Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4J

Details

Accessibility

https://factoryinternational.org/aviva-studios/access/

"At Factory International, we believe in enabling everyone to share in what we do on an equitable basis, with dignity and respect, and we aim to offer a high-quality accessible experience for everyone. We are also committed to listening to the lived experience of Deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse people and welcome all feedback that is shared with us as we can continue to refine, improve, and embed accessibility across our organisation.

Access information about our venue and programme can be found below, as well as on our event pages, in our What’s On guides, and through our social media channels.

If you have a question that isn’t answered here, need this information in an alternative format, or if you’d like to share any feedback with us, please get in touch by emailing access@factoryinternational.org or call us on 0161 817 4531 and we’ll do our best to help. Phone lines are open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, and we work to respond to all email communications within 5 working days.

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

There are eight Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

There is a car park approximately 0.6 miles from the building entrance at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.

There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.5 miles away from the venue at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website."

Brief description

https://factoryinternational.org/aviva-studios/about-aviva-studios/

"Aviva Studios, the home of Factory International, is a landmark new cultural space for Manchester and the world.

Built with flexibility in mind, the design of the building is led by Ellen van Loon of the world-leading practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). The multi-use space can adapt to host any kind of set-up — from intimate theatre shows and intricate exhibitions, to huge multimedia performances and warehouse-scale gigs fit for the greatest artists of our time. Its development is led by Manchester City Council, with backing from HM Government and Arts Council England.

Aviva Studio’s design is led by Ellen van Loon of the world-leading practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). Like many Manchester firsts before now, it's their first major public building in the UK.

The design of the building is based around ultra-flexible spaces that adapt to host any kind of set up – allowing artists to make ambitious, never-seen-before work on a huge scale. And meaning that you can catch the best in new dance, theatre, music, visual arts and performances all year-round.

The 13,350 square metre building includes the Warehouse – a 21m high space with capacity for up to 5,000 people standing, which can also be divided by a movable, full-height acoustic wall. There’s also the Hall with a flexible stage which can house an audience of up to 1,600 seated or 2,000 standing, as well as other spaces to explore inside and out. The Warehouse and the Hall can also work together – allowing the stage to run deeper into the building."

Address

Aviva Studios, home of Factory International

Aviva Studios

Water St

Manchester M3 4JQ

Email

info@factoryinternational.org

Phone

For any general enquires please contact: 0161 843 8900

Website

https://factoryinternational.org/aviva-studios/

Facebook: @factoryinternational
Twitter: @factoryintl
Instagram: @factory_international
TikTok: @factoryinternational
YouTube: factoryinternational
LinkedIn: Factory International

Directions

"There are eight Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

There is a car park approximately 0.6 miles from the building entrance at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.

There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.5 miles away from the venue at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.

By Bike:

There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.

National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.

You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

By Walking and Other Active Means:

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.

All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.

Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.

A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks."

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

Transport

https://factoryinternational.org/aviva-studios/#getting-here

2025: "There are a number of rail and tram stations within the city centre which are just a short distance from Aviva Studios. The closest stations are:

• Salford Central rail station: 10-minute walk via Red Rose Way and Irwell Street.
• Deansgate rail station and Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop: 12-minute walk via Liverpool Road.
• St Peter’s Square tram stop: 15-minute walk via Quay Street.
• Manchester Oxford Road rail station: 25-minute walk via Oxford Street/Quay Street.
• Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria rail stations: Both stops have frequent trams operating to and from Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop.
• Free bus

  The free bus 1 service connects Piccadilly Station, Oxford Road and Deansgate rail stations, as well as other areas of the city centre to Aviva Studios.

  The service stops on both Liverpool Road and Quay Street, close to the venue. Buses operate every 10 minutes during the day from Monday to Sunday and they are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus 1 route and timetable, please visit the Bee Network website.

  Bee Network services

  Piccadilly Gardens is situated in the heart of Manchester and there are a number of bus services that will take you on to Aviva Studios. The 33 bus which starts at Shudehill, calls at Piccadilly Gardens and will take you straight to Liverpool Road. Services operate every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and every hour on Sunday.

  Alternatively, you can board either a 35, 36 or 38 bus to Bridge Street bus stop which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

  Coming into Manchester Victoria rail station? Head on over to Shudehill Interchange (which is a seven-minute walk via Hanover Street) where you can catch the 33 bus to Liverpool Road.

  Alternatively, you can board either an 8, 67 or 100 bus from Manchester Victoria to Bridge Street bus stop, which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue."

Amenities

https://factoryinternational.org/aviva-studios/facilities/

"The information desk is located in the Social in the orange box on the ground floor.

Here you will find people from our team who can help you if you need a ticket for an event. They can also answer any other questions you might have about Aviva Studios.

We do not have a dedicated cloakroom at Aviva Studios, but we operate a cloakroom service during specific evening events.

At certain events, bag sizes may be restricted for safety and/or logistical reasons. We’ll let ticket holders know in advance.

During events, bag checks will be carried out by our specially trained safety team.

We have baby changing and toilets on site – including accessible toilets. 

You are welcome to breastfeed in the Social – our groundfloor café and bar area.

A range of food and drink options are available throughout the day from Super Serve Manchester in our ground floor foyer and café bar the Social. Super Serve is a new collaboration between Solitaire Restaurants and Square One, who have come together to create a sustainable, locally sourced menu for us.

All of our non-pork meat products are Halal. Last orders are half an hour before closing.

Our two auditorium bars the Hall and Upper Hall are open during events.

You can look at our menus on our Food and Drink page: Food and Drink "