Proposals submitted for Manchester sport institute

Manchester Metropolitan University has issued proposals to extend the former student union building on Oxford Road into a 4,600m² Institute of Sport.

The four-storey red-brick building, next to Sidney Street and the Mancunian Way flyover, was vacated in 2015 when the university completed its new student union on Higher Cambridge Street.

Proposals designed by BDP would see the building partly demolished and refurbished.

According to plans submitted to Manchester City Council, the location of the proposed Institute of Sport next to the Mancunian Way “has the potential to act as a visual gateway for the university”.

The institute would include research facilities focusing on biomechanics, physiology and anatomy, and musculoskeletal research. There would also be offices, labs, and break out spaces.

Work on the scheme could begin in late 2020.