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Bruntwood appoints Stephenson Bell for Spring Gardens project

Bruntwood, one of the north of England’s largest property development companies, has announced Stephenson Bell as the winner of a design competition for its latest new build office project on Fountain Street, in the heart of Manchester’s city centre.

As part of the competition which launched in June, Bruntwood invited some of the North West’s most prominent architects including HKR, Ian Simpson and Stephenson Bell, to submit designs as part of the competition, with the specific brief to get the very best of British architecture and bring it to Manchester.

The site, which is currently an inefficient, three storey 1970’s block, is strategically located in the heart of the city’s traditional financial core. Bruntwood’s new building is set to provide almost 60,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation over 16 floors, with an end value in the region of £25.5 million.

Development Director at Bruntwood, Peter Crowther, commented: “It was important that we creatively and commercially pushed our architects to the limit and the perfect way to achieve this is through competition. As a consequence we received three exceptionally strong entries, all of which displayed different strengths.”

Having narrowed it down to two finalists – HKR and Stephenson Bell – Bruntwood has spent the past month deliberating at length, which of the two proposed schemes would be most appropriate.

Bruntwood’s Peter Crowther added: “I’m not sure we’ve ever had to make a harder decision. We were faced with two proposals that were simply stunning. However, it wasn’t all about aesthetics. We’re looking for design that innovates, is environmentally friendly and that adds value to the environment that it sits within, providing accommodation at a level or above that of the competition. Both submissions offered all of this and more, making our decision exceptionally difficult. But at the end of the day Stephenson Bell’s proposition just had the edge.”

Stephenson Bell Partner, Roger Stephenson, said: "We are delighted to be appointed by Bruntwood on such a high profile new build project. From the outset our approach to this project has fully integrated contextual considerations with innovative and creative engineering and environmental proposals. Such factors have helped inform and shape the architectural expression creating an efficient concept design with striking architectural street presence."

Bruntwood already enjoys an excellent, long standing relationship with Stephenson Bell, as it has been involved in a number of the company’s other schemes including Bruntwood’s impressive Manchester office, City Tower.