Bruntwood Works is to turn its central Manchester workspace Lowry House into a ‘productivity-boosting urban oasis’, it has announced.
The workspace and leisure provider will launch 16-storey Lowry House as Bloc under its £50m ‘Pioneer transformation programme’, developing ‘forward-thinking’ workspaces.
Bruntwood said the workspace in Manchester city centre will have a “renewed focus on the work environment to help boost productivity” and will feature a wellness suite and living walls.
Work has started to build a ground floor annex, which will create 180 new desks, 12 spaces in the co-working studio and 12 meeting rooms.
Bruntwood is due to complete work in Spring 2021.
Ciara Keeling, Bruntwood Works chief executive, said: “Bloc will bring balance to business for our customers and community.
But many businesses still face the challenge of creating the optimum work life balance.
Flexible working has helped but it’s not a panacea, as lockdown has shown.”
She continued: “The guiding thought behind Bloc is that we all work more productively when we’re in more natural and comfortable environments.But more than that, we’re happier too.
“Now more than ever, the flexibility of the space and level of service we provide is crucial in supporting our changed ways of working, particularly as our customers bring their teams back together and return to the office.
“Our Pioneer buildings are designed to be places that actively improve our wellbeing, and in turn, our work through greater and productivity, creativity and innovation.
“Bloc takes this and runs with it, and with its revolutionary biophilic revamp, it will be an urban oasis amidst an urban jungle.”
Bloc is Bruntwood Works’ third Pioneer building and its redevelopment follows the recent transformation of Blackfriars House and 111 Piccadilly in Manchester.
Bruntwood said its programme is centred on six key pillars: biophilia, art, sustainability, wellness, amenity and technology.
