Northern Quarter Offices - 24 Lever Street, Manchester

Just before 24 Lever Street was born, the man who co-founded Communist Theory with Karl Marx, found a neighbourhood in need of a fairly good seeing-to. Friedrich Engels described the area as “insanitary and down at heel” and the houses “dirty, old and tumble-down, and the construction of the side-streets utterly horrible”. Indeed, he also mentioned “pigs walking about in the alleys, rooting in offal heaps”

Admittedly, even now, in the early hours of Sunday morning, there can be a few fairly shocking sights to behold around the Northern Quarter’s streets. However, we think it’s fair to say that the construction of 24 Lever Street has helped elevate the area somewhat.

People started flocking to the Northern Quarter to fill their faces way before the likes of Oklahoma, Dough, Tib Street Chippy, The Market Restaurant, The Soup Kitchen, Ning and Yagdars got cooking. And particularly on a Saturday night, when food became cheaper as the clock struck twelve. Apparently, on a single day in 1870, around 20,000 people went to Shudehill for cheap eats. These days, any day of the week’s good for a quality feed round here, but we do recommend not leaving it till midnight.

24 was originally designed by the architects Mills & Murgatroyd. Sadly though, before the history of the building even began, James Murgatroyd died in 1894. However, the  the partnership was continued with his son Arthur. Designs by this partnership included the entrance to Mr Thomas’ Chop House, Cross Street (1901); Albert House, 17 Bloom Street (1903); and the District Bank, Oldham (1902-03). But, back to the original partnership…

Manchester architects James Murgatroyd (1830-1894) and Alexander William Mills (1814-1905), were both Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and had their offices at 23 Strutt Street. The practice designed many prominent Manchester buildings, including Dover Street School, Chorlton-on-Medlock (1881-6); The Grand, Aytoun Street (1867-8 as a warehouse for Collie & Co., converted to hotel in 1883 by the practice); the Royal Exchange (1869-74), the predecessor of the present building; the original London Road Railway Station (1862); and the Assembly Rooms, Strangeways, decorated by J.G. Crace and demolished in 1966. The architect and designer Edgar Wood (1860-1935) was articled to James Murgatroyd and trained with the practice; the company also built a house for Wood’s father in Middleton (1864).

* Because we can’t find any pictures of Mills & Murgatroyd, we thought it would be utterly hilarious to use a picture of some sweets. Hopefully you think so too. Incidentally, Jimmy liked the blue ones, but big Al’ preferred green.

In 1897, for an unknown reason, 24 was demolished and replaced by a new building to designs by Mills & Murgatroyd. Some materials from the previous building were probably re-used as a note on the original plans states that ‘old columns’ were to be ‘refixed’. The building kept to its previous footprint, but was internally connected to 26. Supporting documents to the original plans state that the building was not intended for use as a factory, suggesting its use as a warehouse or company headquarters. Small wire items may have been made-up on the site.

It would seem 24 has a history of reinventing itself.

24 Lever Street is a former warehouse, built in 1897-98 by Mills and Murgatroyd for Johnsons.

We don’t know a whole lot about the Johnsons. We’re fairly sure it wasn’t any of the above, but here’s what we do know: The Johnson Company was founded in 1773 as manufacturers of small, wire products such as fireguards and hanging baskets. Its HQ was moved to 24-26 Lever Street in 1883. It is likely that Johnson’s shared these premises with other companies, and they share a listing in Slater’s directory from 1895-1909 with the Vieille Montagne Zinc Company.

In 1898 Mills & Murgatroyd’s new building was completed. Built of red brick and red sandstone in ‘Free Elizabethan’ style, the building is L-shaped in plan with accommodation over five storeys, and a basement. The four-bay facade is symmetrical above the ground floor, with ‘slightly-projected outer bays with tall shaped gables’. The central bays contain mullioned windows which are arched on the 3rd floor. The ground floor has a round-headed doorway to the left, with a stone canopy and a keystone carved with the number ’24′. The date is recorded on cartouches below the outer windows on the 3rd floor, carved with ’18′ and ’98′. The side elevation has two bays in a similar style to the front, the remaining eight bays to Bunsen Street are faced in white glazed-brick, with Crittal steel windows. The glazed brick would have reflected all available light into the warerooms, a response to the narrow width of Bunsen Street and the height of the neighbouring building. The rear elevation is of two storeys, with a drive-through cart way or hovel across the full width of the building. Two hoist shafts protrude above the roof.

