Delivery architect named on Coliseum

Ellis Williams Architects will be taking the Oldham Coliseum project through its delivery stage, after it was confirmed in January that Mecanoo would not be progressing with the scheme.

The Coliseum is to move from its current home on Fairbottom Street to Southgate Street car park site, with a frontage on Union Street. The new venue includes a 550-seat auditorium and a 170-seat studio theatre, and is scheduled to open by 2020.

At the end of last year, Mecanoo confirmed that it would be closing its Manchester office, and delivering schemes from its head office in Delft. According to a statement from Oldham Council’s leader Cllr Jean Stretton at the time: “Mecanoo informed us that they’re unable to resource the architectural services side of this project beyond the end of our initial contract with them.”

Mecanoo’s designs for the project have undergone a series of changes. The scheme was first approved in 2015, but was reworked to split the project into two elements; a new-build theatre, plus the listed building conversion. The newest iteration was approved in August 2017.

Ellis Williams will be working alongside contractor Gilbert Ash.