2010 New Roundhouse, 1328-1330 Ashton Old Road, Manchester

Architect: Walker Simpson Architects

Client: New Roundhouse Manchester Settlement

Contractor: J Greenwood

Structural engineer: Shepherd Gilmour

Services engineer: Environmental Services Design

Contract value: £1.69m

Date of completion: June 2009

Gross internal area: 10,800 sq ft, 1,000 sq m

The user, Clare McGlone, administrator and local resident: As a local resident, service user and employee of the Manchester Settlement, I have witnessed first-hand the amazing transformation of our projects and services due to the move to our new building in Openshaw. The new building is spacious, bright and multifunctional. Visibility on the high street means it is easily accessible to all ages and inclusive.

The new building has enabled us to increase the number and variety of projects and community activities we deliver, and service users have commented on what a great space it is. Young people and community members attending our projects respect the building and feel ownership. The building has become a hub of community activity in an area undergoing major regeneration. It provides a warm social space for people to meet and it makes people feel positive about the area.

The client, Manchester Settlement: Walker Simpson were appointed to develop the New Roundhouse project in 2007 and we quickly developed a positive relationship with them and the stakeholders. This group consisted of the Manchester Settlement - a charity providing educational support to young people - The Manchester College and the Mosscare Housing Association. We also had close dealings with New East Manchester, who are responsible for the regeneration of Higher Openshaw.

Our project steering group met on a monthly basis to develop the brief between the client and design team and this regular and close collaboration brought about a focused understanding and appreciation of the evolving design. There was much discussion and debate around spatial relationships and materials selection.

We believe the result is a scheme which is clearly understood by its users and which works well for them in accommodating their diverse range of needs.

Once the project had gained planning permission and moved into its construction phase, we engaged in a series of monthly reviews with the client body and the site team in order to monitor progress, cost and quality to completion. Since it's been occupied we have worked closely with the end users to evaluate the building's performance and to appreciate how it is adapting to a greater range of new uses.

The regenerators, New East Manchester: What we wanted was a multi-use building that would accommodate three functions: learning and education, office accommodation for a housing office and a community facility used by a variety of groups.

We also wanted a flagship building with civic presence on an important arterial route into Manchester. It also needed to fit with other major developments such as a Morrisons superstore, new housing and a GP surgery.

The street frontage was very important to us and we wanted the building visible so people could see what was going on inside. Excellence in design and durability were key.

The design unfolded through a series of consultations between partners and users (from young to older people). New East Manchester acted almost like design consultants and shared good practice learned from other multi-use projects.

We definitely got what we wanted and the design didn't change. We did a lot of groundwork beforehand and worked with planning before we submitted the application. Feedback from the users has been positive and they've described it as "bright", "warm" and "relaxing" and "an amazing transformation".

The judges: Externally, the building creates a strong civic presence - an important quality in an area that is going through large-scale regeneration. Its simplicity of form and material - essentially a blur-brick box - gives a positive presence.

The elevation has to negotiate the clients concern both for visible presence in the community with the need for privacy for the buildings users. The exterior balances these needs by creating larger openings at higher level.

The building is organised around an atrium that is derived from the desire to create a naturally ventilated building. The atrium is positioned off centre in plan and gives the building an interesting interior spatial quality, linking together the projects different activities as well as offering glimpses though and beyond.