TBC
TBC
Manchester
TBC
TBC
Manchester
Citygate was a multi-level refurbishment carried out within an occupied building, with works spanning the fifth floor office space, reception, washrooms, circulation areas and lower-level amenities. Rather than treating each area as a separate intervention, the project brought the building together through a series of carefully phased upgrades, improving how it worked for occupiers, visitors and staff while allowing day-to-day use to continue around the programme.
The Brief
The project required a wide-ranging modernisation of the building without taking it out of operation. The fifth floor needed to be stripped back from an existing CAT B office and reworked into a CAT A+ workspace, while the shared areas required a more contemporary level of finish across washrooms, lift lobbies, stair cores and reception. At lower level, part of the existing car park needed to be transformed into a gymnasium with changing, showering, secure cycle storage and repair facilities, bringing a new level of amenity into a constrained part of the building.
The Work
On the fifth floor, the existing office was taken back and rebuilt as a CAT A+ space with exposed services, curved meeting room glazing, furniture and AV. Across the building, WC facilities were modernised in phases from the fifth floor down to ground level, with new vanity units, lighting, decorations, flooring and wall finishes carried through the surrounding lobbies, lift areas and main stair core. The reception was also reworked while remaining live, with a new meeting room, staff and visitor refreshment areas, a DDA WC, bespoke joinery, feature finishes, lighting and flooring all carefully coordinated around daily building use.
The lower-level works brought some of the most demanding parts of the programme. Part of the existing car park was converted into a gymnasium with changing and showering facilities, secure bike storage and a repair centre. New drainage required excavation and connection into existing services, while the reduced slab-to-slab height meant heating, cooling and ventilation had to be coordinated tightly to protect the finished ceiling heights.
The Result
Citygate became a more complete building, with its office space, reception, shared facilities and amenities all brought up to a stronger standard of use.
The works gave occupiers a new CAT A+ workspace, improved washrooms, refreshed circulation areas and a reception aligned with the building’s role as a working city-centre address. The transformation of the lower-level car park into gym and cycle facilities added a meaningful layer of amenity, turning a difficult space into something genuinely useful for the people who use the building every day.
