Manchester- Northern and Millennium Quarters
Different places develop differently and have different areas or spaces that serve different purposes. One of the cities around the world that has undergone changes in England is Manchester. Central part of Manchester is an example of a de-industrialized city. The city has re-invented, renewed and regenerated over the 25 years. Different areas or locations are used for various roles, and therefore vary in terms of their functions and appearance. This discussion delineates on the renewable urban spaces in Manchester city center -the millennium quarter and the northern quarter.
These two locations have public spaces, architecture, lifestyles different practices of consumption and perform different functions. Millennium quarter was the medieval core of the city, it covers the northern area of the town hall between Victoria train station and St- Ann square (Gregory, 2007). The area began developing a thousand years ago and currently is re-developed and re-invented. The area has various buildings such as the Manchester cathedral that house collegiate church founded in the 9th century. The architectural design of the church is perpendicular gothic style (Eupedia, 2013). The Chetham’s Hospital school and library is another iconic building and architecture in this location. Humphrey Chetham founded the school in 1953 as a free library for professionals and a charity for poor boys. In 1969, the school was turned into a music school and remains the largest music school in Manchester that offers music courses to different students interested in music (Eupedia, 2013). Another building is the manor house constructed in the 15th century to serve as a college for the collegiate church. The building was completed in 1458 and remains the best building preserved in Manchester (Eupedia, 2013). This building is therefore, a good indication of the rich history of Manchester as it shows how the city has transformed. It indicates and manifests how the field of architecture has transformed over the centuries and at the same time plays a key role in enhancing understanding of how the field of architecture has grown. Many other building has come up in the city and these ancient designs played a contribution.
On the street, a superb oak paneled library that allows individuals to research on various areas of study exists. The library is large and contains more than 100,000 different books including 16th -17th century books (Eupedia, 2013). This library has a rich history and is also an illustration of the fact that the area has various professionals and academicians. For instance, this is the place that Marx and Engels often used to meet to study and discuss on various aspects during mid nineteenth century. This is also the same location that the Communist Manifesto was devised (Eupedia, 2013).
Urbis exhibition center is opposite the Chetham’s school. This is one of the futuristic or modern building and architecture. The building is built using glasses and it is in the middle of one of the infamous 19th century slum called Little Gibraltar (Eupedia, 2013). This building is also an indication of the transformation that has been experienced in Manchester in the recent years.
The Urbis exhibition hosts exhibitions that range from popular culture to industrial history. It currently accommodate national football museum that was re-located from Preston in Lancashire (Newman, 2006). Another public place and iconic building is the Exchange Square situated in the South of cathedral and Urbis. Refurbishment of the building concluded in 1966 and it is the major principal shopping area. Corn exchange which was formally used as trading center has now been changed to triangle shopping center and inside it is attached with BBC big screens (Ravetz, 2000) . The Europe largest city center shopping mall Arndale is also found in this area and it houses various major businesses such as Apple store, Marks and Spencer stores and Selfridges. It also houses the world largest Next shop in Manchester. The location has also entertainment sports such as the Printworks. This is one of the major entertainment venue homes that is a home to 23-screen Odeon cinema and a hard rock café. Another major indoor arena located on the Todd Street is the Manchester Evening News Arena. This arena is the largest in Europe and in 2007 it was renamed World Busiest Arena that hosts concerts (Eupedia, 2013). It surpasses New York Madison square Garden in the amount of tickets that are sold. This is one of the places visited by many people for entertainment (Eupedia, 2013). The arena continues to be the most favorite spot for many.
Royal exchange is also at the St. Ann square and was the major location that cotton, material, and other finished textiles were exchanged. This building is the third exchange building and came into existence in 1792. It was the largest trading room in the entire England but trading ceased in 1968. The building was not occupied from 1968 to 1973 when it was taken over by a theatre company. The company transformed it into a 700-seat theater and it still operates up to date. The building has become popular and one of the most preferred when it comes to performance (Newman, 2006). Currently it hosts approximately 350 performances every year. Millennium quarter is therefore busy and has various kinds of buildings that perform different functions. The location has adequate public spaces to where people can go to shop and entertainment. The lifestyles of people have also changed to greater magnitude but still value their culture. The various kinds of building as discussed take on different architectural designs ranging from the ancient to the modern. Some of the ancient designed have been renovate to give the building a new look and this has made the city look beautiful and attractive.
