Cottonopolis and the circular economy: reuse strategies in our new Manchester office
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Total of 2 people
Our Manchester office has moved just a few hundred yards from our old office at Carvers Warehouse, to a much larger space in the Grade II-Listed Cottonopolis building on Newton Street, in the Northern Quarter of the city. At 4,300 ft2, the beautifully retrofitted open-plan space, formerly a Victorian shirt factory, has room for 32 desks, meeting rooms and social spaces.
The relocation was driven by a need for more space for the growing team, but also a desire for a more sustainable workspace with improved health and wellbeing credentials, including plenty of natural light.
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Total of 8 images
Original Victorian signwriting on one of the office windows, overlooking Newton Street.
© Atelier MB
In the 1800s Manchester was producing around 80% of the world’s cotton, earning the city the moniker ‘Cottonopolis’.
© Max Fordham
Adjustable height desks, some retained from our old office, and some sourced second hand.
© Max Fordham
Pool table found second hand online.
© Max Fordham
A cutting room bench still remains from the days when our office was a clothing factory.
© Max Fordham
Glazing and timber reclaimed from within the building.
© Max Fordham
A metal-topped table sourced from a local pub, when it closed down.
© Max Fordham
This comfy leather sofa also came from the pub that closed, and now sits in our kitchen.
© Max Fordham
Fitting out an office with pre-loved furniture
Our Manchester team sourced as many reclaimed materials as they could to fit out the new office, including reusing most of the furniture from their old office, sourcing a sofa and table from a local pub, retaining timber and glass partitions recovered from within the building, acquiring a second-hand pool table online, and keeping the famous dartboard that's been with them since 2012. They also retained an original cutting room bench from the days when Cottonopolis was a shirt factory, and have left exposed original ceiling plasterwork, brickwork and floorboards. In fact, there are relatively few things in the office that are actually new.
Find us at 1st floor Cottonopolis Building, 14 Newton Street, Manchester, M1 2AF.
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“The way the building has been preserved shows a kind of arrested decay, with everything in it telling a story. The plaster is still visible from the origins of this building, which has a romance and a history, that we're now a part of.”
Chris Flannery
BSc
Project Coordinator
Partner
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Read about our office move in Place North West.