Size

15,000 sq ft

Location

Manchester

Activity

Banking & Financial Services

Duration

6 weeks

We've transformed Cooper Parry's existing Manchester office into a vibrant, homely workspace that perfectly embodies their identity as "The Rebels of Accountancy".

Our comprehensive refurbishment of their 15,000 sq ft space has created a dynamic environment that blends the comfort of home with the functionality of a modern workplace, delivering an eclectic, moody ambiance that surprises and delights at every turn.

Cooper Parry is an innovative accountancy firm that prides itself on being different from other practices in their approach to client service and workplace culture. 

Overview

Cooper Parry needed to refurbish their existing Manchester office to better reflect their brand identity and create a more engaging workspace for their team. 

The challenge was significant: we needed to change their current offices into an open, collaborative environment that would support different ways of working. The project had to be delivered while staff remained in occupation, requiring careful phasing to minimise disruption to daily operations. 

Our brief was to create a space that brought the feeling of home into the workplace, achieving that distinctive, eclectic look and feel without being overly corporate. The design needed to celebrate Manchester's unique character while providing flexible spaces that could accommodate various work styles and activities. 

The existing building offered some incredible heritage features, including original parquet flooring and exposed services, which we saw as opportunities to enhance the design. 

We've delivered a stunning workspace that truly captures the essence of Cooper Parry's rebel spirit while celebrating the best of Manchester's culture and heritage.

Visitors are now welcomed into the Rebelution Lounge, a sophisticated business lounge that serves as both reception area and flexible meeting space. This space embodies Cooper Parry's tagline perfectly, it's a world away from standard accountancy office reception areas, featuring comfortable seating arrangements around a large communal table that encourages informal collaboration and creates a calming, welcoming environment. 

The transformation extends throughout the space, to create big open plan settings that promote team working and knowledge sharing. At the heart of the design is the Orangery, our extension of the social tea point area that has become the vibrant soul of the office.

The Orangery buzzes with energy, featuring gaming facilities including pool table, darts, and ping pong, paired with various seating settings from casual lounge areas to traditional table and chair arrangements. Custom joinery by P&R Joinery has created bespoke storage and display solutions that maintain the space's clean aesthetic while providing practical functionality. 

The Rebelution Lounge is my favourite aspect of this project. The transformation is completely different compared to what their reception area looked like before. It's such a flexible space that works brilliantly for Cooper Parry - it's poles apart from their original reception and captures their rebel spirit perfectly.

Andy Hunt, Commercial Director

Throughout the space, we've woven Manchester's rich cultural heritage into the design narrative. The iconic Manchester bee takes centre stage through our striking gold bee sculptures, which create focal points in both the business lounges and meeting rooms. These golden sculptures pay homage to the city's industrious spirit, complementing meeting rooms that bear names celebrating what Manchester is famous for, including the Hacienda and the Mill. The presence of these bee sculptures throughout the professional spaces reinforces Manchester's symbol of hard work and community, creating a cohesive design thread that connects each area.  

The design celebrates the building's stunning original features, particularly the parquet flooring and exposed services that create that authentic, moody atmosphere. We've enhanced these with carefully selected lighting, working with CES to replace standard office fixtures with pendant lights that add layers of visual interest and create intimate pockets of light throughout the space. 

Our approach focused heavily on layering different textures and materials to achieve that distinctive homely feel. We've utilised wallpaper, patterns, and carefully selected soft furnishings to create depth and visual interest, while the extensive use of biophilia and planting by Urban Planters adds warmth and connection to nature.

Sustainability and second life materials were key considerations throughout the project. We retained and reused the existing desks and task chairs, existing glazing, and much of the original partitioning. Where new tea points were required, we reused existing carcasses and appliances wherever possible. The beautiful original parquet flooring was restored and polished rather than replaced, and we added retrospective manifestation to existing glass partitions to freshen their appearance while maintaining their functionality. 

The Rebelution Lounge and the Orangery are the two hero spaces that demonstrate how office design needs to be multifunctional. We've created lots of different settings but layered them in a unique way to achieve that lounge feel. Nobody walks into this space and feels it looks like any other office they've been in. It's been really fun to design, playing on the building's heritage features and adding elements that complement the existing architecture beautifully.

Emily Cowgill, Designer

The project required careful phasing due to the need to keep staff in occupation during the works. We divided the rectangular space  which features a central atrium into four phases (North, South, East, and West), allowing different teams to relocate temporarily within the building while work progressed around them.

This space is amazing and looks great. It's gone down really well and has definitely been well received by everybody in the space.

Jo Giles, Head of Facilities at Cooper Parry

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