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Manchester City Council’s head of cultural development Fran Toms tells us about her job and what she looks for when commissioning out work.

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Words by Pamela Buxton

What does your role entail?
My role includes feasibility, resource procurement and appointing and managing design teams - including architects, designers, exhibition and branding designers - for cultural regeneration projects. I've been very lucky - I don't think there are any other cities where there would be the opportunity to work on the number, scale and quality of cultural projects that I've been involved in. I also lead on heritage projects - either our own feasibility work or assisting other community or cultural organisations on how to go about projects involving heritage buildings.

I like to think of procuring buildings as a journey that goes beyond design and construction and considers how the buildings will be used and maintained once they are complete. I'm very conscious of making sure there are pragmatic solutions that keep running costs down as well as providing aspirational designs.

How many design projects do you generally commission a year?
There tends to be long lead-in times for the larger projects - Home was a five-year programme, for example. We usually have two big projects on the go at any one time as well as many smaller ones. Part of my role is to support artists, and I like to think of designers as artists and artists as designers rather than distinguishing between the two.

How do you go about commissioning designers and architects?
With our commitment to high-quality design we are committed to holding design competitions since we feel these bring out the best and most innovative ideas. It's a fast-changing world and I feel it's much better to see who's out there rather than necessarily use a framework process. If the project is for a major cultural building, we like to go out to competition as wide as possible, usually via the European Journal.

Inside Home, Manchester's new cultural venue designed by Mecanoo, with interiors by Concrete Design

What qualities are you looking for?
A clearly articulated understanding of the brief and what we want to deliver. We also don't want someone imposing their solution on us.

Instead, we want designs to evolve, which was one of the reasons we chose Mecanoo as architects for HOME. Track record is important - you do need to know that people have done these complicated buildings before - and so is innovation. It's about getting value for public money, but equally we have an aspiration to be innovative and creative. It's about striking the right balance between the two.

Regarding Home, what sort of venue did you hope to create, and how will this fit into the regeneration of that part of the city?
HOME came about because the Library Theatre needed a new venue, and at the same time the Cornerhouse arts centre was bursting at the seams. We thought the two organisations had a lot in common. That gave us a strong start within the context of a city where we were looking to create a new quarter at First Street. All these things came together in a £25m, multi-artform building within a mixeduse, commercial, leisure destination. Funding came from Manchester Council (£19m), the Arts Council (£5m) and other fundraising (£1m).

Did you look at many other cultural centres as part of the research for Home?
It's important to spend a lot of time getting the brief right. If you do, you solve so many other problems along the way and can endeavour to future-proof the project. Also, we always keep a close eye on what else is in the marketplace so that you make sure you're not competing with any other facilities.

We looked at a lot of theatres and their ancillary spaces, and that helped with the look and feel of HOME. It was most important that the main auditoria were intimate. We looked at many small-scale theatres, such as the Royal Court, which is probably the closest to HOME in feel, and also visited the Young Vic and the RSC. We always talk to the people who actually operate the buildings to ask them what they would have done differently.

Manchester Art Gallery, designed by Hopkins Architects

What were your ambitions for HOME and why did you choose the architects and designers you worked with there?
We didn't want a corporate building where people might feel intimidated; we wanted people to feel that HOME is their building, as much as ours. As a result, it's a very relaxed, welcoming and comfortable space. We have seven auditoria but it's very easy to read and navigate, unlike so many other cultural buildings, and it's very clear what happens in every space.

I led a team that procured the design team via a European competition. Mecanoo understood that the making of art is what's important in this building, and the building needs to service that need. It listened a lot and really engaged with the users. We'd also seen some of the innovative work it had done before on buildings, such as the Library of Birmingham. Concrete Design did the interiors, coming up with the main feature staircase and bringing a lot of joinery into the building to soften it. There are simple themes - the dark-blue fins on the outside are also articulated inside as wooden fins on other details such as the staircase, for example.

What is the most challenging part of your job as a design client?
Maintaining the spirit and quality that you have at the beginning throughout the whole process, as well as achieving value for money.

What is the most rewarding part of your job as a design client?
Working with the end-user and understanding and interpreting what they want to do. The job is always easier when the end-user has a clear vision about what they want to achieve, and that was particularly successful at HOME, where its director and chief executive Dave Moutrey has been involved with every design decision.

The Bridgewater Hall concert venue, designed by Renton Howard Wood Levin in collaboration with Arup Acoustics

What projects do you feel have turned out particularly successfully?
I'm enormously proud of Bridgewater Hall. It opened in 1996 and still looks stunning. The simplicity of the design has been maintained and the council has invested in the building to keep it looking like that. I'm also very proud of the Manchester International Festival - not a building but very much about working with top designers and artists and cultural regeneration. And more recently of course, I'm proud of HOME, in delivering what we set out to achieve, on time and on budget.

What design projects are in the pipeline?
We're looking at regenerating Heaton Park, and Hall, which at 600 acres is the biggest park in Manchester and has huge potential as a regional park. I am leading on that. In terms of building projects, Manchester is also at the early feasibility stages of developing The Factory on the former Granada Television studios site, a theatre with a large auditorium and even bigger open-span shed attached for a wide range of productions. Manchester lacks a large-scale production space that can be used by the International Festival. This could lead to the development of a wide range of technical and artistic skills and opportunities for local people.

Do you have any favourite cultural venues that you take inspiration from?
Two of my favourite venues are the two Tates in London. I love buildings where there is a clear modern intervention to make it work better and inspire, while still respecting their heritage.