client : capital&centric

location : piccadilly east, manchester

sector : property

phoenix

capital&centric have the vision to create the first owner-occupier community in manchester’s piccadilly east. this remained important to us whilst designing the show apartment. we knew we had an opportunity to exhibit and celebrate the aspirational lifestyle which can be achieved when purchasing in phoenix.

working alongside the spaces that architects shedkm have created, we designed an exciting and immersive experience within this 4th-floor show apartment. each apartment has floor-to-ceiling windows, exposed steel & concrete features and modern design-led interiors. Perfect for people who love the little details.

early conversations with capital&centric discussed the importance of circulation and movement we knew from a planning point of view this would be our starting conversation for our design stages.

the show apartment is one of three apartment types which all boast a generous size open plan living area, designed as a multi-use open plan space which we wanted to delineate with clever furniture solutions whist retaining a uniform and coherent design direction. an additional key design note came through our finishes and the use of colour. colour helped us define areas without the use of physical divides, linking the bedroom and living space with the iconic phoenix yellow pulled from the building façade.

the fabric for our bespoke yellow sofa was sourced from the isle of bute and manufactured here in manchester. the spaces within phoenix are large and open with heaps of natural daylight and views across the city. quality of life is at the forefront of all of our minds today and phoenix apartments really consider this as a narrative. the open plan living space primarily focuses on kitchen/cooking, dining/eating, living/relaxing however we consciously knew life doesn’t always stop and start with these defined

spaces. Each space is flexible and works in conjunction with its adjoining function.

natural light vs the comfort of privacy was one design note which a lot of our conversations gravitated around. The solution we came to in the main living space was to add a semi-sheer layer over the large windows which open towards the city – a waved curtain allows natural light to filter through whilst retaining privacy and still offering the opportunity to fully fold back on glorious sunny sunday mornings.

what’s next? in addition to the recently completed two-bed apartment, we are tasked with fitting out a one-bed apartment with a £1000 budget for the furniture package. we understand with owner-occupiers, deposits and fees can sometimes monopolise our bank balances and it is important to both capital&centric and ourselves to show how these design-led spaces can also be easily and simply furnished with a modest budget.

“Natural light vs the comfort of privacy was one design note which a lot of our conversations gravitated around.”