MIPIM | Bruntwood rebrands No.1 MSP as Bright
Manchester Science Partnerships has announced the name of the 70,000 sq ft office currently nearing completion on Manchester Science Park – it will be called Bright Building.
MSP said it hopes the BDP-designed building, due to open in May, will become a centre for digital innovation in the North West. CityVerve, the Government-backed national Internet of Things city demonstrator, will be based there. Bruntwood, majority shareholder in MSP is a partner in CityVerve.
Mi-IDEA, a post accelerator and open innovation centre for fast-growth technology businesses operated in partnership with Cisco, will also be housed in Bright.
Thomas Renn, managing director of MSP, said the name was chosen to reflect the building’s status as an incubator of bright ideas, and the natural home for people working in the growth sectors of tomorrow. He added: “During construction we had used the working title of No.1 MSP Central, but now we’re approaching completion we want this first new build on the site for over 15 years to truly reflect the potential of this space – light, floor to ceiling glazing – and the people on the campus and wider innovation district. It’s a bright space, for bright people with bright ideas.”
Renn said the Bright Building would also be one of Europe’s most technologically enabled: “It features best of breed, interoperable technologies such as hyper-location services that give a real-time overview of building use and environmental sensors.
“A ‘digital ceiling’ will provide a next generation lighting solution bringing together lighting, building automation and sensor technologies to make the building smarter, lower cost, and will significantly change the way companies interact with their customers and employees.”
A key feature of the Bright Building is also the significant space dedicated to collaboration and social activities to support an even more connected community on campus and with the wider Innovation District. It also features a fitness studio, cafe-bar and event space with capacity for up to 200 people.
“We want this new building to be the heart of Manchester Science Park. Our goal is to create inspiring and open places where people can come together, share ideas, develop commercial applications for ground-breaking R&D and grow successful businesses.”
The Bright Building, which has been part-funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and North West Evergreen Fund, backed by the European Regional Development Fund, is located within the Corridor Manchester Enterprise Zone, which provides rate relief for businesses.