The site at Exchange Quay is 435,000 square feet and is one of the largest office developments in the North West with more than 4,000 employees. JS+P were invited by Till AM to transform a redundant entrance vestibule into a place which thrived through zoned function, purpose and enhancing occupier experience. Our focus was to create a sense of culture whilst allowing alternative activities such as coffee break spaces and meeting areas, offering greater options for occupiers, while increasing prosperity and enhancing the desire to work here. Designed throughout the first UK Covid-19 lockdown, the studio used sector expertise and forward-thinking ideologies for the vision of a post-covid workplace, allowing employees to work flexibly while making positive and conscious changes in their daily working lives.

“JS+P have an excellent reputation as Manchester’s leading designer so we were keen to get their vision for how to revitalise the entrance area of building 8. We were delighted with the concepts and can already visualise the difference the new areas will make to tenants working here.”

Les Lang | Till AM

Aligning interior elements with architectural features was crucial in celebrating the building’s geometry. More importantly, enlivening the reception area with zones for collaboration, social and independent working now encourages employees to utilise the building as a whole. This wasn’t a project about bold architectural statements, but the form and organisation of a welcome amenity space, focussing on the people who work there and the daily activities and settings needed for businesses to function effectively.

Space is the ultimate luxury. It’s an illusion when something appears interesting, aesthetically pleasing and therefore pretends to be good design, but is actually completely impractical and wasting space. As we move forward into a new future for office life this is something JS+P are focusing on. The functionality of the spaces at Building 8 is imperative to making them successful, combined with wise material choices, we have created an environment tailored to the end-user, designed with the planet in mind.