Imperial War Museum North
Encyclopedia
Imperial War Museum North (sometimes referred to as IWM North) is a museum in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford
in Greater Manchester
, England. One of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum
, the museum explores the impact of modern conflicts on people and society. It is the first branch of the Imperial War Museum to be located in the north of England. The museum occupies a site overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal
in Trafford Park
, an area which during the Second World War was a key industrial centre and consequently heavily bombed during the Manchester Blitz
in 1940. The area is now home to the Lowry
cultural centre and the MediaCityUK development, which stand opposite the museum at Salford Quays
.
The museum building was designed by architect
Daniel Libeskind
and opened in July 2002, receiving 470,000 visitors in its first year of opening. It was recognised with awards or prize nominations for its architecture, but has also been criticised for poor energy efficiency. The museum features a permanent exhibition of chronological and thematic displays, supported by hourly audiovisual presentations which are projected throughout the gallery space. The museum also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions in a separate gallery. Since opening, the museum has operated a successful volunteer programme, which since January 2007 has been run in partnership with Manchester Museum
. As part of a national museum, Imperial War Museum North is financed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
and by self-generated income. Admission is free.
, in County Durham
, for whom a new museum building was designed by architect
Sir Norman Foster for a site on Hartlepool's dockside. In 1992 the Teesside Development Corporation
offered the museum, on behalf of Hartlepool council, a total of £14.4 million towards construction and running costs. However, the National Audit Office
later reported that the Corporation's offer breached government rules and negotiations were abandoned.
In January 1999 the then Culture Secretary
Chris Smith
launched a project to construct the new museum in Trafford
, Greater Manchester
. The Trafford Park area has strong associations with the Second World War on the British home front
; factories in the area produced Avro Lancaster
heavy bombers, and Rolls-Royce Merlin
aero engines
used by a number of Royal Air Force
combat aircraft. By 1945 the area employed 75,000 people. The area was consequently heavily bombed, particularly during the Manchester Blitz
, when 684 people were killed in raids over two nights in December 1940. By the time of Chris Smith's announcement, the museum had already received outline planning permission
(in October 1997), with full approval in April 1999.
Daniel Libeskind
. Born in Łódź, Poland, in 1946, Libeskind's family had suffered during the Second World War and dozens of his relatives had died in the Holocaust. At the museum's opening, Libeskind said that he sought to "create a building ... which emotionally moved the soul of the visitor toward a sometimes unexpected realization"'. Libeskind envisaged a 'constellation composed of three interlocking shards' with each shard being a remnant of an imagined globe shattered by conflict. These shards in turn represented air, earth and water, and each formed a functionally distinct part of the museum. The 55m high air shard, provides the museum's entranceway and a viewing balcony above the Manchester Ship Canal
with views of the Manchester skyline. The construction of the tower leaves viewers exposed to the elements and one reviewer considered that it reflected "the aerial perspective of modern warfare and the precariousness of the life below". The earth shard houses the museum's exhibition spaces, while the water shard accommodates a cafe with views of the canal. Originally budgeted at £40 million, the museum was eventually completed for £28.5 million after anticipated National Lottery
funding was not forthcoming. The museum was funded by local, national and European development agencies. The European Union
's European Regional Development Fund
contributed £8.9 million, English Partnerships
and the North West Development Agency £2.7 million, and £2.8 million was provided by Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. Peel Holdings, a local transport and property company, contributed £12.5 million; this was reportedly the largest single sum ever given to a UK cultural project by a private enterprise. The reduction in budget forced a number of changes; the substitution of metal for concrete in the construction of the shards, the removal of a planned auditorium, and a change of exhibition content. The site's external landscaping also had to be reduced; in 2009, following an international design competition, Berlin-based company Topotek 1 were appointed to complete this landscaping. Despite these economies, the fundamental "shattered globe" concept remained intact. A final £3 million was raised by a fundraising campaign led by BBC News
war correspondent
Kate Adie
. Construction of the museum, by structural engineers Arup
and main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine
, began on 5 January 2000 and the building was topped out
in late September that year. Exhibition fitting started in November 2001, and the museum opened to the public on 5 July 2002, shortly before the 2002 Commonwealth Games
which were hosted in Manchester that year.
from a nominal "North Pole
" near the gallery's entrance. Within this hall, described as cavernous and dramatic, a number of large artefacts are displayed; they include a Russian T-34
tank, a United States Marine Corps
AV-8B Harrier
jet and an 13-pounder
field gun which fired the British Army
's first shot of the First World War. Around the gallery, a number of vertical mechanical conveyors called "timestacks" display selections of smaller artefacts, some of which can be handled by visitors.
