£16m refurb completed at heritage site
THE PROJECT WAS UNDERTAKEN BY BUILDING OWNERS CATALYST CAPITAL TO CREATE A 98,500 SQ FT GRADE A OFFICE SPACE
A £16m refurbishment and extension of Grade II-listed Arkwright House has been completed and includes a new seventh floor penthouse-style space with views across the city centre.
The project was undertaken by building owners Catalyst Capital to create a 98,500 sq ft Grade A office space in the Parsonage Garden building.
Arkwright House, which was commissioned in 1929 and completed in 1937, was originally built for the English Sewing & Cotton Company in a design by renowned local architect Harry S Fairhurst.
Having acquired the building in 2014, Catalyst Capital worked with architects Sheppard Robson to create a new layout and identity.
The scheme has included a roof extension, creating a new seventh floor, providing a 7,000 sq ft penthouse-style space with panoramic views through floor to ceiling glaz- ing to the south, across Spinningfields to Manchester’s skyline.
The first to sixth floors have also been extended by infilling three rear light wells, which also have full height glazing to maximise daylight.
The original stair cores have been sympathetically restored and feature new lifts, restored Terrazzo staircases set against the original art deco wall tiles, intricate iron balustrades with brass handrails, and contemporary feature lighting.
The office space has an innovative rafted ceiling system to supply lighting and highly-efficient air conditioning, which exposes the original structural beams accentuating the original height of up to 3.3 metres of the office floors, giving a sense of volume that a full suspended ceiling cannot match. Arkwright House now provides regular-shaped floor plates extending to up to 15,000 sq ft of high specification Grade A space, capable of matching the occupational densities achieved by brand new buildings. Giles Hall, portfolio manager at Catalyst Capital, said: “Arkwright House is an important part of Manchester’s heritage that merits careful stewardship. “Having acquired the building in 2014, we appointed a highly-experienced and regarded professional team to set about transforming the third major historic office renovation that we have undertaken in Manchester city centre in recent years.” Joint leasing agents for the building are GVA and CBRE.
Arkwright House is an important part of Manchester’s heritage Giles Hall, portfolio manager, Catalyst Capital