audio production facility which features a small live booth and control room was created, as well as a new rehearsal space and a new cafe/bar to improve the visitor welcome. Internal works were included to improve sound-proofing and a new staircase and lift for greater access and circulation in the public areas. A new energy plant was installed to replace boilers and pipework and improve the monitoring and management of airflow and air quality. Lighting was replaced with LED fittings.

Case study 

Contact Theatre is an example of a building evolving over time. The original 1960s footprint was subject to a major development and redesign by British architect Alan Short in 1999. The latest suite of changes reflect the new demands and realities of creating and sustaining a viable business model for the 2020s. 

Key drivers included:

• Improving operational and financial efficiency and resilience. There were some fundamentals to address – the 20-year old boilers needed replacing and the building management system (BMS) lacked responsiveness, becoming something to creatively but painfully work around. 
• Growth and changing usage of the space. As Jack Dale-Dowd, Head of Production and Facilities, explains, “Space wasn’t used that well, for example when we had a single rehearsal space and a cramped central space. We were always oversubscribed. 70-75% of hires enquiries had to be turned down – for example if we were using one space for rehearsals, we couldn’t accommodate the hires.” 
• Improving the visitor experience in the building. The cafe space was dark and there was a lack of natural light in some areas, including offices, and the configuration was sub-optimal, with the media-suite squeezed into a space which could not satisfy demand.
• A keen desire to do more from an environmental perspective. This became especially clear as a key concern for the young people Contact works with, and the team were aware that there were new technologies and construction methods of which they could be taking advantage. 

Overall, there was a sense that the building needed to be brought up to date so it felt relevant and projected the same level of confidence and vitality as the creative work produced there.

Young people in the lead

Contact has a strong reputation for the way it involves young people directly in the running of the theatre. Young people aged 13-30 genuinely lead, working alongside staff in deciding the artistic programme, making staff appointments and acting as full Board members. It therefore felt entirely natural to apply this approach to the capital project – through a dedicated young person’s panel called Con:struct which ran throughout the whole project. Their input translated into key decisions on the look and feel, the approach to sustainability, and the deployment of the space to meet current demands and interests, such as improving the heavily-used media suite.

Natural ventilation

A core feature of the project was the desire to protect the 1999 design; this was cutting edge for its time, with a remarkably low-carbon performance and the first naturally ventilated theatre in the UK. The two new chimneys on the extension compliment those originally designed by Short, and naturally ventilate the new performance space and offices. Ventilation can be manually controlled – with the building management system’s advice on when to open windows and chimneys based on air quality and temperature. Overall the variable flow natural ventilation system is intended to minimise the heat loss caused by over-ventilation in the winter, and provide night cooling of the thermal mass in summer to limit overheating and negate the need for any comfort cooling in the building. The changes also meant that poorly lit offices could take advantage of new window technologies and design to increase natural light and external shading.

Soft landings

Max Fordham have led an innovative soft landings approach . This means that as part of the contractual agreement, they will lead the team to regularly review how the building is functioning in relation to energy use over a two-year period post completion. This involves ongoing collaboration between Contact and the construction team to regularly pull down the data, map it against activity and explore ways of finessing energy performance.

Outcomes

The process was brilliant for their young users says Simon Stephens, Head of Commercial and Visitor Experience: “It was great for them seeing their ideas taken all the way through. The driving factors for the design really came from the young people and since reopening we have heard from them how we have made the building nicer; it’s lighter, more contemporary, and maintains the special ‘feel’ of Contact whilst losing the feel of a 90s leisure centre. We are also proud of our codesign model that exists now as a tool for others.” 

The new works have optimised use of the whole building footprint. The organisation can use the space more effectively for the whole ‘customer’ experience, including a comfortable welcome in the café bar, and they are now better able to accommodate and grow their work in health and wellbeing, with the dedicated space fitted out for flexible use (exhibitions and installations, performances, workshops, research and so on). The changes have increased Contact’s revenue-generating prospects. Simon explains, “We’ve increased opportunities by adding space, but also sound proofing through the acoustic treatment means we can do concurrent hosting, using different spaces all at the same time; it means we’re a much more viable proposition in the market.”

While still learning to adapt and adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the building and how it is used, they believe that they have a far more efficient and responsive building management system. The natural ventilation system has proved invaluable during the health pandemic, as have C02 monitors in all spaces. Contact aspires to be in the top 1% of the most environmentally-friendly public buildings in the North West with ongoing initiatives including recycling 100% of waste, using entirely renewable energy sources, and a unique Green Champions scheme to support staff engagement in environmental matters. They aim to reduce energy use by 13% through the development, in addition to using sustainably-sourced materials in the construction process. Through the project, they have generated considerable data and insight with Max Fordham and the design team that will deliver a more efficient building over the medium to long-term, anticipating and responding to changing climate conditions.

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