BEYOND – Astrological Museum + Experience
BEYOND is an educational space and cultural destination located within a four-storey Victorian red brick mill, just a short walk from Manchester Oxford Road railway station. Positioned in the heart of the city, the project is designed to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds through the wonder of space exploration.
The design combines cutting-edge technology with the historic character of the existing mill building. It creates an immersive learning environment through exhibitions, virtual reality experiences, scale models, and interactive spaces. These exhibitions explore both the history of humanity’s understanding of space and the future possibilities of space travel.
Visitors enter along the northern façade and arrive in the heart of the existing building. This bright, open, triple-height space, known as the Welcome Foyer, is designed to draw people in and encourage exploration. Spacecraft and exhibition artefacts hang overhead, while geometric walls create a dramatic sense of scale and discovery.
From here, visitors are led into the main exhibition space: the Astrological Hall. This large atrium occupies the full right-hand side of the scheme and is intentionally kept open and minimal, allowing attention to focus on the scale model artefacts displayed within it. These include spacecraft, satellites, rovers, telescopes, and other examples of space technology.
Cantilevered mezzanine floors surround the central void, giving visitors close-up views of the exhibits from multiple levels. Together, these spaces create an engaging educational experience that celebrates space science, technology, exploration, and the adaptive reuse of Manchester’s industrial heritage.
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Email: thomas.gledhill@me.com
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