Edifices > Fac 251 Factory HQ > FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005 < FAC 251 The Factory

FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005; concrete block with FAC 251 inscription
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005; concrete block with FAC 251 inscription
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005; concrete block with FAC 251 inscription
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005; concrete block with FAC 251 inscription
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005; doorway showing Factory logo detail
FAC 251 One Charles Street in 2005; doorway showing Factory logo detail

The new Factory building was converted to the Paradise Factory club. Marcus from Sweden travelled to Manchester in 2004/05 and took these pictures. The concrete "cornerstone" bears the handwritten inscription "FAC 251". According to Tony Wilson the inscription is original and is a deliberate joke because both FAC 51 The Hacienda and FAC 201 Dry both had fancy plaques outside whereas this one is a bit more rough and ready. And, of course, Factory didn't build the shell of the building that became their new headquarters, but rather it was an existing building converted according to architect Ben Kelly's designs.

Paradise Factory subsequently closed and now the building reopens on 5 February 2010 as FAC 251 The Factory.

The 'New Factory', the Fac 251 headquarters building that Factory commissioned at One Charles Street in Manchester was quite an architectural landmark. Ben Kelly (also the designer of Fac 51 The Hacienda and Fac 201 Dry) and "co-designer" Elena Massucco brought on the style. In this excerpt from a City Life magazine article on the building (and also the Siemens building in West Didsbury), Elena Massucco explains some of the philosophy behind its design, in particular "the slot" (the front door, the exterior of which can be glimpsed in this photo of The Wendys): "there was originally a door there, and we just wanted to make an impressive gesture at the crossroads, bringing the building out into the outside world: it would tie it up for us." The slot allows you, on entering the building, to see up to the first and second floors, and vice versa. "It was important for the first floor (the office level) to have a feeling of people going in and out - they don't have to be cut off".

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Many thanks to Marcus for the photos.