Internally, all the floors were originally designed to be open plan. The decorative ribbed ceiling in the entrance lobby is probably original. The ground floor was originally designed as a ‘general warehouse’, with the main entrance from Lever Street. At the rear was storage for ‘bar iron’ with several small rooms adjacent in 8 Stevenson Square, connected to the building. The 1897 plans show Mr. Johnson’s office located on the Bunsen Street front corner of the 4th floor, with an adjoining boardroom and waiting room. Lavatory accommodation was provided at the rear of the building, in the southern corner of each floor below the sloping roof.

The spaces were mostly plainly finished. Some areas were given a more decorative treatment; for example the beams on the 3rd floor were encased with panelled timber linings. The 1^st floor front office rooms had decorative plaster ceilings and evidence of a fireplace but the historic partitions enclosing these spaces have been lost.

The image shows the building on a 1903 Ordnance Survey Map.

About 77 years before the baggy era, a street-dancing culture emerged in the Northern Quarter. Loads of young people got together, did polkas, waltzes and schottisches (Wikipedia says it’s a dance craze started in Bohemia) to music played by the Italian organ grinders who lived round the corner in Ancoats. Cut to present day and you get young folk (and not-so-young folk) shuffling around to resident DJs in a whole bunch of bars and clubs just around the corner from 24 Lever Street.

In 1924 an application by Messrs. Schofield Bros (shirt manufacturers) for alterations to form offices in 24 was submitted. The designs, by Ernest S. England, of Oldham, involved significant alterations to 26 (then referred to as 24), and the subdivision of all floors and the insertion of spine corridors in 24. These proposals appear to have been implemented and the building has largely been in office use since that period.

It’s some of the walls and windows that were constructed at this time to create offices within the originally open plan building which are now listed.

Click the thumbnails below, to see some more of the partition walls before and after restoration.

And lo, as a result of being fairly neglected after the Second World War, interesting types of businesses were attracted to the area, which offered low rents and an alternative feel to the typical British high street. Gradually, the Northern Quarter became known for independent stores, cafes and bars. It offered an alternative shopping experience. And this was just the start.

24 is a grade II listed building, listed in 1994*. 24 Lever Street is significant as a good example of a late 19th Century warehouse, built not for the textile trade but for a steel and hardware manufacturer. Mills & Murgatroyd, the original designers, are a well-regarded Manchester architectural practice best known for their classical 1874 Royal Exchange, the predecessor of the current one.

Their building makes a positive contribution to the street scene on Lever Street, within the Stevenson Square conservation area, designated in 1987. The rear elevation to Little Lever Street is significant for the drive-through hovel which provides evidence for the loading and unloading of goods onto vehicles within a covered loading bay.

The interior is significant for the building’s structure of cast-iron columns, steel beams and boarded floors, which survive on all floors. Although most floors have been altered to varying degrees since the building was first constructed, features from the 1890s interiors partly survive on the first four floors. The part-glazed corridor partitions and doors, and the entrance lobby panelling date from the 1920s and are typical features of warehouse offices.

*Which is in fact, the same year that another well built, and debatably notable Mancunian, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, released their debut single ‘Supersonic‘.

A few years ago, a fire raged through neighbouring buildings and into 24 Lever Street. It was a sad day for the immediate area, and in particular for many small businesses based in the building, which were left very badly affected. You can read the news story here.

However, Mancs are a resilient lot, and this building is no exception. So from the ashes, a new era is beginning.

4 days after the fire, over a cup of tea, and looking at a very wet building, it was decided 24 would be restored. In the same conversation somebody was heard to say ‘At least the sprinklers worked’.

2 days after that, Atul at Sheila Bird, starts thinking and sketching out how he could make the best out of a bad situation.

