Premier Inn at Circle Square completes

Contractor Russell WBHO has finished building the 158-bedroom hotel in Manchester on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech and Vita Group, which are developing the £750m Circle Square mixed-use scheme in a joint venture.

The 16-storey Premier Inn on Princes Street is due to open in February and comprises a 1,018-space multistorey car park across the first 10 floors (ground to nine), and the hotel reception and accommodation on floors nine to 15 behind an aluminium façade.

Russell was appointed as main contractor for the project, designed by architect Feilden Clegg Bradley, in 2018 and started construction work in May that year.

The building also features carbon reduction measures in its design, construction and operation, which have helped it to achieve a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating. In particular, a 94kWp solar panel installation measuring around 6,400 sq ft has been installed on its roof, to cover a portion of the building’s electricity needs.

Gareth Russell, joint managing director of Russell WBHO, said: “One of the most visually eye-catching buildings we’ve ever delivered, the new Premier Inn at Circle Square is also one of the greenest and most advanced in terms of energy saving and carbon reduction.

“We’ve created a building that will provide occupants with a comfortable stay and the reassurance that they’re playing a part in reducing the city’s carbon output.”

The hotel and car park are part of Bruntwood SciTech – part of developer Bruntwood – and Vita Group’s Circle Square masterplan to deliver a city centre neighbourhood off Manchester’s Oxford Road into 1,700 new homes, 1.2m sq ft of workspace, around 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space and a new city park, Symphony Park.

The hotel is the second Premier Inn in Manchester that Russell has delivered, following completion of the Dale Street Premier Inn in 2012, and the hospitality group’s fourth in Manchester city centre. The Circle Square property is located close to the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Tom Renn, managing director for Bruntwood SciTech, Manchester, said the project’s completion is a “major milestone in the creation of this exciting new neighbourhood”.

And Richard Aldread, head of construction, UK regions and Ireland, at Premier Inn added: “The new Princes Street Premier Inn strengthens our presence in Manchester city centre and brings our latest format hotel to the extremely popular Oxford Road/ Deansgate micro-market.

“It is part of our ongoing strategy of investing in new locations across Manchester to ensure our customers have the best quality Premier Inn rooms in the most exciting locations in the city. Given the hotel’s central location and proximity to the universities, it promises to be a popular addition to our portfolio.”

The project team also included Leach Rhodes Walker as delivery architect, JD Electrical as electrical engineering consultancy, Walsh as mechanical engineer and iGen, which provided the solar power solution.

Russell WHBO Premier Inn Manchester Interior

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Interesting concept, awful cheap execution.

The outer of the carpark is an insult to brickwork everywhere but particularly to the fine examples of masonry in Manchester.

By Oh dear

An exciting design that has been absolutely bludgeoned by the procurement and delivery.

By Design Build Regret

Cheap materials and construction ruined an interesting design, not quite as bad as the Red Rock in Stockport but pretty close.

By Anonymous

A gigantic Wendy House. Embarrassing for the city – how can something like this be signed off?!
Suggests to me that somebody without much taste can still qualify as an architect.

By MrP

It’s a marmite building. I love it personally. There’s no way you can ever say that is anywhere close to Red Rock!

By Steve

The large circular openings in the brickwork are awful. What a shame because the rest looks alright. There are several new buildings using brickwork against its nature. Ugly to see and a waste of carbon!

By whatashame

Very odd to build a hotel on top of multi story car park.

I admire the ambition if not the execution.

By Bing

This looks horrific.

By Dr B

The hotel looks like a forensic tent thats been erected after the scene of a major crime. Quite apt really 😉

By Anonymous

Looks horrific but it is in keeping with the poor quality schemes underway in Manchester.

By Observer

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