In addition to the physical exhibits, the walls of the gallery space are used as screens for the projection of hourly audiovisual presentations called the Big Picture, which explore themes related to modern conflict. These presentations use up to 1,500 images from the Imperial War Museum's photograph archive projected from 60 synchronised slide projector
s mounted throughout the space. The images are complemented by personal accounts from the museum's oral history
sound archive. The Big Picture was devised after the reduction in the museum's budget forced the scrapping of the previous exhibition plan by designers DEGW and Amalgam.
Also within the earth shard, a separate gallery accommodates a programme of temporary exhibitions. These have included the Witness series of art exhibitions from the museum's collection, examining First and Second World War art, and the work of female war artists.
The WaterWay, a passageway linking the earth and water shards, is used for smaller art or photographic exhibitions, such as Ghislaine Howard's photojournalism
-inspired painting series 365.
Outside the museum building, an ex-Iraqi Army
T-55 tank was put on display at the main entrance in August 2008. This vehicle was captured by the Royal Engineers
during the opening stages of the Iraq War in 2003. The spot had previously been occupied by an Iraqi ZSU-23-4
Shilka anti-aircraft gun. Captured by the Royal Artillery after the 1991 Gulf War
, it was moved from Imperial War Museum Duxford
and displayed to mark the museum's fifth anniversary in July 2007.
, and was shortlisted for the 2004 Stirling Prize
. The museum received a largely positive critical reception, with reviewers remarking on the metaphorical power of the building, the complementary effects of the museum's main exhibition with its internal architecture, and the economy with which the museum was built. In August 2005 Imperial War Museum North received its millionth visitor. The museum was, however, criticised in 2008 by The Guardian
for poor energy efficiency, as part of a report into the carbon dioxide
emissions of UK public buildings.
Supporting Imperial War Museum North's educational goals, the museum has operated a volunteer programme since opening in 2002. The programme seeks to engage local people at risk of social exclusion. Originally based on a National Vocational Qualification
, the programme was revised and relaunched in 2004, and consisted of a basic cultural heritage course, providing opportunities to develop academic skills and improve confidence, and to support individuals seeking to return to employment. In return volunteers work in the museum's public spaces as part of the front of house teams. In January 2007 the museum launched the In Touch volunteer programme, in partnership with Manchester Museum
and supported by £425,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund
. The programme was recognised by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as a case study of its kind, in the department's Third Sector Strategy.
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. One of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, the museum explores the impact of modern conflicts on people and society. It is the first branch of the Imperial War Museum to be located in the north of England. The museum occupies a site overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
in Trafford Park
Trafford Park
Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located opposite Salford Quays, on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, it is west-southwest of Manchester city centre, and north of Stretford. Until the late 19th century it was the...
, an area which during the Second World War was a key industrial centre and consequently heavily bombed during the Manchester Blitz
Manchester Blitz
The Manchester Blitz was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in North West England during the Second World War by the Nazi German Luftwaffe...
in 1940. The area is now home to the Lowry
The Lowry
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...
cultural centre and the MediaCityUK development, which stand opposite the museum at Salford Quays
Salford Quays
Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...
.
The museum building was designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...
and opened in July 2002, receiving 470,000 visitors in its first year of opening. It was recognised with awards or prize nominations for its architecture, but has also been criticised for poor energy efficiency. The museum features a permanent exhibition of chronological and thematic displays, supported by hourly audiovisual presentations which are projected throughout the gallery space. The museum also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions in a separate gallery. Since opening, the museum has operated a successful volunteer programme, which since January 2007 has been run in partnership with Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum
The Manchester Museum is owned by the University of Manchester. Sited on Oxford Road at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, it provides access to about six million items from every continent and serves both as a resource for academic research and teaching and as a regional...
. As part of a national museum, Imperial War Museum North is financed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
and by self-generated income. Admission is free.
