These two listed buildings form part of the wider Kampus development, a PRS scheme and garden neighbourhood for the city. Throughout the design process, the number one priority was to retain the qualities of the existing mill buildings as they were transformed into homes. Where interventions were inserted into the building, a clear relationship exists between old and new allowing this chapter of the buildings to be read clearly in years to come.

Where is the project located? 

Kampus, Aytoun St, Manchester M1 3GL
 
Who is the developer/client of the project? 
Capital & Centric
 

The Grade II Listed Minshull House and Minto & Turner buildings form part of the wider Kampus development, based in the heart of Manchester near Piccadilly. 

The site was acquired with a view to create a vibrant and diverse ‘garden neighbourhood’ for the city. The Listed buildings were to be sensitively renovated into loft style apartments with commercial space to the lower levels to activate the public realm.

Erected in the 1860/70s, these 4-5 storey buildings began life as warehouses for the city’s booming Industrial Revolution textile trade and capitalised from their location along the Rochdale canal. Both buildings have undergone changes through multiple uses over time; from their original use as a cotton storage warehouses, to Baracuta clothing company in the 1950s and its most recent use as The North West Film Archive until 2015. The evident marks of these historical changes were testament to the robustness of the buildings and as such the development team equally wanted to showcase these alongside celebrating the existing red brick and timber/cast iron structural elements.

Sadly, the buildings had fallen into some disrepair; particularly Minto & Turner which had been vacant from the 1950s. Restoration of original machinery/ features such as a cast iron hydraulic packing press, an ornate cast iron weighing machine and the overhaul of two external iron escape stairs to the long elevations of Minto & Turner have been secured, repaired, and repainted in a bold red oxide.
 
Describe the intervention you’ve made including its purpose and motivation, as well as its viability or business case. 

The two buildings are separated by Little David Street; one of the last remaining cobbled streets in the city, that had been left overgrown with weeds and moss and chained off from public access for many years becoming a forgotten ‘secret street’. It has now been restored to its former glory with reclaimed cobbles and planting along its edges, drawing in elements of the lush greenery that populates the wider public realm.Key strategic moves were made regarding residential circulation; with both buildings differing in response to their varying floor plate widths and constraints. The narrow plan form of Minto & Turner was completed with a deck access solution, forming a cloister arrangement with a new external timber clad wall line and original window openings infilled with steel planters to allow the lush planting to extend to a vertical plane. The deep plan of Minshull House adopts a centralised core strategy; with the new steel structure threading through the existing structural elements which minimised demolition works. Macalloy cross bracing at the flanks of the core structure create an interplay between modern intervention and the original structural elements; particularly at third floor level with the exposed iron tie details.

A minimal material palette with the red brick, cast iron and exposed timber allowed to stand proud in its revived surroundings. Injection of new materials occur to the landlord/circulation spaces; with vertical Siberian larch cladding, Viroc cement board friezes and bold yellow paneling balancing the warm against the industrial.

How does this project make use of an existing structure, place or building in a creative way? Is it innovative? How will this project continue to evolve or enable future flexibility and adaptation? Have you considered its resilience? 

The two listed buildings form part of the wider Kampus development, a vibrant and diverse ‘garden neighbourhood’ for the city. This development is managed as a PRS scheme thus the completion of the scheme is only the beginning of its next chapter. The ground floor commercial will look to build on the neighbourhood drivers creating a responsive Kampus, in line with the current and future needs of the ‘on site’ and neighbouring residents. 

Throughout the design process, the number one priority was to retain the qualities of the existing mill buildings. Whilst this approach complicates the design process, for shedkm this enhances the end product bringing added value to the completed scheme. Extensive condition surveys and historical feature audits were undertaken in collaboration with dedicated conversation specialists to assess work required and appropriate repair strategies, with the Local Planning Authority kept informed at every stage of the process.

Thus where new interventions were inserted into the building for the new use, a clear relationship exists between old and new allowing the story of this chapter of the buildings to be read clearly in years to come. The new interventions were weaved into the building structures minimising alterations to the original fabric and any interventions were meticulously thought through in design and location allowing future adaption to take place.
 
What is the environmental and social impact of the project? Please share evidence or data to support your entry

The re-use of previously disused buildings contributed to the environmental impact of the overall site, to continue their life cycle. Any sound brickwork removed during demolition works was stored on site for re-use and removed timber beams have been repurposed as benches within the public realm.The soft landscaping area within Chorlton Square and Little David Street provide areas of permeable surface, enabling the interception, filtration and absorption of rainwater, with the moderation of runoff. The planting considers the entire lifecycle of bees and butterflies and where possible native species have been planted.

There’s secure cycle storage within Minshull and the public realm for public use, to promote green travel.

High efficiency systems, plant, controls and equipment have been incorporated. All light fittings use energy efficient LED luminaires to reduce energy use. Windows have been increased for more daylighting and to reduce tenant dependency on lights.

Sanitaryware has been selected to minimise water use, with dual flush WCs, low flow showers and taps, and small capacity baths.

Each apartment is a separately metered and controlled heating zone, ensuring unoccupied spaces aren’t operated unnecessarily.

The buildings are connected to a site based ‘Energy Centre’. The CHP and boilers combine to provide low carbon energy to heat the buildings. Its hot water supply is routed via a plate heat exchanger and distributed around the Listed buildings to serve radiators in each area.

U-values in W/m2K

walls (where new)- 0.18

roof - 0.18

windows - 1.3 - 1.8

floor - 0.17 - 0.25