The restoration and conversion of the Grade II listed ‘Manchester Baths’ in Salford into four studios for the creative industries, which received an RIBA Award for Design Excellence in 2005.

OMI acquired and rescued the derelict building in 2001. It is now OMI’s main office and also home to landscape designers Landscape Projects, Planning consultants Paul Butler Associates and branding agency Spring.

The building has been brought back to life through interplay between the restored brick and timber trusses of the existing building and the contemporary elements related to its new use as an office building. The single volume of the former ‘Baths’ has been interrupted (but not lost) by the new circulation system and space sub-division. This has given significant variation in volume that defines either intimacy or openness.

The solution is driven by an innate interest in the subliminal things that influence the way people engage with buildings and develop a real sense of belonging. The building reinforces our philosophy on what the working environment should provide in terms of light, interest and engagement with its surroundings.