Image Credit : Daniel Hopkinson
Project Overview
A new HQ for J’adore Models - a 10-year-old, Manchester-based agency with a global high-street-to-catwalk client list, a boundary-pushing diverse reputation, 20-strong internal team and over 250 models on its books.
The existing 347 sq m Ancoats property necessitated substantial building
reparations and new front- and back-of-house entrances to create a perfect interior canvas.
The core requirements were for a high-impact environment - on a par with its clients’ offices – and a space people were excited to visit and work in, enhancing wellbeing and helping recruit the best talent.
Front-of-house was to be a co-working environment, visitor meeting space and creative café with a welcoming reception, while the back-of-house had to be just as high-quality to ensure staff felt truly valued. The aesthetic was ‘spacious and relaxed with a New York loft/industrial vibe’, punctuated by natural materials and planting.
‘We're beyond happy with the results’ (Jess Ludlam, Director, J’adore Models)
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Workshop Design Studio- Lead designer and Project Manager
TecCre8- Main Contractor
Treacle Studio- Lighting Design
Renew electrical ltd. - Electrical Contractor
Project Brief
The success of J’adore Models led to the agency outgrowing its previous premises in AWOL Studios. Before the new project could start, however, a certain amount of concentrated focus was needed on the J’adore Models brand by its owners, together with Workshop Design Studio, in order to ensure the execution of the brief would be everything the owners wanted – and more!
The core requirements of that brief were to create an environment with a real ‘wow factor’ that would be on a par with the offices of the agency’s international retail clients. Both J’adore Models and Workshop Design Studio considered the move a unique opportunity to create an exceptional space to embody and amplify the brand and its values, as well as being a space people were excited to visit and work in, both enhancing staff wellbeing and helping the agency to continue to recruit the best talent, whether onto its team and onto its books.
That building itself was located in the Ancoats area of Manchester, where the agency was already based and was determined to stay, in order to be true to its roots, show its continuing commitment to the area and retain links to Ancoats’ great industrial past, especially its heritage in textile design.
Project Innovation/Need
In terms of originality, the design team looked primarily towards retail environments rather than other offices for inspiration and this shows in the end result through elements such as dark wall colours, retail-style track lighting and the inclusion of biophilic and set dressing elements. This is not an obvious office environment, it has more in common with a retail environment or a co-working space and this is deliberate, the client was looking for a very ‘non corporate’ space which was aligned with the brand and appealed specifically to their many retail clients.
The design phase was also a fully collaborative process between Workshop Design Studio and J’adore Models. This is often overstated; however, this truly was the case with this project. The directors of J’adore Models, sisters Sam Fry and Jess Ludlam, engaged Workshop Design Studio who’s founder, Peter Milburn Brown, was an old friend of both directors and this allowed for a unique dialogue between both parties, fostering an honest exchange of ideas, and an impetus to create a very personal piece of design which was on trend but also had a timeless quality.
Throughout this process, new and innovative materials and products were sourced, including: the stunning pink concrete wall finish from Detale CPH, the brilliant modular adaptable shelving system from Shelved, the robust sit-stand desks provided by Workstories and beautiful LED neon signage provided by Manchester’s own Daze Neon.
Design Challenge
Although built in 2002, the ground floor units on Ingenta house had never been occupied and suffered years of neglect. This, coupled with poor execution of the original building and low-quality materials, had prevented any previous owner/potential buyer from seeing it as a viable option for office accommodation, or indeed any other use class, in its entire lifetime.
The biggest design challenge was the rectification of the buildings many defects and ensuring that there was enough money left from the original budget to complete the fitout works to a high standard. These defects included; inadequate fire protection to all steelwork (on a steel framed building), badly designed, leaky and noisy drainage which changed direction within the clients demise, poor quality UPVC windows and doors throughout, which performed poorly in terms of security and thermal conductivity, poor heating provision and a lack of dedicated entrances ( all access to the units was through the residential entry corridor), uneven and cracked floors and 2.2m high ceiling tiles throughout both spaces. It was a very challenging space in the initial stages, and it took a lot of vision and creativity from both J’adore Models and Workshop Design Studio to create the completed scheme.
Workshop Design studio delivered 3735 ft2 of unique office/ commercial space for a budget of £400’000, which equates to just £107/ft2 or £1152/m2, 40% of which was spent on building defects.
Sustainability
The material environmental impact of this project is relatively minimal because the project reused an existing building and brought the ground floor of that building into use for the first time in 20 years.
In terms of specific environmental improvements; all of the 18 poor-quality UPVC windows and doors were replaced with thermally-efficient aluminium casements with U-values of 1.1w/m²k, improving on current building regulation requirements and reducing the heating/cooling requirements of the space. Several of the large expanses of external wall were lined out with a timber frame and increased insulation to provide a more pleasant ambient temperature within the office environment.
The lighting strategy is low level. Task lighting is available to every workstation providing individualised solutions whilst avoiding a constant light level of 500 lux to the entire office; not only does this reduce the energy consumption, it also creates a calmer and more relaxing environment to work in with improved productivity levels. All lighting is zoned for maximum flexibility and is 100% dimmable LED. Instant hot water taps in both kitchens allow for reduced energy consumption (removing the need to constantly boil kettles for individual drinks).
All flooring throughout the 3735 ft2 floorplate is Forbo Marmoleum – which gives the look and feel of concrete whilst being made from 97% natural raw materials - and is CO2 neutral, without the need for offsetting and arguably one of the most sustainable floor coverings available globally.
Interior Design - Co-Working & Studio Space
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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