Corn Exchange, Manchester

We provided the detailed building services engineering design for the refurbishment of the Corn Exchange, an iconic building in central Manchester which has a Grade II listed façade as well as some internal areas.

The landlord removed most of the existing tenants, and created a food and drink court over three floors. As such we created a complex centralised kitchen ventilation system in a large central circulation triple height atrium space.

Our design enabled the new restaurant tenants to connect their kitchen plant and equipment into the services we provided. Designing the services for the kitchen areas  created some challenges, as we needed to incorporate a lot of services within a restricted space, some of which is Grade II listed. In addition, we designed the heating and ventilation for the central atrium area.

The building is complex, and we designed in sympathy with the Grade II listed areas, working closely with a Conservation Architect.  The construction was also challenging. We used crane lifts which resulted in road closures along main bus routes in a busy city centre. The adjacent buildings include the world renowned Chethams School of Music and Manchester Cathedral. We therefore had restrictions on the noise we could make during the construction.