New Century

New Century Hall is a Manchester gem that has been hidden in plain sight for decades. Opened in 1963 the building was once the canteen, conference centre and recreation lounge for the brand new office ‘skyscrapers’, New Century House and the CIS tower built by the Co-Operative Group.

The hall was opened up in the evening to host music events as pop music and youth culture exploded across the region, staging shows for up and coming artists such as The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Tina turner and Jimi Hendrix.

This new development of buildings was an exemplar of the best modern design ideas inspired by the work of Mies Van Der Rohe in New York and Chicago, recognised by their Grade II listing.

The first time we discovered what the building had to offer was while we were working on Federation House across Sadler's Yard and given a tour. We were in awe of the beautiful original features in the hall, the wood panelling, sculptural details, sprung dance floor and of course the amazing ‘disco’ ceiling fixture. Furthermore, there were 2 more floors beneath, blank canvases waiting to be unlocked.

We began to hatch a plan by inviting a group of like minded partners with expertise in the music, education, hospitality and property industries to share our passion to reinvent the place and develop a vision for its future together.

Our shared vision was to create a creative ecosystem across the 3 floors, reviving the hall as a contemporary events venue complimented by a food hall and bar at ground level and a creative college in the basement. United by the core ethos of creating a place where future talent can be nurtured and championed, we wanted to enable a new generation of talent studying music production and stage craft skills to gain useful real world experience in a live venue .

Architects Sheppard Robson were brought on board and together with structural engineer Healey Consulting and contractor Russell WHBO, began the sensitive restoration works necessary to bring this Grade II listed structure up to date. Further enabling works to link the 3 floors together and link the building to its surrounding neighbourhood were implemented to hand over a shell and core that was fit for purpose, so we could get to work and deliver our vision for the building you see today.

Starting with the ground floor we collaborated with our hospitality team to transform what was just a concrete shell into a vibrant, mixed use social space offering a diverse range of food and drink. New Century Kitchen was conceived as a food hall concept around a central bar which not only helped us deliver that variety for customers, but also provides a platform for new, locally curated culinary talent to set up here and develop their brands.

Our design strategy was rooted in strengthening the visual connections with the hall upstairs and its mid century cues. Ribbed timber wall panels and hardwood detailing helped to contrast and warm up the concrete shell, further softened by velvet and corduroy fabrics in earthy tones for seating booths and loose furniture.

Another key consideration was to draw attention to the original concrete shell and waffle ceilings. In collaboration with lighting specialist ArtIn Light we developed a strategy that would hero the original structure and enable the space to transition from day to night with different moods. The flexible and highly configurable system installed can create many different atmospheres from intimate to lively at the flick of a switch.

To top it off we indulged our love of music further by collaborating with OpenEar music to develop a curated playlist of music that changes constantly throughout the day, week, month to suit the experience.

Downstairs in the basement we designed the space for the creative college. Despite being connected to New Century, this area is a separate tenanted demise and designed to the specific specialist requirements of the college, the further education providers dBs Institute.

In the basement there are classrooms, rehearsal rooms and a series of state of the art recording studios clustered around a communal breakout space for students. Students at dBs Institute learn stage craft, music production and technology and game design and being located at New Century allows them to be at the heart of the action.