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June 18, 2018

The future of Manchester office design

Manchester is one of the most heavily evolving cities in the UK, dense with commercial builds with a skyline that’s ever-changing. Recently, the Manchester Evening News showcased what the cityscape will look like over the coming years, and it’s jaw-dropping!

Thankfully for us, with the increasing number of new commercial buildings comes a need for office fit-out and design specialists. Each individual company and organisation knows what they want to see in their completed office design, but over the years we’ve seen more specific trends become widely-used across the city. So, our question is, what exactly are the current trends in Manchester office design?

We’ve been doing a lot of work with Manchester city centre companies, so we’re going to take you through what the growing trends and demands are for Manchester office design. Let’s take a look.


Buffalo 7

Buffalo 7 is one of the UK’s leading PowerPoint Presentation Design Agencies. Their headline slogan is: “We like to think we’ve seen it all and created the best of it.” – well, at Workspace and Design we made sure we gave them an office design that Manchester and the Buffalo 7 team would be in awe of.
Based on Portland Street in Manchester and spanning over 2 floors, the plan was to deliver a visual and contemporary environment dividing open plan and remote spaces for meetings, directors and sole working.
The finished space is visually stunning with the mezzanine floor, spiral staircase and treehouse being utilised whilst incorporating existing features of the space. The presentation and audio visuals were united within the meeting rooms, desks were placed on platforms and distributed around the office and we incorporated bulkheads with feature lighting.
We’re beginning to see more and more Manchester office design briefs requiring stand-out, buzzworthy features – like Buffalo 7’s treehouse and Social Chain’s ball pit. The future of Manchester workspace is definitely looking creative.


Cundall

Manchester is one of the proudest cities in the UK. The city’s heritage and personality are enviable and companies across Manchester are growing more and more keen to highlight their connection and links to the city.
Cundall is an international multi-disciplinary consultancy established in 1976, with 20 offices across the world. Occupying the tenth floor of Manchester One, Cundall was keen to hire a Manchester fit-out specialist who could capture the industrial heritage of Manchester and the concept of Manchester as a hive of activity developed during the Industrial Revolution.
With this in mind, the Manchester Bee became a central theme of Cundall’s fit-out – hexagonal lighting and eco-type acoustic panels were installed replicating the flight path of bees, and a yellow and black colour scheme was adopted to finish off the look. Take a look at the final design here.


Thoughtworks

Thoughtworks are a community of passionate individuals whose purpose is to revolutionize software design, creation and delivery, all whilst advocating for positive social change – needless to say, they’re a busy bunch.
With the company expanding and growing thanks to their unending work-ethic, Thoughtworks wished to be in the heart of the Northern Quarter working alongside other digital led businesses to suit their growing market share. They wanted their space to be innovative with small meeting pods, collaborative events space and have an open office environment.
Using contemporary design methods, Workspace and interior design partners Sheila Bird Group used hard and soft materials to produce a productive yet relaxed environment with sound absorption and modern fixtures.
Thoughtworks highlights the need for a super-productive office space in Manchester. As the UK’s second city, we’re growing at an exponential rate and the only way to keep up the pace is to ensure our workers have a comfortable, productive office space.


Manchester fit out specialists have our work cut out for us!

It’s never been a more exciting time to be a Manchester fit-out specialist – times are changing and we’re all adapting to a more productive, exciting and pride-inducing workspace.
If you’re currently developing a new commercial site that’s in need of a fit-out specialist, get in touch with us at Workspace Design & Build and we’ll be able to help you out.
For more information about our services or to discuss further issues with risky fit-out specialists just send us a message on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.