the modernist x BDP present - The BDP Talk Series. 4.4 - Architecture For The People - Manchester City Architects Department 1902-2003 with Richard Brook and Martin Dodge 12/2/26
Thursday 12th February 2026
6.15PM FOR A 6.30PM START BDP, 11 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2JB
We welcome back long time collaborators Richard Brook and Martin Dodge to talk about their exhibition, Architecture For The People - Manchester City Architects Department 1902-2003, that is currently running at Manchester Central Library.
The first City Architect, Henry Price, was appointed in 1902 – between then and 2003, only six others held the prestigious post. Price oversaw the design and construction of many of the city’s wash houses and baths, including the Grade II* listed Victoria Baths of 1906 on Hathersage Road.
It is worth remembering how much of the city’s operations were governed from the town hall. Manchester Corporation once controlled gas and electricity undertakings, tramways and trolleybuses, schools, police, fire and ambulance services, waste collection, parks and recreation, housing, libraries and more. The City Architect’s Department designed for all of these.
Celebrated schemes, like the restoration of the Free Trade Hall in the 1950s, sit alongside more macabre utilitarian buildings, such as the City Mortuary, reminding us of the things a city needs to function.
The latter days of the Department were characterised by the upkeep of existing estate, libraries, schools and housing, and renewed attention on the public realm – the creation of Castlefield Urban Heritage Park, the pedestrianisation of Market Street, pocket parks along the River Irwell and in China Town.
Finally, as commissions increasingly fell to the private sector, the City Architect became an instrumental figure in the stewarding of large investments that saw Olympic bids and the delivery of the Commonwealth Games.
Dr Martin Dodge is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Manchester.
Professor Richard Brook is a Professor of Architecture, Director of Research, PGR Lead and Humanities Lead at Lancaster University.
