WPP Manchester
Combining Manchester’s historical legacy with WPP’s expertise in creative transformation.
- Year
- 2024
- Architect
- BDG
- Location
- Manchester
- Awards
- MixologyNorth23
overview
WPP’s Manchester office takes on a life of its own, influenced by the city it calls home and the values that underpin everything the world-famous advertising firm do.
Our project for WPP celebrates Manchester's legacy of computing, textiles, and music, marrying this seamlessly with WPP's bold, expressive brand. It honours the city’s history while creating a vibrant space for WPP staff, and shows how a thoughtful and creative approach to workplace design can elevate the everyday into something truly inspiring.
Our strategy focuses on two key areas: collaboration spaces and circulation spaces. The former as cultural hubs for creative dialogue, and the latter to energise and inspire a constantly evolving workplace environment.
'Festival' by Lisa Denyer, realised as a large mural on the ground floor
Bespoke Artworks, Wayfinding and Environmental Graphics
We created a set of bespoke artworks and environmental graphics throughout the space, including ‘Visualising Music’, an installation that transforms iconic albums from Manchester bands into a dynamic LED display, capturing the city's musical spirit. Another, ‘Woven Palettes’, pays tribute to the textile industry with a colourful tapestry of cotton spools, symbolising the city's industrial roots. Finally, ‘Binary Canvas’ celebrates Manchester's computing history, using graphics in a binary pattern on stairs to depict the passage of time, adding a touch of innovative spirit.
The wayfinding scheme was visually tied to ‘Binary Canvas’, which gave the offices a consistent, connected identity, and included an entrance campus directory, room signage, lift directories, directional signage, level numbers, bespoke pictograms and manifestation.
'Festival' by Lisa Denyer, alongside Acrylicize's 'Woven Palette's'
“The concept is drawn from the rich culture and history of Manchester and the evolution of the Northern powerhouse it is today”
'Woven Palettes' by Acrylicize
'Binary Canvas' by Acrylicize
Wayfinding elements throughout the building
Curation
Working alongside four young, female, emerging artists studying in Manchester - Annabelle Roberts, Sophie Smorczewski, Lisa Denyer and Tia Maria Taylor Berry - our curation team built a collection of eight artworks, highlighting the potential amongst the next generation of Mancunian creatives and adding a distinctly local flavour to the offices. From a textile-based piece that examines the space between psychological and physical space, to a large, colourful and expressive mural that appears on the ground floor of the building, the works add to the dynamism of the space and bring it to life for all those who pass through it.
Curated works by Annabelle Roberts & Sophie Smorczewski
Credits
Acrylicize Team
Matt Corless
Anna Omedes
Zoe Maslen
Martin Mayorga
Robin Gillard
Sean Drennan
Samantha Whitethread
Curated Artists
Annabelle Roberts
Sophie Smorczewski
Lisa Denyer
Tia Maria & Taylor Berry
Photography
Phil Hutchinson
