Manchester’s 'historic' Sunlight House renovation project gets the green light

Manchester City Council has formally granted co-owners Karrev and Kinrise’s planning permission for the renovation of Sunlight House on Quay Street.

The owners have ambitious plans to re-launch this prominent building, Manchester’s original skyscraper, in a transformation that will celebrate its Grade II listed heritage characteristics whilst creating a cutting edge, net-zero-carbon commercial and cultural hub for the city.

The first stage of renovation is due to start on site imminently, with Phase 1 of works expected to complete in Q3 2024.

Inspired by the building’s original plans sourced from Manchester Central Library archive, the owners seek to pay homage to the famously-eccentric character of Joseph Sunlight, the building’s architect, through a bold and ambitious redesign.

The approved works will focus on drastically reshaping the ground floor alongside a market-leading upgrade of the upper office floors. Each office space will retain original features through a fresh Grade A refurbishment focused primarily on improving lighting and M&E, to meet the demand from environmentally ambitious companies for state-of-the-art, sustainable workspaces.

Karrev and Kinrise have also secured an ‘in-principle’ planning agreement to create flexible workspaces, allowing for a variety of different tenants; from single entrepreneurs taking desks for the day and startups requiring smaller studios, to global companies looking to establish their headquarters on full floor leases.

The owners specialise in creating highly adaptable workspaces, and in this case, the plans reflect Joseph Sunlight’s initial vision for the building, when built in 1932.

The new reception in Sunlight House will include the addition of a double winged staircase, café and co-working areas to welcome social interactions across the ground floor. This space will also house Kinrise’s cultural events and partnerships spanning art, food, music, fitness and social action, open to all tenants as well as the public.

The new winged staircase will also provide direct access from the ground floor to an existing mezzanine balcony level and reconfigured meeting rooms, as well as providing a new entry point for the previously inaccessible central atrium lightwell, for outdoor meetings. Extending 13-storeys high, this atrium will provide a unique location for tenants to enjoy and host events.

Sam Lawson Johnston, Kinrise co-founder, comments, “We are delighted that our plans for Sunlight House have now been approved by Manchester City Council. Originally designed as a beacon of progress for the city, we are re-imagining Sunlight House as just that an inspiring hub of activity for brilliant minds, right in the heart of Manchester’s creative and business centre.

“Our fourth building in the city demonstrates our enduring commitment to the development and progression of Manchester as a crucial hub for enterprise, and to meeting the demand from increasingly environmentally conscious businesses in the city and wider region.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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