Owens Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Owens Park is a large hall of residence located in the Fallowfield district of the city of Manchester, England. The hall is owned by the University of Manchester and houses 1,056 students.
The hall, designed by Building Design Partnership,[1] and built in 1964-6, is most notable for its 61 metre-high [2] tower, which is a local landmark. It has a fibreglass relief, Cosmos I, by Mitzi Cunliffe, at the base. [1] Plans by the University of Manchester to demolish the tower have been abandoned as a result of protests by current and past residents, because of its iconic status. In 2005 a refurbishment programme was planned; no action has yet been taken.[citation needed]
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[edit] Organisation
Owens Park comprises five main residential blocks (Tower , Tree Court, Green Court, Little Court, and the Mall), an entertainment block (referred to as The Tower Bar), where the weekly Owens Park BOP ('Big Old Party') takes place, and an administration/library block. It also contains a computer cluster available to all students of the University.
The residential blocks are internally sub-divided into 'houses', each housing approximately 30-40 students of mixed sex, though any given floor in a house is single sex with exception to the tower. Each house has a supervising tutor and a common room. Each floor in a house has its own bathroom and kitchen (though the kitchen closest to a common room is often used by the whole house rather than its intended floor). The halls are catered during the week.
There are generally rivalries between adjacent houses and other halls of residence, these can be contested in sporting events such as football as each halls of residence generally have a team. Football matches are held each Wednesday and the occasional Saturday (for cup matches).
Owens Park has in the past been plagued by false fire alarms, mostly intentionally set off. Since adopting a zero tolerance policy towards students in residence who activate fire alarms maliciously or tamper with fire equipment, the number of false activations seems to have decreased. Students who do this, if caught, are now given a Notice to Quit and have to leave their accommodation and may face further disciplinary action from the University. Within 24 hours of taking up residence in September 2007 a student was issued with a Notice to Quit when caught tampering with fire equipment.
OP, as it is affectionately known, is considered by many who have lived here as a vibrant and sociable hall and a great place to begin studies at the University of Manchester
The annual rent for a room with washbasin in Owens Park for the year 2007/8 will be £3,770 for a 40 week let.
[edit] Notable residents
Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien was a resident during his time at university in Manchester. In the most recent years the Mall has been pleased to have the famous weather broadcasters Chloe Newstead and Katie Lovell living in the year 1997/8. Harry Dance, underground chemist, hit the news in 2007, after being apprehended under suspicion of running a meth lab in his room while at Tree Court. Cayal Mathura, son of playwright Mustapha Matura, known globally as the star and some might say hero of Moon Jump, resided in Little Court 5 1999-2000, unfortunately his room has since been transformed into a doctors surgery and is no longer open for public viewings. The Chemical Brothers played their first gig at the Owens Park BOP. A notorious group of males resided in the famous Little Court 4 corridor of the school year 2007/2008. Estimates as to the amount of damage caused by the 'L4DS', as they were affectionately named around O.P, were in the region of £14,000 for the year.
[edit] The Bop
The Owens Park BOP (Big Old Party) is a night held in Owens Park every Friday in the Owens Park tower's ball room for students of the University of Manchester. The BOP generally has a theme and is free for all residents of Owens Park but has a charge of £3.50 for all other entrants. Only students are allowed to enter the BOP and a student card must be presented upon entry.
The BOP is a popular student night out due to its low cost on drinks and transport as most of the BOP's customers are residents of local student halls of residence, however Owens Park residents have been known to become disgruntled at the high level of students from other halls of residence coming to the event due to the large queues it creates to gain access.
The BOP usually has a theme each week such as a western theme or a dead celebrity theme causing large amounts of students to dress up for the occasion.
The BOP is set out very much like a classic school disco except with the inclusion of the sale of alcohol. As a customer enters they are greeted with the main tower bar with its own DJ and a vast amount of seating, however the main draw of the BOP lies in the large hall upstairs. Upstairs there is a second bar and a foyer like drinking area, and next door there is a large conference hall. The large hall has a disco-like atmosphere and professional DJ on the stage, with small amounts of seating at the sides. The BOP is generally open from 8pm till around 2am, however times have been known to vary.
In 2001, a group of OP residents were involved in the theft of the popular night's iconic Bop Sign. Familiar to generations of Bop goers, the 4ft high individual red lettering spelling out the words, ‘The Bop’ was removed from its home above the DJ booth where it had hung since the early 1970’s. The elaborate plot saw the kidnappers proceed to hold the organisers of The Bop to ransom in a series of events that lasted throughout the year. The Bop sign was finally returned in 2004 in deal mediated by Student Direct. Although returned the BOP sign has failed to appear in th 2007-2008 season.
The BOP is run by the Owens Park Student's Association Executive Committee (OPSA). The Committee is also in charge of running all other hall activities such as the pub quiz, karaoke, sports, and hall pub and club outings. More Recently OPSA has organised a BOP on tour to Amsterdam, and Fallowfest.
The BOP is known on a larger scale for being the venue of the Chemical Brothers' first gig.
Controversy surrounded the BOP in early 2008 when a article in the student paper 'Student Direct' accused the BOP themes of sexism.
[edit] External links
- Owen's Park Tower from http://www.skyscraperpage.com
- Accommodation page written by students
- University accommodation page
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