SPACEINVADER
SPACEINVADER TRANSFORMS MANCHESTER ’ S ONE PICCADILLY GARDENS FOR LEGAL & GENERAL
Leading Manchester interiors agency SpaceInvader has transformed the look of one of the city ’ s landmark developments at One Piccadilly Gardens for client LGIM Real Assets ( Legal & General ). The well-known building , originally designed by architects Allies and Morrison and developed in 2003 by Argent , faces onto the Gardens with high-impact red-brick frontage . The building is comprised of retail on the ground floor and office space above and was sold to Europa Capital in 2011 before being purchased by Legal & General in 2014 . The brief to SpaceInvader for the new interiors of the sixstorey , Grade A office building was to transform its look and feel into a more inviting , dynamic space that promoted a sense of welcome , wellbeing , flexibility and collaboration , via a scheme that would match the building fabric in terms of character and presence .
‘ The transformation forms part of a bid to bring more life and love to this part of the city ’, SpaceInvader Founder John Williams commented , ‘ helping to ignite a more vibrant surrounding area with a café culture feel . Legal & General took the decision to invest in the building in order to make a mark and help elevate the overall Piccadilly area .’
EXISTING INTERIOR
The entrance to the office building is located on a cut-through that sees a lot of through-traffic but offered no real sense of arrival . Existing views through to the interior were rather dull and grey , resulting in an overall unwelcoming feel . Once inside , an existing , huge-scale reception desk functioned more as a barrier than a welcoming element , discouraging people from
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