Bright Building reaches completion

Manchester Science Partnerships has announced practical completion of its flagship 70,000 sq ft Bright Building.

Developed for MSP by majority shareholder Bruntwood, the building sits at the heart of Manchester Science Park and with a ground floor mostly given over to communal space, will act as a central hub for the 150-plus science and technology businesses within the park and wider Corridor enterprise zone.

Thomas Renn, managing director of Manchester Scirnce Partnerships, said that more than 75% of the building will be either exchanged or legally instructed by the official launch on 21 September.

Government department Innovate UK’s Internet of Things city demonstrator CityVerve will be based at the Bright Building, along with businesses based in Mi-IDEA, an innovation centre operated in partnership with Cisco. Ethical Bristol-based café operator Friska has chosen the project for its first northern site.

The building has been designed by BDP, which is also working on an overall masterplan to take the main MSP site to 1m sq ft. Sheila Bird Group worked on design and Amspec is engaged as fit-out contractor.

The professional team also included landscape architect Hultons and M&E contractor A&B Engineering. Construction work was divided into individual trade packages with the shell and core delivered by Marcus Worthington & Co and glazing and curtain walling by Quest Solutions.

The building includes a fitness studio, which will have instructor-led classes, while cycle storage has already been completed.

Renn said: “The Bright Building is the first new build on Manchester Science Park in more than 15 years. Its name and design reflect our hopes for it with people and place being championed above traditional bricks and mortar design.

“It will be a key digital innovation centre for the North, providing the ideal environment for fresh ideas and new technologies to be taken from inception to market. But it is also a new central hub for the MSP community and the Corridor. We’re looking forward to the new connections and partnerships that will be sparked by the events programme which will run from it.”

The Bright Building was part-funded by the North West Evergreen Fund – backed by the European Regional Development Fund – and Greater Manchester Combined Authority.