The project.
King’s House is a landmark refurbishment in the heart of Manchester, transforming a historic commercial building on King Street West into a vibrant, contemporary workspace designed for modern businesses. Delivered for Bruntwood SciTech, the £13 million redevelopment carefully blends heritage architecture with high-performance workplace design to support the city’s thriving innovation economy.
b&m were appointed as Quantity Surveyor, providing cost consultancy services throughout the project to support the successful refurbishment of approximately 36,000 sq ft of office space. The project required a sensitive balance between preserving the building’s historic character and introducing modern workplace environments suited to growing technology, digital and professional service companies.
Reviving a Historic Building.
Located within Manchester’s historic commercial district, King’s House presented an opportunity to bring a heritage building back into active use while celebrating its architectural character. During the refurbishment, original features including exposed structural beams, metal columns and terrazzo flooring were uncovered and carefully restored. These elements now form a defining feature of the interior spaces, giving occupiers a distinctive workplace that connects past and present.
Integrating contemporary building services, environmental upgrades and flexible workspace layouts within the retained structure required careful coordination between the client, design team and contractor. b&m played a key role in maintaining cost certainty while supporting the design development needed to respond to the complexities of the existing building.
Designed for Modern Working.
The completed building offers flexible office suites suitable for companies ranging from small teams to expanding scale-up businesses. Spaces can accommodate organisations of around 10 to 60 people, allowing occupiers to grow and adapt within the building.
The refurbishment also introduces a range of shared amenities that reflect the changing expectations of workplace environments, including:
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A hospitality-style reception and lounge
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Collaborative breakout spaces and meeting areas
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A fourth-floor shared lounge known as “The Loft”
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End-of-journey facilities including cycle storage, showers and wellness amenities
These spaces encourage interaction, collaboration and wellbeing, creating a dynamic environment for modern businesses.
Sustainability and Performance.
A key ambition for the project was improving the environmental performance of the historic building. Through a fabric-first approach, upgraded insulation, high-performance glazing, photovoltaic panels and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery were integrated within the retained structure.
As a result, King’s House now achieves an EPC A rating — a significant achievement for a heritage building of this age.
Supporting Manchester’s Innovation Ecosystem.
Today, King’s House forms part of Bruntwood SciTech’s wider network of innovation workspaces across Manchester. By revitalising a historic city-centre building and adapting it for modern occupiers, the project contributes to the continued growth of the city’s technology and knowledge-led economy.
Through careful cost management, collaboration and a sensitive approach to refurbishment, b&m helped deliver a project that celebrates heritage while enabling future innovation.
