Manor Works
Sheffield, England
Manor Works was our first completed community project and our second Sheffield collaboration with Architecture00. With a focus on local entrepreneurs and creatives, the building provides a range of facilities for the Manor Estate in Sheffield—including rentable office space, artist’s studios, workshops and a community centre on the ground floor.
Our design wraps around the new building, providing an interactive and rugged landscape. The building is clad in aluminium mesh for which we designed a matrix of climbing plants. This sustainable and evolving green facade softens the robust surface and gives the building a dynamic seasonality.
Status
Completed in Summer 2016
Client
Manor Development Company Ltd
Architect
Structural & Civil Engineers
Momentum Structural Engineers
Response to Site
The landscape on the public south side is associated with the new community centre and the adjacent children’s nursery. For this area we took inspiration from the Peak District to create a tough landscape that welcomes exploration and play. Meadow banks flow down to a public footpath that opens out into a boulder garden with a central daisy mound. Outside the community centre are two large climbing boulders, reminiscent of glacial erratics.
The landscape to the north of the building is associated with the workshops and has a functional, ‘back of house’ feel. The soft landscape elements, which include meadow banks and native hedgerows, help to bring nature into the site.
Plants in Use
The landscape features native meadow banks, together with a native daisy mound at the centre of the boulder maze. Meanwhile, a matrix of climbers extending up the building allows the facade to evolve with the seasons.
Materials in Use
To source the stone for the boulder garden and climbing boulders, we visited a nearby Yorkstone quarry and carefully selected boulders for sitting and climbing.
