A City of Architects

We have deep roots the city of Manchester, where nationally and internationally renowned architects have been educated for over 100 years.

Striking buildings such as the city’s Neo-Gothic Town Hall, Neo-Classical Manchester Central Library, Modernist ‘Toast Rack Building’ and the nearby Imperial War Museum, are testament to the city’s rich architectural history that continues with the researchers, individuals and internationally renowned architectural practices who call the city home.

Manchester has one of the largest student populations in the UK with over 100,000 students living and working in a city where over 200 languages are spoken.

This diverse, youthful population combined with Manchester’s architectural, cultural and sporting heritage makes it an ideal place to be a student.

As a school of architecture that has facilities based within Manchester School of Art’s contemporary spaces there are numerous sources of inspiration and collaboration from graphic and fashion designers, to fine artists, filmmakers and curators.

Inspiration isn’t just in our buildings, it surrounds our campus including the high quality design and innovative problem solving evident in the city centre regeneration, the award-winning Whitworth Gallery, the contemporary HOME theatre, cinema and exhibition space, and the People’s History Museum.

Manchester also hosts regular festivals and events year round, such as Manchester International Festival and Parklife Festival, bringing world famous acts to perform.

A Community Shaped by our city

Our network of businesses, practitioners and institutions is the basis for our excellent links with academic institutions and industry that inform our research, teaching and destinations of our graduates. Each year we collaborate and work with companies from across Manchester and beyond. This includes our annual end of year practice preview where our students have the opportunity to present their work to future employers.

The strong professional identity of our courses also provides collaborative opportunities with the city’s wide range of cultural and creative industries and practitioners, including new digital media practitioners, developers and galleries. Both Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester are proud sponsors of Manchester International Festival and our students collaborate to create design elements for the festival including furniture, light installations and architectural interventions.

More about our Professional Network

Beyond Architecture

The city boasts a proud musical heritage with The Smiths, Oasis and Joy Division being three hometown heroes. Building on this history, the music scene is always looking forward with a huge range of venues and events such as The Warehouse Project bringing the most exciting new artists to town.

Sports fans are also well catered for. We’re home to two of the biggest football teams on the planet, Team GB’s cycling team and a test cricket ground too. If you’re feeling active, there is an Olympic size swimming pool, the National Squash Centre, indoor skiing and snowboarding all available to you. Or you can escape the city with the stunning scenery of the Peak and Lake Districts easily accessible by train.

For such an engaging and lively city, our home city is easy to navigate on foot, and one of the busiest bus routes in Europe runs directly past our campuses. Manchester also has many cycling routes, an extensive tram network, an airport only twenty minutes from the city centre, and three central train stations. Manchester is an ideal place to explore the UK and beyond with London, Berlin and Barcelona all two hours away by train or plane.

MSA LIVE
MSA LIVE
Find out more about Manchester School of Architecture’s annual programme of student-led live projects
Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group
Co-Creating Age-Friendly Social Housing
A collaborative research approach to improving the experience of ageing in place