Located in the city centre of Manchester in the King Street conservation area, Octo is a sensitive refurbishment of the upper floors of an existing group of listed buildings originally constructed as workshops.
The project involved the modification and refurbishment of the existing fabric to create nine apartments ranging from studio to one and two beds. External balconies and full height glazed doors were added into an existing lightwell to create light interior living spaces.
New acoustic floors were created to separate ground floor retail units from the apartments and the building envelope is improved to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating. The existing fenestration pattern was re-used with new fully operable sash windows upgraded to exceed the requirements of current building regulations and in line with the BREEAM parameters.
A new reception space with glazed entrance and lift core was created to provide ground floor access from Police Street.
The apartments are fitted out to high quality using natural stone and timber. Mezzanine gallery levels are added to the building to utilise the open roof to provide extra
accommodation.
The project received an award for quality in design from Manchester City Council Building Control.