Planning and construction
During the 1990s, the Imperial War Museum sought to open a branch in the north of England. Seventy-one sites were offered for consideration by 36 local councils. One such council was that of HartlepoolHartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
, in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, for whom a new museum building was designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Sir Norman Foster for a site on Hartlepool's dockside. In 1992 the Teesside Development Corporation
Teesside Development Corporation
The Teesside Development Corporation was a government-backed development corporation that was established in 1987 to fund and manage regeneration projects in the former-county of Cleveland in North East England....
offered the museum, on behalf of Hartlepool council, a total of £14.4 million towards construction and running costs. However, the National Audit Office
National Audit Office (United Kingdom)
The National Audit Office is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies...
later reported that the Corporation's offer breached government rules and negotiations were abandoned.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...
Chris Smith
Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury
Christopher "Chris" Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury PC is a British Labour Party politician, and a former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister...
launched a project to construct the new museum in Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
. The Trafford Park area has strong associations with the Second World War on the British home front
Home front
Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....
; factories in the area produced Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
heavy bombers, and Rolls-Royce Merlin
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...
aero engines
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
used by a number of Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
combat aircraft. By 1945 the area employed 75,000 people. The area was consequently heavily bombed, particularly during the Manchester Blitz
Manchester Blitz
The Manchester Blitz was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in North West England during the Second World War by the Nazi German Luftwaffe...
, when 684 people were killed in raids over two nights in December 1940. By the time of Chris Smith's announcement, the museum had already received outline planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
(in October 1997), with full approval in April 1999.
Architecture
An architectural competition for the new museum was held in 1997, with the winning design being that of Berlin-based architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...
. Born in Łódź, Poland, in 1946, Libeskind's family had suffered during the Second World War and dozens of his relatives had died in the Holocaust. At the museum's opening, Libeskind said that he sought to "create a building ... which emotionally moved the soul of the visitor toward a sometimes unexpected realization"'. Libeskind envisaged a 'constellation composed of three interlocking shards' with each shard being a remnant of an imagined globe shattered by conflict. These shards in turn represented air, earth and water, and each formed a functionally distinct part of the museum. The 55m high air shard, provides the museum's entranceway and a viewing balcony above the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
with views of the Manchester skyline. The construction of the tower leaves viewers exposed to the elements and one reviewer considered that it reflected "the aerial perspective of modern warfare and the precariousness of the life below". The earth shard houses the museum's exhibition spaces, while the water shard accommodates a cafe with views of the canal. Originally budgeted at £40 million, the museum was eventually completed for £28.5 million after anticipated National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
funding was not forthcoming. The museum was funded by local, national and European development agencies. The European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's European Regional Development Fund
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund is a fund allocated by the European Union.-History:During the 1960s, the European Commission occasionally tried to establish a regional fund. Only Italy ever supported this, however, and nothing came of it. Britain made it an issue for their accession in...
contributed £8.9 million, English Partnerships
English Partnerships
English Partnerships was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level...
and the North West Development Agency £2.7 million, and £2.8 million was provided by Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. Peel Holdings, a local transport and property company, contributed £12.5 million; this was reportedly the largest single sum ever given to a UK cultural project by a private enterprise. The reduction in budget forced a number of changes; the substitution of metal for concrete in the construction of the shards, the removal of a planned auditorium, and a change of exhibition content. The site's external landscaping also had to be reduced; in 2009, following an international design competition, Berlin-based company Topotek 1 were appointed to complete this landscaping. Despite these economies, the fundamental "shattered globe" concept remained intact. A final £3 million was raised by a fundraising campaign led by BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
Kate Adie
Kate Adie
Kathryn "Kate" Adie , OBE , is a British journalist. Her most high-profile role was that of chief news correspondent for BBC News, during which time she became well known for reporting from war zones around the world...
. Construction of the museum, by structural engineers Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
and main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. is a private British company headquartered in London. It carries out engineering and construction for the oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, nuclear, pharmaceutical, defence, chemical, water and mining industries.-History:...
, began on 5 January 2000 and the building was topped out
Topping out
In building construction, topping out is a ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. The term may also refer to the overall completion of the building's structure, or an intermediate point, such as when the roof is dried in...
in late September that year. Exhibition fitting started in November 2001, and the museum opened to the public on 5 July 2002, shortly before the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
which were hosted in Manchester that year.
