Upmarket Tailoring: Ekho Studio’s Designs for Gilbanks at No. 1 St Michaels, Manchester
Ekho Studio has completed the design of a 34,000 sq ft serviced office environment for operator Gilbanks on the first and second floors of No. 1 St Michaels, the new, central Manchester landmark development brought to market by Gary Neville’s Relentless Developments.
Ekho Studio is a creative consultancy set up in 2021 by Founding Partners Sarah Dodsworth and Rachel Withey. The company is a fresh force in design, looking to shape how people live, work and play for the better, based on the belief that design can completely transform people’s lives and environments, as well as influencing productivity and wellbeing, through good practice, research and innovation.
The design was inspired by high-end tailoring and is all about form, detailing and exquisite and unique finishing touches. ‘It’s a bold and unfussy scheme that says, ‘We mean business’’ Ekho Studio Co-Founder Sarah Dodsworth explained, adding that ‘The interior design treatment is grown-up, classy and responsive to the market, whilst at the same time progressing this sector’s traditional look into something more sophisticated and modern, with its own distinctive ‘Gilbanks’ aesthetic.’
The Gilbanks offer is targeted to professional services companies who want a focused, premium workspace that limits distractions and promotes productivity. ‘It was great to have a design brief that absolutely knew who and what its target audience was – and wasn’t’ Sarah Dodsworth added.
No. 1 St Michaels
No. 1 St Michaels is a new-build, mixed-use development, located centrally on the site of Manchester’s former police station and synagogue, between Jacksons Row and Bootle Street, adjacent to Albert Square and the city’s historic core. The building is by architects Hodder and Partners, who successfully created a new strategy for the site after previous proposals by another practice stalled.
Phase I of the build has now completed and is comprised of a new 150,000 sq ft, 9 storey, Grade A office building with ground floor retail and a glazed rooftop restaurant, sited immediately behind the retained Portland Stone element of the city’s original police station.
Phase II, which is expected to complete in 2027, will include a new 38 storey mixed use podium and tower building to the west. The 6-storey mixed-use podium will feature ground floor retail below a new synagogue, spa facility, banqueting hall and conference facilities linked to a new 5-star ‘W’ hotel. The hotel lounge and bar will be located at podium level, with 12 storeys of hotel rooms and 20 floors of W-branded residential space above. Once completed, the project is expected to be the most sustainable commercial space in the city.
Interior Scheme
Gilbanks is located on the first and second floors of the building, offering private serviced offices and meeting rooms, along with a fully manned reception and welcome area, focus rooms, call booths, break-out spaces, a contemplation room, a club lounge and a finishing kitchen.
The spacious arrival lobby on the second floor was conceived of as the scheme’s ‘see and be seen’ catwalk area, extending the fashion and tailoring thinking. One of three pieces of specially commissioned abstract art by artist Mark Millsted lines the left wall. A stylish Vitra Daybed is located directly opposite, alongside three floor-to-ceiling, edge-lit panels that decorate the subtly textured lime-wash wall surfaces, with the third providing a ‘Welcome to Gilbanks’ greeting as people enter the space.
The striking, underlit reception desk features deep chocolate brown radial edges at its front, topped off by a monolithic, orthogonal, premium granite upper layer. The ‘meet and greet’ embodies a first-class, hospitality-style approach, seamlessly enhancing the warm and inviting atmosphere. Ergonomic task chairs sit behind the desk for the two dedicated receptionists. For added drama and sense of arrival, a huge-scale, bespoke-made circular ceiling feature above the desk is formed of buffed, stainless-steel panels formed into circles. Edge-lit with recessed LEDs, the feature has a central three-arm Rubn – Archangel pendant light at its centre, a light fitting used in several iterations in the scheme’s communal areas.
To the side of the reception is a seating niche with loose furniture pieces by Gubi in striking blue upholstery tones, set against a joinery wall. Planting is incorporated here and throughout, featuring sculptural, tropical-style plants at varying scales, in floor pots or incorporated into partitions.
