Phoenix Building, Manchester
Overview
Eric Wright Construction delivered a new 10-storey apartment block in Manchester. The scheme delivered a mix of 75 one and two-bedroom contemporary apartments.
The build stands on the footprint of a former cotton mill, as part of the collection of original mid-nineteenth century Grade II listed Crusader mill buildings.
The building is an external pre-cast concrete frame grid, with infills of stack bonded brickwork, and full height glazing.
The two ‘wings’ of the building are expressed within the façade articulation, with a sharp cladded box at high level to express the circulation core.
A lattice girder slab has been installed all the way through the building, which acts as permanent formwork and provides pre-finished soffits.
Apartments have been designed to convey a high degree of design and construction quality, and there is a degree of honesty within the building design, which is expressed both internally and externally.
The soffits to the apartments are primarily left exposed, other than in areas where plasterboard is used to cover services. As such, services such as luminaires, sprinklers, detectors etc are left intentionally exposed, and are expressly set out to align with key features of the layouts.
Key Challenges
Located in central Manchester, there were numerous logistical challenges associated with this scheme. The site itself is extremely tight and its boundary is adjacent to a main road, next to the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), and the neighbouring 1800’s mill was undergoing refurbishment by another contractor.
Planning, logistics and communication were of the upmost importance to ensure minimal impact on local residents and existing businesses and to maximise use of the minimal site area.
Added Value
EWC have value engineered this scheme to ensure its viability and success. Specifically, the M&E fixtures and fittings have been altered to offer cost savings which do not compromise quality. Similarly, EWC substituted the hardwood flooring specification to offer a hard wearing alternative with a quality finish which was substantially less expensive than the original specification.
Whilst on site, EWC were dedicated to providing work opportunities for local people and used a local Manchester based supply chain.
Client Feedback
For us, it’s about creating massive, bold and cool homes that reflect how people actually live. People want a place that feels like home. It’s got to have roomy and really big living areas where they can chill and hang out with their mates.
The apartments at Phoenix are bigger and brighter than the rest, with an open plan layout creating more liveable space. These apartments are far from your average white box, with exposed concrete and pipework giving them bags of character. Phoenix is for people that love awesome design and that appreciate the little details, from the architecture down to the interiors.”