The proposal is for a new 70 bed hotel for Malmaison, located on Albert Square in central Manchester. We are proposing to refurbish the existing 1950s office building into boutique hotel accommodation with the sensitive addition of a two-storey rooftop extension, culminating in a rooftop bar that overlooks the Grade II Listed Town Hall.
The elevations are articulated by dividing the monolithic mass of the proposed rectangular form into a carved and sculpted object of reveals and recesses. This architectural move helps to visually reduce the apparent mass of the extension and helps it to be read as an additional elegant form from the existing. To accentuate this effect, the extension is formed in a different plane to the existing facade.
The existing main facades facing Albert Square are constructed from Portland stone. The extension uses a reciprocal stone cladding which will visually engage and emulate the existing Portland stone. A number of repetitive stone clad piers appear and apply a rhythm that references the rigor of the existing window mullions. This provides a simple and elegant elevation that helps to give order to a variety of window apertures.