Arkwright House

Manchester

Neo-classical architecture meets contemporary comfort and connectivity in this city centre office refurbishment.

Arkwright House is a Grade II listed building comprising eight storeys of commercial office space with a basement car park and a Vodka Revolution Bar occupying part of the ground floor. Located at the heart of the Parsonage Gardens conservation area, the building is perfectly positioned overlooking the city centre green space.

CWC were responsible for the design of all the MEP systems as part of a major refurbishment completed in 2017, including a detailed review of the heating and cooling air distribution to ensure the highest levels of occupant comfort.

Sector

Commercial Offices, Heritage

Value

£15 Million

Client

Catalyst Capital

Gallery

The Requirements

The project was required to meet BREEAM “Very Good” standard and be energy efficient, whilst respecting the building’s heritage value. Strict heritage and planning issues had to be solved, and the ground floor bar had to remain operational throughout the work. 

The Solutions

An integral part of the project was the lighting redesign. The original ceiling had to be opened up, so an architectural raft solution was adopted. This provided support to the lighting and ventilation grilles, whilst still covering the fan coil units. These exposed structural elements set the tone for a contemporary workspace within this heritage building.

The lighting design made careful use of the significant amount of natural light provided by the building’s original design. Extensive daylighting simulations were carried out to assess the potential energy savings available by incorporating daylight regulation into the perimeter luminaires. Given the high colour temperature of daylight, the main light sources were fitted with lower temperature 3000K fittings to provide a changing balance of light throughout the day, whereas warmer 4000K luminaires were fitted in central areas where daylight would have less effect.

A fully featured DALI lighting control system was installed to provide maximum flexibility and additional energy savings.

The building was awarded a WiredScore Platinum Rating, indicating an outstanding level of building internet connectivity and resilience.

The result is a modern, functional workspace within a stunning heritage building.

Office Space

Grade A

EPC

“B” Rating

BREEAM

“Very Good” Rating

Wiredscore

Platinum Rating

Key stats

£15 million in value

refurbishment completion

m2 Grade A office space

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