Image Credit : Gu Shi Yin
Project Overview
The Green Rooms is a sleek, new, build-to-rent scheme by Amro Living at MediaCityUK in Salford, made up of 238 stylish 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments with enviable views of the waterfront and Manchester’s iconic skyline. 74 were commissioned to create the scheme’s ground floor amenities - a vibrant set of sophisticated, relaxing and hospitable spaces.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
David Holt
Bianca Yousef
Megan Jones
Project Brief
Responding to the future growth of MediaCityUK was a key part of the strategic thinking on this project. With over £1billion currently invested in the neighbourhood and plans for it to double in size to 7.7 hectares - including 1,800 private sale and BTR apartments and townhouses and 55,000 sq m of additional office space – the area really is ‘hot property’.
74’s aim for the amenity design was to create a vibrant space that reflected the style, elegance and charm of the surrounding urban landscape and would be inspired by the arts and the people who would use it. The practice undertook a building analysis during the final stages of the base build to ensure each space within the ground floor amenity space would be used to its full potential. Site analysis revealed the particular desirability of the location – not only because of its waterside siting, but for its proximity to Imperial War Museum North, The Lowry Theatre, MediaCityUK itself and its great transport connections.
With MediaCityUK’s appeal to technology, media and arts professionals, the site was judged to be attractive to other demographic groups too, including students at Salford University, young families, those working at different types of businesses and older single people looking for a good quality of life and the added buzz of community life. The amenities also needed to be attractive to non-residents, including local businesses wanting to use flexible spaces for meetings or events.
Project Innovation/Need
The urban landscape fed into the design narrative by reflecting local building forms, patterns and lighting, and interpreting this into furniture, fittings and finishes. Major influences included the preponderance of monolithic structures and sweeping curves; bold forms, shapes and patterns; reflections from the abundant glazing and the water of the River Irwell; contemporary and organic shapes with neon hues, warm lighting and futuristic lighting shapes and the use of industrial-style materials such as steel panelling and mesh cladding.
The emotional feel of a space that would speak to a number of different domestic aesthetics was also important, with this feel was defined as sophisticated and strongly linked to the neighbourhood and local community, creating a relaxing and hospitable sanctuary feel, as well as being inviting, inspirational and collaborative, for those seeking to use the amenity spaces together with other people.
Design Challenge
The main challenge of this project was the successful flow of the space plan and to create a design that would distill the target resident demographic's needs and tastes, whilst reflecting and making the most of the location's context.
‘We distilled all of these influences into our design concept’, 74 Founder David Holt commented, ‘so that the amenity spaces feature a contemporary materiality, whose linearity reflects local architectural language, together with a softening of those clean lines via organic shapes and texture from woven patterns and perforation, as well as the tactility of rugs and throws. Furniture features colourful, bold and bright colourways, with a slightly harder edge through the use of brushed steel and metallic detailing. Health and wellbeing is also promoted throughout by careful application of biophilic principles.’
The spaceplan for the 515 sq m ground floor amenity space includes four main areas with individual zones within those, so that the full offer encompasses: reception and lobby space; shared workspace; lounge and quiet working area; postboxes; parcel store for residents; gym and shower rooms; fitness studio; staff offices; snug; flexible event space and a booking meeting room or private dining facility.
Sustainability
The scheme features a major artwork, visible far and wide, making it effectively a public artwork, which was created in close collaboration with local students from Manchester School of Art.
There was a strong focus on wellbeing in the project, with huge amounts of natural light in the voluminous spaces, views onto the water maximised and integrated planting throughout.
Interior Design - Residential
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes and aesthetic presentation. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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