naylor and walkden

renovation brings venue into the 21st century

Lancashire based building
contractors Naylor & Walkden
are nearing completion on a
renovation project which has
transformed Manchester’s
most famous live venue into
a space for music
in the 21st Century.

Boasting a heritage that attracted groundbreaking music acts such as Joy Division, Simply Red and The Buzzcocks, Band on the Wall was awarded nearly £4 million in combined awards by Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Manchester City Council to transform the venue into a revitalised venue featuring many additional resources and facilities.

The works undertaken by Naylor & Walkden include a complete renovation of the Band on the Wall venue, the adjacent ‘Picturehouse’ has undergone detailed yet sympathetic conversion of the ground floor in the Grade 2 Listed building.

The ‘Picturehouse’ was believed to have been built by the original owners, dating from around 1865 and at the turn of the last century was used as a picture house for silent cinema - possibly the first in Manchester.

The redevelopment provides a platform for the development of local talent with state-of-the-art technology and new facilities for performances, education, recording and an audio and audio-visual music archive.

Alan Thompson, Contracts Manager, describes the main changes

 

“Working from innovative and exciting designs provided by North West architects, Shedkm, Naylor & Walkden has been on site for the last 12 months and the improvements to the existing main space are phenomenal. They include the installation of the latest sound system as well as specialised restoration of original 19th century features and extensions to the existing balcony. In addition, all the facilities are now fully accessible.

“Whilst on site removing the floorboards, our team uncovered some well preserved programmes, tickets and papers from the original Picture House opening. We hope to see these preserved in the new archive currently being developed and funded by a Heritage Lottery grant.”