Spacestor | Huckletree

Huckletree

As game-changers and boundary-pushers in the coworking market, their new Manchester location is a true reflection of their young, vibrant and fun brand

Location

Manchester, UK

designed by

OBI

Huckletree is a coworking provider focusing on building hubs across the UK and Ireland for businesses of all sizes to come together by sector, scale, be brave, and lead industry change. They build physical workspaces for teams, educational and accelerator programmes for them to scale and connect them to valuable investor and talent networks.

They believe that you can’t change the world alone, and as they say "We need to be braver together in order to build a better future."

For their first Mancunian location, the refurbishment of the building was carried out by award-winning Manchester based designers OBI, and features lots of references to its origins as the home of the Daily Express. OBI believed it was important to work with many of the original features of the space and emulate the industrial design of the building, with the exposed metal pillars etc.

The Huckletree design takes inspiration from the art deco feel of the building and from Memphis, the art movement that was active at the time the building was constructed. The Memphis movement was all about design that would evoke a response. It was a protest against neutral pared back modernism and combined simple geometric shapes; flat colours combined in bold, contrasting palettes; stylised graphic patterns defined by black-and-white stripes; and abstract squiggles.

At the heart of the new design is a zone that is referred to as the 'Imaginarium'. Using our Palisades II OBI designers have created a beautiful 'architecture with architecture', a space for meditation, creative thinking and chilling out. Using an abundance of planters, biophillia, LED neon lighting and resimercial furniture, they have given the space zen-like qualities and is a true reflection of brand promise to be futurists, game changers, innovators and risk takers.

“The colour and patterns of the early pop art and subsequent Memphis art movements are sympathetic with the Huckletree identity and has led our interior design to create a striking and innovative environment which will help all of the Huckletree members feel that they are part of something special,” said a spokesperson for OBI. The spaces at Huckletree Manchester include a Live Lounge, where the local community can come together, a meditation and wellness space, and a purpose-built podcast studio.

Photography Credits: Holly Farrier for Huckletree

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