A refurbishment of the ground floor at Manchester’s Arkwright House included Diespeker’s resin terrazzo for tabletops and the concierge desk.
The Grade II listed building has been refurbished over several years with the first, £16m refurbishment completed in 2017. Diespeker became involved with the most recent £1m upgrade to the building’s reception area, which also aimed to improve links between the building and the gardens.
The works included reconfiguring the reception area to create new features: a business lounge, concierge desk and collaborative workspace. The area connects the building with Parsonage Gardens offering an outdoor space for the use of tenants and their visitors.
Diespeker supplied and fabricated resin terrazzo from our standard range for the concierge desk, workspace tables and tea bars. The terrazzo TE007 was specified to match visuals received from the architects.
Our client was experienced shopfitter Nationwide Retail Solutions from Warrington, who undertook all the joinery work, with Diespeker specified by the main contractor.
The result was a stunning compact concierge desk with curved terrazzo top and screen, and a base made by Nationwide Retail Solutions using MDF and timber, with mouldings sprayed to look like brass, individually glued on.
In addition, three separate terrazzo pieces were supplied for the tea bar and joined on site. Features included two holes cut into the terrazzo for the main worktop, one for a bin chute, the other a water trap with a swan neck tap integrated for the coffee making facility. A practical area for the condiments tray was cut into the terrazzo. The final terrazzo element was a table top for the collaborative workspace, with rounded edges. All terrazzo pieces were given a final polish on site.
Leeroy Vanderwesthuizen, Contracts Manager for National Retail Solutions said: “Diespeker’s part in the refurbishment went brilliantly, and deadlines were all met.”
Arkwright House is a Grade-II listed building designed by architects Harry S. Fairhurst and completed in 1937. It was originally home to the English Sewing Cotton Company and became the North West Command Post of Government during World War Two, when an office and sleeping quarters were assigned for Winston Churchill’s use during his visits.
https://www.nationideretailsolutions.co.uk/
Image credit: Leeroy – Nationwide Retail Solutions Limited
