First look: Rylands Building with Jeffrey Bell Architects & Domis.

If you grew up anywhere in the vicinity of Manchester, you'll be familiar with the Rylands Building.

Located in the heart of Market Street - the city's main shopping thoroughfare - the 1930's Grade II listed building, a former textile warehouse, has been a fixture of the 'Piccadilly end of town' for all who've visited, including myself, knowing it best for its retailer tenant at the time, Debenhams.

Though Debenhams only occupied a few of the seven floors - the building itself is ginormous, extending deep below ground and far back from its high-street facade in a trapezoid shape.

Since 2021, this monolithic icon has been unoccupied, taking up valuable space in a prime area of Manchester City Centre. And so when the scaffolding went up last year to symbolise large-scale transformation, it was met with a warm welcome and high anticipation for what's to come.

Amongst those excited are us, our Manchester Studio being just a short walk away. And so when Andrew Morris, senior architect, Jeffrey Bell Architects invited us for a site tour with Jamie Cox, design manager, Domis Construction, we grabbed our hardhat and headed across. We also chatted with Michael Cunniff, associate director, at Jeffrey Bell Architects, to get a full picture of the project from inception.

Here, in an exclusive first-look, we share the progress on the renovation of the Rylands Building, from top to bottom.

The art of the possible

"There's a lot of public interest around this project", began Michael, "you've got this huge building in the city centre wrapped in plastic, and people want to know what's going on in there."

Curiosity was precisely what led us to this project ourselves, and nothing could have quite prepared us for the scale of the renovation behind that wrapping, which includes excavation works in the lower floors to understand exactly what there is to work with, as well as discovery work from the top down - two teams are carrying out investigations simultaneously and will meet in the middle. Though plans from the 1930s exist, there are a lot of unknowns.

Jeffrey Bell received an initial call about this project back in 2017. "It's actually been a live project in the office since then", Andrew shared. "The client wanted us to first explore the art of the possible with the building", Michael, who has been involved since the very start, added.

After speaking with the City Council, a planning application was submitted in September 2020 and permission was granted in January 2021.

The building's floorplates, initially designed for use as a textile warehouse perhaps seemed like an "easy win" for reuse, Andrew commented, but in reality, "daylighting, ventilation and the uses that suit a deep plan space" had to really be interrogated. "The feasibility really flushed out the, 'what could this be?' Everything was on the table to begin with, but it became clear."

This practicality had to be balanced with commerciality, plus with the building being Grade II listed, the proposal needed to consider the sensitive interventions on the heritage asset.

With all that said, workplace became the most viable option, with retail space below addressing the streetscape.

"Given the complexity and the cost of refurbishing a listed building of this scale, the commercial implications of that were huge. So to 'rescue' the building, we needed to create additional office space, which then helped pay for the successful refurbishment of the listed structure below", Andrew told us. For that reason, an extension is to be added to the top of Rylands, taking it from seven floors to a total of 10.

"This needed to be very sensitively handled", commented Michael, "given the roofscape there is on Market Street. We had very detailed discussions with the Council to develop a strategy for this."

Has the Council been a positive force within the project so far? "Yes, absolutely", said Michael, "they've been a critical friend. Everyone wants to see this become a success."

"It takes a lot of will and effort to deliver a building project", added Andrew, "but with certain buildings, the building itself has that gravitas and people want to support it."

"It's a part of the fabric of the city", said Michael.

Transforming an icon

Once the route had been agreed with the client and council, Jeffrey Bell Architects set about working out the 'how'.

First opened in 1932, the original structure comprises a steel frame encased in concrete. Interestingly, it was "built in phases by the Rylands family", Andrew said, hence the almost layered effect of several structural grids. "It was an iterative process."

The initial uses - ground floor shops, arcade, and a bank - acted as the creative starting point for the Jeffrey Bell Architects team, with the new scheme "reinterpreting the historical uses and entrances."

There are three principle facades facing the High Street currently, plus back street entrances for loading. Andrew shares the original entrances will be "reinstated and celebrated" as primary building entrances for office and retail. The original building façade will be carefully repaired and cleaned, ensuring a light touch. "A lengthy debate" took place over the plan for the windows - they are listed, and with sustainability at the core of the project (verified Net Zero Carbon status, a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’, and NABERS UK 5 star rating for office areas are all being targeted), the decision was made to replace like-for-like where it's not possible to restore. Luckily, the original window manufacturer, Crittall, still exists and will reinstate contemporary versions of the original window systems, improving both thermal and acoustic performance.

