BCO_National_Awards_2026_Suplement - Flipbook - Page 45
INNOVATION
BCO Awards 2026
Client
Bruntwood SciTech
Owner
Bruntwood SciTech
T
he Renold Building
reinvents the UK’s first
purpose-built lecture
theatre building as a dynamic
innovation hub where all
tenants must work in the
sustainability industry.
Once part of The University
of Manchester’s North
Campus, this landmark of
brutalist and modernist
architecture is the first
completed phase of Sister, the
4m sq ft innovation district
being developed by The
bco.org.uk
University of Manchester and
Bruntwood SciTech.
The judges were deeply
impressed, describing the
110,000 sq ft Renold Building
as a living example of circular
economy, which demonstrates
how a neglected piece of
educational infrastructure can
be successfully repurposed.
The panel particularly
commended the project’s
uncompromising
commitment to sustainability,
both in construction and
tenant profile. The building
achieved a 71% reduction in
embodied carbon by opting
for refurbishment over
demolition, further bolstered
by the creative reuse of
salvaged laboratory furniture
and 100% recycled materials.
The “fabric-first” approach
and targeted MEP upgrades
ensure the building meets
contemporary performance
standards without erasing its
architectural soul.
The exterior, with its
celebrated faceted facade and
stair tower, remains largely
untouched, aside from subtle
entrance enhancements and
new M&E, but interiors have
been completely reimagined
to suit the building’s new role.
The lower and upper ground
floors have been redesigned
to create co-working areas
and a community café, while
the original lecture theatres
have been repurposed for
events and collaboration. The
building – designed in 1958
for the Manchester College of
Technology by W A Gibbon
with his assistant Gordon
Hodkinson - was Grade II
listed in July 2025.
Sustainable Ventures,
which provides support to
start-ups in the climate tech
industry, occupies three
floors. A crop of existing
University of Manchester
spinouts including the
Turing Innovation Catalyst
Manchester, the Christabel
Pankhurst Institute, and the
Industrial Biotechnology
Innovation Catalyst are
among other tenants.
Beyond its technical
excellence and commitment
to sustainability, the
Renold Building is a vital
community interface. Public
Occupier
Multiple
Project Manager
Bruntwood SciTech
Quantity Surveyor
Richard Boothroyd &
Associates
Interior Designer
SpaceInvader
M&E Engineer
Crookes Walker Consulting
Structural Engineer
Booth King
Developer
Bruntwood SciTech
facing amenities such as a
gallery, on-site plant nursery
and community kitchen
reintegrate the building into
the campus. It has delivered
an impressive £1.84m in
verified social value. The
judges also praised the
priority given to creating
neurodivergent friendly,
flexible zones.
They concluded: “Renold
Building is a resilient,
inclusive and culturally rich
exemplar of sustainable urban
renewal.”
October 2026 • ESTATES GAZETTE • 45
