A prominent 1929 Grade II-listed empty department store building in Manchester, until recently home to Debenhams, is being converted into an office-led mixed-use development. The proposals include 70,000ft² of retail and leisure space on the ground floor, including a retail arcade accessed from High Street, and 258,000ft² of office space on the upper three floors. Plans also include a 4-storey rooftop extension featuring a further 40,000ft² of offices, plus a winter garden on the sixth floor. Part of the building will be demolished to create an atrium, providing natural light across the second to seventh floors.
To significantly reduce energy consumption, a fabric-first approach has been chosen, using existing fabric wherever possible, as appropriate to the heritage nature of the Rylands Building. Moisture modelling and fabric analysis has also been carried out to achieve an enhanced performance of the listed facades with internal insulation. The roof will be insulated, and high-performance Crittall windows will be installed to match the existing 1930s system.