Following the successful completion of the Society culinary hub at Barbirolli Square, Manchester, 5plus were appointed to facilitate the conversion of a ground floor office unit at One Colmore Square to a multi-kitchen food hall for Society in Birmingham.

Whilst the existing unit had previously been used as the staff kitchen and dining facilities for an existing office tenant on the floor above, the conversion of the unit into a commercial multi-kitchen restaurant required significant design coordination, as well as full planning permission and Building Control approval.

From a servicing perspective, each kitchen has its own dedicated extract canopy which had to discharge externally. Due to limited riser space in the building and the design intent for complete separation of the unit from a servicing and fire perspective, this necessitated high level ductwork within the unit terminating in new louver panels on the ground floor façade. Integration into the existing curtain wall façade system for these new louvers required detailed coordination and consideration.

Further interventions into the existing façade included the installation of a new main entrance to the unit as well as 3no. additional access points to serve the external seating area, the cellar and the coffee shop area. Inconsistent external levels required each new interface to be detailed differently to ensure the internal level remained accessible. Finally, the existing blackout manifestation on the façade was removed to create an open and inviting shop window for the new unit. The visible internal activity now serves to animate what was a visually sterile street interface.

The external paved seating area to the left of the new entrance further improves the activity on the street and compliance with biodiversity net gain planning requirements offers a welcome green intervention to the urban realm.

Internally, separate toilet provision was required for the space as it would be serving members of the public as patrons and the main office building core WC provision is beyond the secure line and, therefore, inaccessible. Drainage for the new WC provision was dropped through the floor slab and into the basement below, tracking at high level to connect into the main core drainage to omit any requirement for pumps.

The above technical parameters and drivers were carefully developed and integrated into the design so as to maximise the user experience and maximise the internal space and head-heights. An open, honest internal environment results, using careful finishes and lighting zones to create different settings between café, dining and bar areas.

Project Team
Project Manager. Savills
Building Services Engineer. Market Taylor
Fire Engineer. Cundall
Planning Consultant. Turley