With an Armani flagship store on its ground floor, a restaurant and bar in the basement and three floors of high quality office space, including a roof terrace, Number One The Avenue is an important contribution to the urban fabric of Manchester. It represents the aspirations of the Spinningfields development - bold, modern and innovative

Design:

The new 5,125m² building has its own abstracted logic, dictated by its location. It creates a meta-narrative which engages it with the public and the city. Its pivotal location and form terminates the visual axis which links the Town Hall and Albert Square with Spinningfields Square. This ties the retail and business district with the civic core of the city and marks the start of the pedestrian journey through Spinningfields.

Innovation:

The ‘scissor’ geometry - / - \ - X of Number One The Avenue has been employed to respond to a duality of desire lines, and is immediately apparent through the dramatic cantilever on to Deansgate. The angled upper storeys realign the east-west axis towards Hardman Square, the heart of the scheme, and the lower levels direct pedestrians towards the new entrance for Rylands Library. The building design capitalises on its location through a series of formal, geometric shifts in plan, that allow the civic axis along Brazenoze street to be retained and the retail axis to be signalled at the Spinningfields Square ‘crossroads’.

The trapezoidal external glazing (that contributes to the building’s ‘Excellent’ BREE AM rating) creates a dynamic working environment with striking and vibrant internal elevations. The floors may be subdivided and partitioned, with the triangular corners providing inspirational meeting spaces.