Exhibitions
Permanent exhibitions are housed in the museum's first floor main gallery space within the earth shard. These consist of a chronological display which runs around the gallery's 200 metres (656.2 ft) perimeter and six thematic displays in "silos" within the space. As part of the earth shard, the 3500 sqm floor of the gallery is curved, gradually dropping away like the curvature of the EarthFigure of the Earth
The expression figure of the Earth has various meanings in geodesy according to the way it is used and the precision with which the Earth's size and shape is to be defined. The actual topographic surface is most apparent with its variety of land forms and water areas. This is, in fact, the surface...
from a nominal "North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
" near the gallery's entrance. Within this hall, described as cavernous and dramatic, a number of large artefacts are displayed; they include a Russian T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tank, a United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
AV-8B Harrier
AV-8B Harrier II
The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing ground-attack aircraft. An Anglo-American development of the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the Harrier II is the final member of the Harrier family that started with the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 in...
jet and an 13-pounder
Ordnance QF 13 pounder
The Ordnance QF 13-pounder quick-firing field gun was the standard equipment of the British Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I.-History:...
field gun which fired the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's first shot of the First World War. Around the gallery, a number of vertical mechanical conveyors called "timestacks" display selections of smaller artefacts, some of which can be handled by visitors.
In addition to the physical exhibits, the walls of the gallery space are used as screens for the projection of hourly audiovisual presentations called the Big Picture, which explore themes related to modern conflict. These presentations use up to 1,500 images from the Imperial War Museum's photograph archive projected from 60 synchronised slide projector
Slide projector
A slide projector is an opto-mechanical device to view photographic slides. Slide projectors were common in the 1950s to the 1970s as a form of entertainment; family members and friends would gather to view slide shows...
s mounted throughout the space. The images are complemented by personal accounts from the museum's oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
sound archive. The Big Picture was devised after the reduction in the museum's budget forced the scrapping of the previous exhibition plan by designers DEGW and Amalgam.
Also within the earth shard, a separate gallery accommodates a programme of temporary exhibitions. These have included the Witness series of art exhibitions from the museum's collection, examining First and Second World War art, and the work of female war artists.
The WaterWay, a passageway linking the earth and water shards, is used for smaller art or photographic exhibitions, such as Ghislaine Howard's photojournalism
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
-inspired painting series 365.
Outside the museum building, an ex-Iraqi Army
Iraqi Army
The Iraqi Army is the land component of the Iraqi military, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I....
T-55 tank was put on display at the main entrance in August 2008. This vehicle was captured by the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
during the opening stages of the Iraq War in 2003. The spot had previously been occupied by an Iraqi ZSU-23-4
ZSU-23-4
The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount". The "23" signifies the bore diameter in millimeters. The "4" signifies the number of gun barrels. It...
Shilka anti-aircraft gun. Captured by the Royal Artillery after the 1991 Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, it was moved from Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near the village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven...
and displayed to mark the museum's fifth anniversary in July 2007.
Reception
The museum enjoyed a successful first year, with an initial target of 300,000 visitors surpassed after six months, with over 100,000 visitors in the first six weeks; by the museum's first anniversary on 5 July 2003 some 470,000 visitors had been received. The museum won the Building Award in the 2003 British Construction Industry AwardsBritish Construction Industry Awards
The British Construction Industry Awards were launched by the New Civil Engineer magazine and Thomas Telford Ltd - both owned by the Institution of Civil Engineers - in 1998....
, and was shortlisted for the 2004 Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
. The museum received a largely positive critical reception, with reviewers remarking on the metaphorical power of the building, the complementary effects of the museum's main exhibition with its internal architecture, and the economy with which the museum was built. In August 2005 Imperial War Museum North received its millionth visitor. The museum was, however, criticised in 2008 by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
for poor energy efficiency, as part of a report into the carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions of UK public buildings.
Volunteer programme
National Vocational Qualification
National Vocational Qualifications are work based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. In Scotland they are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification ....
, the programme was revised and relaunched in 2004, and consisted of a basic cultural heritage course, providing opportunities to develop academic skills and improve confidence, and to support individuals seeking to return to employment. In return volunteers work in the museum's public spaces as part of the front of house teams. In January 2007 the museum launched the In Touch volunteer programme, in partnership with Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum
The Manchester Museum is owned by the University of Manchester. Sited on Oxford Road at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, it provides access to about six million items from every continent and serves both as a resource for academic research and teaching and as a regional...
and supported by £425,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
. The programme was recognised by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as a case study of its kind, in the department's Third Sector Strategy.
External links
- north.iwm.org.uk - Imperial War Museum North
- iwm.org.uk - Imperial War Museum