Waulk Mill, Manchester City Centre - 2024
Context and History
Waulk Mill was one of the last buildings to be built as part of Murray’s Mills. A complex of structures built between Jersey Street and Redhill Street by Adam and George Murray. Work on their first mill began in 1797. Waulk Mill was built in 1842 making it 180 years old. It was Grade II star Listed in 1988 and is located within the wider Ancoats Conservation Area.
Waulk Mill is also known as Doubling Mill - the higher part of the building facing Redhill Street and Fireproof Mill - the lower wing running along Bengal Street. Doubling Mill was powered by a steam engine. Doubling is a process of combining two or more lengths of yarn into a single thread. Fireproof Mill was a warehouse and the first in the complex designed to resist fire.
The cotton industry went into decline and by the 1940’s Waulk Mill was occupied by a bedding manufacturer. In the early 2000’s Urban Splash restored and renovated Waulk Mill into offices. The finished project won an RIBA award for its sensitive modernisation whilst retaining its historic heritage.
The Original Renovation
Now in 2022 the award winning renovation still stands up technically as a robust intervention into a historic structure. The architectural principles adopted are sound. The building was designed so that the journey from the front entrance to your office is a minimalist, clinical experience devoid of extraneous function. A machine of efficient movement. With dramatic spaces - the five story vertical void, walls of translucent glass and an open sided lift. All designed to create spatial excitement. This was our aspiration in the year 2000.
When the original renovation was designed the prevailing architectural idea was to create order and repetition. Everything had to be simple, straightforward and aligned. Toilets are identical to each other. They repeat at each level of the building. The kitchens are all the same. The landings around the five story void are self similar. Every door is identically designed. There is no hierarchy between a toilet door and the entrance door to your office. All are designed not to stand out - to be uniform. To be purely functional devoid of a distinguishing personality. There’s a lot of white plaster. A neutral background to unite disparate spaces and homogenise the building into a single object. Any colour provided comes from a small pallet. Timber on the landing floors and the tinge of turquoise in the walls of translucent glass. All this is flattened by a washed out lighting scheme devoid of any contrast. If this was a house it would be like putting the big light on. In the early 2000’s we still craved simplicity and flatness - a reaction to the excesses and
opulence of the 80’s.
Now
In 2022 our aspirations have shifted. We are moving away from purely visual and spatial presentations. We want to be part of a community. We no longer desire isolation within our private offices. Technology has freed us from having to stay in one place. We want to venture out into the wider building, see other people, interact or sit and work. We expect our office buildings to expand and serve a community of diverse people. Think of a house with rooms. Some are private, usually the bedrooms. Can an office building be a house with
private offices instead of bedrooms?
The future
It is acknowledged that the base renovation is fundamentally robust. And ideas have changed. A new contemporary layer is proposed. An interface layer that connects the base scheme to our current aspirations. A layer that provides missing functions. Places to commune or work outside of the private office. A layer that deconstructs the order, alignment and repetition of the base renovation. A layer of variation, colour and life. The Entrance Tunnel Will be painted with vivid red epoxy paint. It will cover all surfaces including the floor. New strips of lighting will illuminate and glow. The idea here is to create an initial resetting, to announce change. Red is a very emotional colour, being surrounded by it will disrupt tenets nervous systems in various ways depending on the person. It’s also a colour of invitation and creativity.
Reception
When entering the building one's attention is drawn into the space towards the translucent glass wall and lift. It’s easy to miss the drama of the vertical five story void. And miss taking in the entirety of the building before getting lost in the small spaces. The white tiled floor adds to a washed out experience. The intention here is to bring out the bold move already made within the original scheme. A light sculpture will draw your eye upwards. You will take in the wholeness of the building in one go - this will alert your sense of the full volume and you will take that expansion with you into the smaller circulation areas. The current flat washed out lighting will be dimmed and the lift shaft will be fitted with lighting illuminating its verticality enticing your eye up into the void.
The new flooring will be large slabs of York stone. An allusion to the historic mill floor. Light will be absorbed into the texture of the stone emphasising the brightness of the lift shaft and the glowing glass screen. The existing translucent glass wall will also be illuminated from behind to provide more contrast and glow. Behind the glass projection screen will be a raked seating area formed out of a red steel plate. People can sit and work here or give a presentation using the video projection. Currently there is nowhere to stop in this space. The seating will act as a platform to facilitate people leaving their private spaces and interacting with other businesses in the building.
The Landings
These spaces are the nicest in the communal part of the building. However, they’re only used for transition. Bespokely designed timber furniture will be inserted for people to sit or perch. Think of it as punctuation, stopping you from sliding right through the space without a pause. The flat downlighting will be removed and the existing translucent glass wall will be lit from behind so it glows. The landings also act as entrances to the studios. The existing doors are designed to blend into the walls and are identical to all the other doors in the building. We now prefer difference. The studio doors will become sculptural timber plates with integrated lighting. The idea here is to celebrate the entrance to your office making it a working, functional piece of art.
Toilets
It’s a space we go to everyday - temporal repetition. On top of this every toilet is identically designed and they repeat at each level. All the doors are of identical design. The walls are
white and the floor is black - no colour. The toilet lobby will be lined in a natural warm material - birch faced ply with lighting strips recessed into the surface. The ply wall will have the ply doors built in flush. The translucent glass wall will be lit so it glows. Each toilet will have a different design using the birch faced ply and the recessed lighting strips.
Bikes
Currently there is no provision for cycle storage. A new dedicated room will be created on the ground floor down the access corridor. The room will have red walls and a red floor. Coupled with the showers this will add a much needed facility that will give tenants the option of cycling into work.
