We’re so excited to move into the Ged Mason Building early next year; a carefully designed, purpose-built and future-proofed design project which will house Royal College Manchester, provide shared spaces for Royal College Manchester students, and modern co-working spaces for our support staff.
In July, we took an updated tour of the inside of the building with David Walker, Project Transformation Design Lead. Rooms are being formed, windows installed and walls painted as the building comes to life. Watch the videos below for walkthroughs of different parts of the building.
New Royal College Manchester space:
Each cohort has its own Heart Space and four individual classrooms of the same size and layout. The lights are manually controlled and dimmable, with interstitial blinds that lie between the panes of glass. Each cohort also has its own muted colour palette that repeats on one or two of the key walls and areas such as lockers. These distinguish walls from counters and cupboards (which are white), and also help the students to identify where they are. Cohorts will also have sky ceiling panels which mimic the sky, each with a different scene.
Immersive spaces will have interactive projection across the walls and floor, which will be turned into a sound floor with speakers and vibratory drivers so deaf and partially hearing students can experience sound through vibration. We will also have vibrating sound beds for students who cannot access the floor.
The performance space is the only area not to have access from the southern corridor due to the noise the area is likely to generate. It has been built with double walls separated by acoustic insulation, and will feature green screens and flexible colour changing spotlights to create backlighting, spotlights, and audience participation lights.
“There are some excellent new features in the Royal College Manchester space, which are carefully designed around the evolving needs of our students.”
Shared spaces:
The new shared spaces in the Ged Mason Building will benefit not only Royal College Manchester students, but will also be used by Royal School Manchester students and staff.
One of the most exciting features is the sports hall, which will feature a 10m x 16m climbing wall. The wall is currently being built by the same team who constructed the last Olympic climbing wall, and they are also creating the next Paralympic wall using the learnings from creating this structure for Seashell students.
The wall has LED lights to illuminate a custom route, and will also feature the world’s largest articulated slab, which is an overhanging section of the wall. This will benefit those students who need extra support with their physical strength. As well as this, the sports hall will also have boccia courts, basketball nets and badminton courts. We can’t wait to see our students using it to its full potential!
Other features of the building include a fitness suite with equipment, free weights and designated warm-up track, and a café servery area with comfortable seating, chilled food display and a barista station.
“I’m really excited about the climbing wall, it should be absolutely fabulous when it’s done.”
New office space:
We’re so excited to provide our College and support staff with a modern, purpose-built shared office space. This includes the new College staff room, with a work area, social space and meeting rooms, and the open plan office.
The open plan office space has quiet working areas, aircon, height-adjustable desks, lockers, wardrobes, comfortable seating areas and private meeting booths, as well as a kitchen space with multiple pieces of equipment to reduce wait times.
The building also has a fantastic PA system comprising of 15 zones, controlled from multiple offices with localised volume control.
“There are some really great features about [the boardroom]; the cameras, the sound, and connectivity between multiple meeting rooms.”
We have £2.4 million left to raise to complete this state-of-the-art project, which includes landscaping plans to create sensory gardens and outdoor classroom space. If you would like to be involved in helping us reach this goal please do get in touch at fundraising@seashell.org.uk.
The building is named after our President, Ged Mason OBE. Ged and his family have been supporters of Seashell for more than 20 years, and recently attended the building’s Topping Out Ceremony in June, honouring a Scandinavian tradition to bring good luck.
“It’s going be amazing, not just for the students who will benefit but for all the staff. And it’s a credit to the builders Eric Wright.” – Ged Mason
The building is part of our greater Project Transformation, which saw the completion of the Moulding Foundation Building, Sir Norman Stoller Way, and the Bradbury Cycling Centre. This major redevelopment will provide the very best environment for Seashell to continue delivering our excellent standards of education and care for children and young adults with the most complex needs.
