Hawkins\Brown – Calico, Manchester

Words courtesy of design practice

Calico, a sensitively refurbished industrial warehouse in Manchester city centre, provides 1,520 sq m of flexible workspace across five original storeys and a two-storey roof extension. The clear distinction between the existing building fabric and new interventions celebrates a new period in the building’s history, while recognising its former use as an industrial warehouse.

Calico sits in a great location in central Manchester, with the new rooftop extension enhancing the setting of the existing building and the adjacent Grade II*-listed Portico Library by offering the visitor a dynamic contrast between old and new. This continues within the internal spaces where the existing building fabric has been revealed, refurbished, and celebrated. New interventions, including the rationalised core at the centre of the plan, provide a distinct point of difference to the existing building fabric but continue the robust character of the warehouse building.

Calico celebrates its heritage as the former home of the Calico printing press during the late 19th century in the materiality and textures throughout the refurbished building. We worked with Lazerian – a multidisciplinary creative studio specialising in interior and product design, as well as public artwork – to create bespoke furniture and façade tiles, as well as desks, tables, and stools by utilising 3D-printed ceramic forms. The creation of new bespoke furniture celebrates the crafted history of the building to create new innovative objects for the future use of the building.