An existing clock with a hanging lantern is also being restored - it's currently with an expert clockmaker in Derby - to sit pride of place in full sight of the High Street once again.

Inside the extensive floorplates, several historical spaces exist and will be preserved/reinstated. Two original cupolas with decorative skylights sit atop the building corners at Level 07 facing Market Street, allowing natural light to flood the geometric settings below. "These are significant heritage sensitive and special spaces", commented Andrew, "providing a unique space for a tenant to make their own".

Other key design features include parquet flooring (stunning), staircases, oak lined walls, and skylights - all which are being carefully handled and restored appropriately. For anything that doesn't get immediately reused, it will be kept in storage for future tenants to explore and repurpose in their new workspace or retail unit. "Everything is being documented", Jamie told us as we passed a plethora of fixtures and fittings, all lined up and ready to worked on by the relevant expert for wood, steel or brass.

Jeffrey Bell Architects' key design intervention is an atrium at the centre of the building. This "stepped atrium" will allow every floor its own balcony while bringing in natural light - "crucial" when considering the floorplate, Michael states - "daylighting has been a major factor."

The marriage of old and new underpins the entire project, with "respect to the existing building" the common thread throughout, Andrew says. Much emphasis was placed on the rooftop extension working well from every possible street view. And the result plays into the building's role within the cityscape with a predominantly glazed structure forming the roof extension, explained Andrew, "it's contemporary and layered, it offers some breathing space to the existing building. It's not a dominant feature as its mass is never seen from a single street."

When up on the roof, as I was with Andrew and Jamie, the surrounding views are breathtaking if you're a fan of urban landscapes.

When looking down into what will be the stepped atrium below, the sheer scale of the project hits you immediately. For a building site, it's extremely neat though, with everyone working hard on their specific job - "learning from how things were done originally", Andrew says - "we have to be guided by the way the building was originally constructed, to work with it as opposed to against it."

The details to bring it to life

"When you look at historic buildings", Andrew commented, "sustainability was a core element of the design." And that comes through in the efficient use of space, and in the large windows, for example. This absolute dedication to following the path laid by the original developer drives everything that Jeffrey Bell Architects has done with its own design.

The frontage joining the building to the surrounding streets will be once again activated, with simple lettering for the tenants' branding placed above the doors. Inside, the "lost arcade" will gain a new lease of life - potentially as a food hall - with public access from three sides.

A separate entrance and lobby will be created for the workspaces above, fitted out with a warm but neutral terrazzo (inspired by remnants of original terrazzo found on site), and wood scheme, that's inkeeping with the existing surroundings.

In the basement, the large retail spaces lend themselves to a leisure tenant, and accommodate a large cycle storage area and changing facilities.

"The interiors have all been crafted to celebrate the existing structure", Andrew says.

The "rhythm of the concrete columns and beams will be retained", he adds, in reference to the pillars which break up every floor.

"We want to keep the interiors honest and stripped back to the essentials - it will be a blank canvas for tenants."

Over the next 12-months, the "archeological" factfinding on the project will be complete, and the building will be "stitched back together", shares Michael. When standing on site, though the undertaking is clearly huge, it's quite obvious to see how it will come together.

"We are responding as we go" Andrew and Michael say, "it's a building that keeps on giving."

Jamie tells us that the windows will be in this month. We're excited to see how the project unfolds, and will be back for another visit in the next 12-months, so keep an eye out for that.

So next time you're passing the 'old Debenhams' on Market Street, you'll now have a better idea of what lies beneath the temporary facade.

Huge thanks to Jeffrey Bell Architects and Domis for their time in sharing the project's journey so far.

Project team:

Client: AM Alpha

Contractor: Domis

Architect: Jeffrey Bell Architects

Employer’s Agent and QS: Arcadis

Planning Consultant: Deloitte

Heritage Consultant: Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture

Structural Engineer: Woolgar Hunter

Services Engineer: Max Fordham / NOVO

Fire Consultant: Jensen Hughes / DFC

Acoustic Consultant: BWB / Andrew Jameson

Workspace Agent: OBI

Retail Agent: Barker Proudlove

Discover more about this project here.