MMU School of Digital Arts

The School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University is situated on the site of the former Students Union car park on Higher Chatham Street, SODA visually represents the ethos of the project: a stand-out modern hub for digital excellence.

The five-story facility integrates teaching, creative, and digital technology resources, empowering over 1,000 students annually with the tools to explore fields such as film, animation, user experience design, photography, games, AI, and more.

The SODA building creates significant value for Manchester Metropolitan University and its students and staff by providing an immersive environment for world-class education. Frequent and effective coordination with design consultants, specialist sub-contractors and the end users was critical to ensuring that the high-tech future-driven vision for the building came to life.

Digital displays are embedded throughout nearly every space within the building, from large gathering areas such as the village greens or the digital hall, to the specialised labs and academic workspaces. The effective integration of these systems ensured that the whole building works to create a vibrant environment where digital arts are celebrated. Through resourceful coordination, all areas were delivered to international quality standards, ensuring world-class functionality and user experience.

Stakeholder feedback underscores the project’s success, with testimonials highlighting the impact of these highly specialised modern teaching facilities solidifying SODA’s role as a cornerstone of digital arts education in Manchester.

The school has since established collaborations with major industry players like Sky UK and Channel 4, contributing to research and skills training that enhance regional economic growth and global competitiveness in digital arts.

Fairhursts expertise in sustainable design played a pivotal role in delivering SODA as a high-performance, low-carbon facility. The building is clad in a huge, four-storey video light wall that takes up the entire front facade and can display designs created in-house by the students to all those passing by, which was coordinated to exclusively use only the power available from the PV cells on the roof.

Hidden technology also allows rooms and facilities to be digitally linked in real-time, allowing for hundreds of configurations, providing a degree of flexibility and adaptability which will significantly extend the building’s utility and lifespan. Together, these elements reflect a commitment to creating an eco-conscious, future-ready educational space.