The Northern Quarter has appeared in loads of TV programmes and films in recent years, but check out 24 Lever Street’s starring – alright, alright, cameo – role in Hollywood’s recent Sherlock Holmes blockbuster, right here in glorious technicolour. If you’re going to blink, make sure you do it before 1.08 mins, otherwise you’ll miss it. Read more about it here.

Here’s how we found it – daunting but very, very exciting. Shots by Atul at Sheila Bird, and Tim Sinclair.

It’s been a busy few weeks here at 24. However, we did have to stop and admire all the beautiful doors and radiators that were collecting around the place. The plan is to re-use them where we can.

We are pleased to welcome Henleys to 24, as our first tenant. They used to have space in 24 before the fire, and have returned, taking floors 1 and 2.  Above is Leanne Holt, Marketing manager, who took part in our Portraits Project. Henleys are currently our only tenant, but if you want to find out more about renting a space in 24, get in touch.

We’re getting things a bit more ship-shape and tidy. Little piles of bricks, that kind of thing. More shots of work in progress to follow soon.

We thought we’d just give you a quick update. Everyone’s working hard to get the building ready. We think its coming along rather nicely. Have a look at the images and see what you think – we hope you agree.

The Henleys floor is now complete… they will be moving in shortly.

The communal areas of 24 are now complete. Click through the thumbnails to take a look.

We just wanted to take time to say a big thank you to the ladies at Composite Imaging for all their hard work in bringing the communal parts of our building to life. They have a strong reputation for creating bespoke and affordable artwork for all manner of clients, and have done just that at 24. Paulette and Jackie from Composite Imaging have been taking snaps from around the NQ, and from the building before and during the restoration, and then using those images to create the wall paper and lampshades for the interiors. We think they look great, as do tenants Henleys, who commissioned their own pieces to adorn the walls on their own 2 floors.

Find out more about Composite Imaging here.

Manchester Evening News Young Business of the Year 2009, The Neighbourhood have just taken the fourth floor in the building. As you can see, the owners of 24 are just a little bit chuffed about this. More on The Neighbourhood to follow…

We’re chuffed to bits to have found out that the newspaper we produced as part of our Portraits Project has won ‘Best Product Brochure’ in the 2010 McNaughton Review. Adam from Various Artists will be heading over to Salzburg (it’s a hard life eh?) to collect the award at the ceremony.

Hyper Island has landed in Manchester and where better in the heart of Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter than 24? The innovative new media educators are now taking applications for their first UK program for young creators and innovators to be delivered outside of Sweden.

With backing from leading media and communication brands like MTV, McCann, Channel 4, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sony Games, Code Computerlove and Wieden + Kennedy, applications for opened today for ‘Interactive Media Design & Management’, which will be delivered from the basement of 24 Lever Street.

To find out more about Hyper Island, watch the movie below, or take a look at the Hyper Island website.

So it’s the Royal Wedding on Friday. That means commemorative plates, commemorative coins, commemorative mugs, commemorative key rings, commemorative day off work, and a not-so-commemorative hangover on saturday morning. There are supposedly more than 5,000 street parties being held in the UK on the 29th April, and the good news is that there’s one happening right here in the Northern Quarter.

It’s all brought to you by the good people at Edge Street Events, and is sponsored by Tree Accountancy and ISIS. Events for the day include: swing dance lessons, fashion shows, 1940′s treasure hunt, RNCM String Quartet, BBQ, magician, live tape art, ‘Red Arrows’ display, jelly and ice cream, cake competition, and tombola, all accompanied by the sounds of various DJs, including Xfm’s Gareth Brooks. So grab your flags, get out your bunting, and get down to the Northern Quarter for a good, old-fashioned Royal knees up. (Unfortunately the forecast in London for Friday is typically Mancunian, but fortunately the forecast for Manchester is typically un-Mancunian.)

As mentioned previously, visual visionaries the Neighbourhood have recently set up on the forth floor. Now that they’ve unpacked, plugged in, settled in, opened their doors, popped corks, celebrated well into the night, woken up, tidied up and had plenty of time to regain focus behind a camera, they’ve been kind enough to send us a few pictures of their new home.

Founded in July 2006 The Neighbourhood work across advertising, design, broadcast, architecture and beyond, bringing brand stories to life with a heady mix of technology, imagination and bucket loads of craft. Or to put it another way: if you can dream it, they can make it. In fact, even if you can’t dream it, they can still make it for you. A talented bunch indeed.

