Manchester City Council

Location: Number One First Street, Manchester
Sector: Public Sector
Project Size: 139,500 sq ft
Scope of Works: Fit-out > Furniture
 
The Brief   
Number One First Street will become the Manchester City Council’s residence for a period of 3 to 4 years and will be key to the success of the Council's major transformation programme, transforming the Council in two main areas:

• Creating a single Customer Service Centre where customers can visit the Council to obtain the necessary information and support on all the Council’s services.

• Creating new ways of working within the office environment to again support its customers and provide efficiencies in how teams work together.

The Council’s requirement was for First Street to be efficient and flexible, able to adapt to changing needs of staff and changing business priorities. It also needed to support the adoption of new ways of working, new technology and contribute to sustainable working practices.

The Solution - Fit-out  
Claremont were appointed to complete the internal fit-out package for the building across the ground floor, floors 1 to 4 and half of the 5th floor. The fit-out works comprised works to external walls (including the creation of a new main entrance to the ground floor Customer Service Centre, with new structural opening, glazed entrance doors and canopy), internal walls, internal doors, wall/ floor/ ceiling finishes, fittings (including window blinds, signage, new reception desk, shower and WC installations) and Ground Services (including water installations, heating & air treatment, ventilation systems, electrical and lift installations, fire and lighting protection and comms and security installations).
Claremont worked closely with the professional project team to deliver the project, including GB Building Solutions and BDP Architects.

The Solution - Furniture                                                                                Claremont successfully tendered to provide all system furniture across the space to be occupied by the Council. The furniture requirement included desking (largely 120-degree), draw pedestals, storage systems, personal storage/ lockers, meeting & focus pods (free-standing round and half-round pods), seating (task chairs, operator chairs, visitor/ training/ meeting room chairs, high stools, canteen chairs, checkout/ cashier chairs, breakout seating), tables and meeting room tables.
Seeking to minimise their effect on the environment, the new office furniture procured for First Street would be utilised upon the Council’s return to the Town Hall. The furniture provided was therefore required to be robust, quick and easy to dismantle for transportation and easily re-configured to adapt to for future needs. Claremont worked closely with supply partners Teknion, Orangebox and Silverline to deliver the comprehensive furniture package.

The Result
Opening up the floors and keeping internal corridors and room divisions to a minimum, the result is a much more effective use of space for the Council, whilst additional meeting ‘pods’, kitchen and breakout facilities on each floor provide further informal meeting space. With the new ground floor Customer Service Centre at the building’s core, a welcoming space has been created for the Council’s diverse customer base, providing a much-improved, high quality customer experience in a modern, accessible and friendly setting. Across the other floors, office accommodation has been modernised to allow the introduction of best practice ways of working. The whole environment provides a consistent look and feel that connects staff to the Council’s customer ethos, provides brand reinforcement and provides a physical manifestation of the high value the council places on its workforce.