A waiting lounge area, featuring soft Allermuir seating clusters, arranged on a striking circular rug by EGE, sits behind reception as an anchor point, offering views over the public square below through the glazing. The first of the scheme’s three eye-catching bespoke podium tables is located amongst the seats, with a green marble top sitting on a conical, stainless-steel base. Prominent AV screens ensure clear presentation for the client’s content, whilst four small artworks supplied by Artfeed hang in a niche area adjoining the glazing.
The boardroom sits to the right of reception and features an acoustic framed picture window with chocolate-brown privacy voiles by Kvadrat and a ceiling with inset acoustics and downlighting. A bespoke formal, high-quality, black oak curved-edge central table is lit by two, long-form satin stainless-steel pendants, with ten leather upholstered Brunner Ray Conference Chairs to each side. An AV screen sits at one end of, whilst a series of small-scale artworks and planting add vibrancy to the space. A bespoke inset cabinet area is halo-lit and has display shelving and provision for hospitality / catering with glass fronted fridges, whilst flooring is a textured carpet – the City of Angles range in monochrome by Interface.
A second artwork by Mark Millsted, located on one of the scheme’s generously-wide corridor spaces, directs people towards the Club Lounge, as people move further left from reception. The high quality, slick monolithic flooring in large format tiles – Matter by Solus – continues through this space and unifies the front-of-house areas. A second podium table on a conical stainless steel base is located here also, along with a soft seating cluster and a series of bespoke seating booths in oak with textured upholstery by Sacho – Kvadrat and statement fluted aluminium Pan pendants by Lyfa above, offering views back towards reception.
To the side of the lounge seating is a high bar ‘teapoint island’ and rear kitchen area, with a hydration point and an ‘honesty wall’ providing snacks at one side, all finished in a bold and refined matte terracotta tones with Fenix and recycled Durat surfaces. Four Verpan bar stools are upholstered in Kvadrat fabric, whilst two stylish five-lamp stainless steel Rubn – Long John pendant lights hang above the shiny bar top.
The scheme’s numerous quiet rooms follow the same high-quality interior design cues, as do the kitchenettes and hydration points incorporated throughout, along with a private contemplation room to be used for prayer or by new mothers.
The feature metal throughout is aluminium, moving away from the cliché of brass. Clean, cool- toned metallic finishes were chosen throughout and touch ceilings and lighting, joinery and finishing touches such as the sculptural Bloom vases by Georg Jensen. The palette further reflects the theme of productivity and an ‘escape to work’ mindset.
Joinery booths are strategically placed to break up the corridor routes, offering an opportunity to meet colleagues or take a call away from the desk. The corridors all feature a textured carpet finish in a subtle gradient colour design, selected to aid in breaking up long circulation routes.
Last but not least, when it came to the office suites, ‘It was important not to have any drop-off in terms of quality, colour or interest’ Sarah Dodsworth commented, ‘especially as the offices themselves take up 70% of the overall spatial plan.’
The office designs employ finishes that complement the base build, whilst integrated tailored features include coving trims and tonal heritage paints which respond to the Victorian historic building fabric. All suites include height-adjustable desking with Humanscale ergonomic task chairs. Black tech panels adjacent to each suite door allow for the seamless integration of lighting, tenant signage and light switches within each suite. Finishing touches such as storage and planting are left to the tenant’s particular requirements.
‘The Ekho Studio team has delivered an exceptional design for our second Manchester location’, Alex Duckett, Managing Director of Gilbanks commented. ‘Every element of the workspace has been thoughtfully crafted to reflect the brands of our professional clientele, while creating an environment that impresses, supports productivity, and is genuinely enjoyable to work in. The designers have gone above and beyond to incorporate luxurious, distinctive touches, resulting in a space unlike anything else in the market.’
Photography: Billy Bolton