Designed for Manchester-based communications agency Brazen PR, this modern office space is inserted into a Grade II Listed building within the historic Ancoats Conservation Area. The project explores the deliberate tension between raw, historical materiality and highly controlled contemporary forms.
A dialogue is established between the untouched, distressed structure of the past and the precision of the present.
The design strategy refuses to sanitize the host building. Instead, heavily scarred structural columns—some still bearing remnants of paint and old graffiti—are left entirely exposed. Against this textured backdrop, crisp white geometric planes and illuminated recesses are introduced to serve the functional needs of a fast-paced agency.
Circulation across the differing levels of the listed building is handled with industrial pragmatism. Bespoke metal staircases and ramps navigate the space, echoing the building’s working past while providing DDA-compliant access. The handrails and steelwork are kept raw and unpainted, celebrating the nature of the material.
Within the main workspace, walls are not merely partitions but sculptural interventions. Deep, angular incisions are cut into the white surfaces, backlit to create a glowing, abstract geometry that hovers within the heavy masonry of the building.
Exterior view — The Grade II Listed Hudson Buildings.