Northern quarter is located at the East side of the Millennium quarter and it consists of Piccadilly railway station and Victoria. This area is the traditional clothing district for the people of Manchester (Hylton, 2003). It is therefore the hub from where people buy their clothes. It brings together people from different areas that come to purchase clothing. It is also renowned for its alternative as well as for being rich in bohemian culture (Kellie, 2010). It also has numerous bars and cafes and various music clothes. It is becoming one of the preferable places to live especially in its neighborhood. Smithfield building is one of the major iconic buildings that have been revamped into modern apartment (Atkins, 1976). It also has a hub- Manchester craft and design center known for creating jewelry, handcrafts and decorative arts. One of the spaces that people or members of the public visit for their own refreshment and relaxation are the Piccadilly Gardens that separates the main area of the city and the major public transport hub (Eupedia, 2013). These gardens were refurbished in 2002 making them have a good appearance.
Northern quarter even though has few common building compared to the Millennium quarter, it is the location that is well defined in culture. The lifestyles of people are well defined by their values and cultures (Atkins, 1976). Furthermore, it is known for its richness in textile and clothing and therefore, people from all parts source their clothing from this location. Clothing has played significant role in the boosting of the economy of this quarter. The quarter has also various public spaces that people meet to share and to relax.
Consumption in these two locations is morally negative as more attention is given to commercial capitalism through acquisition of products and services. Most of the public spaces have been transformed into spectacle and artifice space (Bradshaw, 1985). While people lifestyles are shaped by their adoption of consumer identities and desires. Most of the products are creatively designed as they incorporate the cultures, tastes and preferences of the shoppers. Other aspects that are considered in the kind of products that the people buy include their gender and family dimensions of the customers. Most of the shoppers have also adopted spatial performance in the sense that they buy products in smaller packages. Because of existence of many locations for shopping, people have a tendancy shop at the locations they deem appropriate and where they prefer (Nevell, 2008). The shopping locations are designed differently to suit different tastes of different kinds of people. Therefore, because of this, people have an option to shop at locations/ malls that make them feel satisfied and comfortable.
Through my own observation, I have seen some divergences as well as similarities in these two areas as earlier indicated. The millennium quarter is more endowed with different places and structures that have existed for long period. It has various places of worship and shopping places. Similarly, the Northern quarter is also well developed and is one of the most preferred destinations that people go for their shopping. Therefore, for any individual that wants to have a variety of places to visit, Millennium quarter is one of the preferable area. The two locations have actually experienced a milestone in terms of development and renovations (Nevell, 2008). The people in this locations value their sense of identity and culture and therefore, they consume products and services that support and advance their values and cultural identity.
Therefore, in conclusion, the two locations are very important and have different public spaces, architectural designs that replicate the values of the people. The locations have transformed over the years into modern city making them one of the beautiful and attractive places for both refreshment, relaxation and for shopping. These two locations have transformed the city of Manchester making it look attractive. The changes in architecture in the designs of the building are also evidenced from the various buildings that existed and many new ones that exemplify modernity. Culture is also embraced and is part of the lifestyles of the people manifest from the way they shop. Northern and millennium quarters are therefore a testimony of the changing cities in the world and the places that are recommendable to anyone that wishes to have an adventure.
References
Atkins, P 1976, Guide Across Manchester. Manchester: Civic Trust for the North West.
Bradshaw, L 1985, Origins of Street Names in the City of Manchester. Radcliffe: Neil Richardson
Eupedia 2013, ‘Attractions in Manchester: Millennium & Northern Quarters.’ Retrieved from: http://www.eupedia.com/england/manchester_attractions_north.shtml
Gregory, R 2007, Roman Manchester: The University of Manchester’s Excavations within the Vicus 2001–5. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Hylton, S 2003, A History of Manchester. Chichester: Phillimore and co. Ltd.
Kellie, E 2010, Rebuilding Manchester. Derby: Derby Books.
Nevell, M 2008, Manchester: The Hidden History. The History Press.
Newman, C 2006, ‘Medieval Period Resource Assessment,‘, Archaeology North West 8: 115– 144.
Ravetz, J 2000, City-Region 2020. Earthscan. ISBN 978-1-85383-606-0.
