Bruntwood, the family-owned commercial property company, has revealed plans for ‘neo’, a bold, forward-thinking and collaborative workspace in Manchester city centre.
Work has already started on-site to redevelop a 15-storey, 52,000 sq ft building on the corner of Portland Street and Charlotte Street, formerly known as Bank House. The £8m redevelopment will be called ‘neo’ deriving from the Greek word ‘neonate’ meaning a fresh, new, revived form and the building will feature Bruntwood’s most evolved workspaces to date.
Led by a surging demand for innovative workspace in the UK, the scheme is designed to reflect the impact of new technologies on the changing nature of work. It will also facilitate an increasingly collaborative way of working for Bruntwood customers.
Designed by Bridge Architects, neo will house coworking spaces, event spaces, private studios, a communal lounge and kitchen, a roof terrace and a digital art space on the ground floor. The upper floors will feature open-plan office layouts with panoramic views across the city.
neo will provide innovative tech solutions and support services for all sectors, including the creative, media and digital industries, as well as the more progressive, creatively-minded businesses seeking a flexible and collaborative approach to the way they work.
A dedicated on-site community manager will develop neo’s internal social network, running a programme of events focusing on health and wellbeing, social networking and business support.
Chris Oglesby, Chief Executive at Bruntwood, said: “neo marks a new phase in workspace evolution for Bruntwood, embracing the ever-changing nature of business culture and connectivity.
“With neo we have the chance to nurture new and ambitious start-ups. We see the building as a cultural, collaborative flagship; utilising new technologies in a creative way to reflect the diverse needs of our customers.
“The roof terrace, with its weather-proof meeting pod, the lounge, the open-plan kitchen, the coworking space and the digital art space will provide the perfect platform for a social network at neo, putting businesses of all sizes on an equal footing and fostering innovation in the workplace for all.”
neo is due for completion at the end of 2016.