Waulk Mill was one of the last buildings to be built as part of Murray’s Mills. A complex of structures built between Jersey Street and Redhill Street by Adam and George Murray. Work on their first mill began in 1797. Waulk Mill was built in 1842 making it 180 years old. It was Grade II star Listed in 1988 and is located within the wider Ancoats Conservation Area.
Waulk Mill is also known as Doubling Mill - the higher part of the building facing Redhill Street and Fireproof Mill - the lower wing running along Bengal Street. Doubling Mill was powered by a steam engine. Doubling is a process of combining two or more lengths of yarn into a single thread. Fireproof Mill was a warehouse and the first in the complex designed to resist fire.
The cotton industry went into decline and by the 1940’s Waulk Mill was occupied by a bedding manufacturer. In the early 2000’s Urban Splash restored and renovated Waulk Mill into offices. The finished project won an RIBA award for its sensitive modernisation whilst retaining its historic heritage.
The Original Renovation
Now in 2022 the award winning renovation still stands up technically as a robust intervention into a historic structure. The architectural principles adopted are sound. The building was designed so that the journey from the front entrance to your office is a minimalist, clinical experience devoid of extraneous function. A machine of efficient movement. With dramatic spaces - the five story vertical void, walls of translucent glass and an open sided lift. All designed to create spatial excitement. This was our aspiration in the year 2000.
When the original renovation was designed the prevailing architectural idea was to create order and repetition. Everything had to be simple, straightforward and aligned. Toilets are identical to each other. They repeat at each level of the building. The kitchens are all the same. The landings around the five story void are self similar. Every door is identically designed. There is no hierarchy between a toilet door and the entrance door to your office. All are designed not to stand out - to be uniform. To be purely functional devoid of a distinguishing personality. There’s a lot of white plaster. A neutral background to unite disparate spaces and homogenise the building into a single object. Any colour provided comes from a small pallet. Timber on the landing floors and the tinge of turquoise in the walls of translucent glass. All this is flattened by a washed out lighting scheme devoid of any contrast. If this was a house it would be like putting the big light on. In the early 2000’s we still craved simplicity and flatness - a reaction to the excesses and
opulence of the 80’s.
Now
In 2022 our aspirations have shifted. We are moving away from purely visual and spatial presentations. We want to be part of a community. We no longer desire isolation within our private offices. Technology has freed us from having to stay in one place. We want to venture out into the wider building, see other people, interact or sit and work. We expect our office buildings to expand and serve a community of diverse people. Think of a house with rooms. Some are private, usually the bedrooms. Can an office building be a house with
private offices instead of bedrooms?
The future
It is acknowledged that the base renovation is fundamentally robust. And ideas have changed. A new contemporary layer is proposed. An interface layer that connects the base scheme to our current aspirations. A layer that provides missing functions. Places to commune or work outside of the private office. A layer that deconstructs the order, alignment and repetition of the base renovation. A layer of variation, colour and life. The Entrance Tunnel Will be painted with vivid red epoxy paint. It will cover all surfaces including the floor. New strips of lighting will illuminate and glow. The idea here is to create an initial resetting, to announce change. Red is a very emotional colour, being surrounded by it will disrupt tenets nervous systems in various ways depending on the person. It’s also a colour of invitation and creativity.
Reception
When entering the building one's attention is drawn into the space towards the translucent glass wall and lift. It’s easy to miss the drama of the vertical five story void. And miss taking in the entirety of the building before getting lost in the small spaces. The white tiled floor adds to a washed out experience. The intention here is to bring out the bold move already made within the original scheme. A light sculpture will draw your eye upwards. You will take in the wholeness of the building in one go - this will alert your sense of the full volume and you will take that expansion with you into the smaller circulation areas. The current flat washed out lighting will be dimmed and the lift shaft will be fitted with lighting illuminating its verticality enticing your eye up into the void.
The new flooring will be large slabs of York stone. An allusion to the historic mill floor. Light will be absorbed into the texture of the stone emphasising the brightness of the lift shaft and the glowing glass screen. The existing translucent glass wall will also be illuminated from behind to provide more contrast and glow. Behind the glass projection screen will be a raked seating area formed out of a red steel plate. People can sit and work here or give a presentation using the video projection. Currently there is nowhere to stop in this space. The seating will act as a platform to facilitate people leaving their private spaces and interacting with other businesses in the building.
The Landings
These spaces are the nicest in the communal part of the building. However, they’re only used for transition. Bespokely designed timber furniture will be inserted for people to sit or perch. Think of it as punctuation, stopping you from sliding right through the space without a pause. The flat downlighting will be removed and the existing translucent glass wall will be lit from behind so it glows. The landings also act as entrances to the studios. The existing doors are designed to blend into the walls and are identical to all the other doors in the building. We now prefer difference. The studio doors will become sculptural timber plates with integrated lighting. The idea here is to celebrate the entrance to your office making it a working, functional piece of art.
Toilets
It’s a space we go to everyday - temporal repetition. On top of this every toilet is identically designed and they repeat at each level. All the doors are of identical design. The walls are
white and the floor is black - no colour. The toilet lobby will be lined in a natural warm material - birch faced ply with lighting strips recessed into the surface. The ply wall will have the ply doors built in flush. The translucent glass wall will be lit so it glows. Each toilet will have a different design using the birch faced ply and the recessed lighting strips.
Bikes
Currently there is no provision for cycle storage. A new dedicated room will be created on the ground floor down the access corridor. The room will have red walls and a red floor. Coupled with the showers this will add a much needed facility that will give tenants the option of cycling into work.