Their client list includes Sony Playstation, Renault, Umbro, Formula One, BBC, CBBC, Urban Splash, Stella McCartney, and Heston Blumenthal, and in their relatively short life they’ve already amassed a nifty 26 industry awards, including Manchester Evening News Young business of the Year 2009.

If you’d like to find out more you can do so here: www.the-neighbourhood.com

24 Lever Street. from The Neighbourhood on Vimeo.

Close your eyes and imagine the future. Got it? Now imagine what everything in that future looks like. Everything. Got that too? Then you probably don’t need to bother reading on. But for those of you who might want a cheeky peek of what the next generation will be up to, then it’s worth getting involved with FutureEverything. They’re the organisation that bring together some of the most innovative, ground-breaking and sensational Art, Music and Ideas. And they’re doing it all right here in Manchester.

Some of the highlights so far have included: the insanely brilliant NY trio Das Racist gracing the UK with their somewhat unconventional rapping for the first time.

LA’s ‘lethally seductive’ all girl experimental art rock quartet Warpaint (currently on tour of the UK with Connan Mockasin, and also performing at Glastonbury).

and the Future Everything 2011 Award winning Macon Money – find our more about this innovative project here.

Whilst many of the events are over, there are still a few days left to catch some of the activities and exhibitions if you’re quick. Here’s the full timetable.

Yes, money makes the world go round, but running a close second in the race for global power are facts. Often known as FACTS. Don’t even try to argue with them. Many have tried, all have failed. And in that vein, here are ten cold, hard FACTS about our tenants in the basement of 24 Lever Street, Hyper Island:

FACT 1: Hyper Island is a centre of digital learning.

FACT 2: Hyper Island has schools in Karlskrona, Stockholm, New York & Manchester, of course.

FACT 3: Hyper Island has 400 full-time students from 20 different countries.

FACT 4: 98% of Hyper Island graduates find employment within 6 months.

FACT 5: 60% secure jobs before graduation.

FACT 6: 25% of Hyper Island students have at least 3 jobs to choose from.

FACT 7: 30% become Designers, 14% become Art Directors, 12% become Developers, 10% become Project Managers, the remaining 34% become Motion Graphic Designers, Account Managers or User Experience Designers.

FACT 8: 64% of employers say Hyper Island students contribute to a deeper understanding of the digital landscape

FACT 9: Hyper Island students use over 3.2 million tonnes of Post-It notes every year.

FACT 10: Earlier this month Hyper Island had their launch drinks, attended by some of the region’s finest digital minds. Here are a few pics of the night.

Thanks to David, Jo and Amir for organising a great evening, plus George and James for filling us in on a few details.

Bonus FACT: FACT 9 might not actually be a FACT at all.

Driving from London to Paris would take about 6 hours. But cars run on money and make you fat, which is why Mr Ben Davies, Managing Director and Creative Partner of The Neighbourhood on the forth floor, is choosing a bicycle as his mode of transport from London to Paris. That’s not to suggest that Ben’s motivation for this mammoth trip is to save money or lose weight – his is to raise money for Kidney Research UK.

On the 9^th July Ben will commence his 300 mile trip, which he hopes to complete in 4 days. (A quick check of calculator reveals this is 75 miles a day, and don’t be fooled into thinking just because he’s heading south that it’s all downhill. Gravity doesn’t work like that.)

If you’d like to support Ben on his mission to raise £2,000 you have two options:

1. Contribute at his JustGiving page http://www.justgiving.com/ben-goes-to-paris

2. Send him an extra cushion to sit on, on his return.

You can find out more about Ben’s Journey here and here.

Good luck Ben (and Chris).

(image from Howies)

The Northern Quarter. Home to a new generation of fashion and creative industries, home to an eclectic mix of restaurants and cafés, and home to some of Manchester’s finest independent bars. Not your ordinary run-of-the-mill chain bars, no no noooo… the watering holes of the NQ have their own unique attitude, a freedom and energy that the bars of Deansgate are so desperate to replicate.

Which is why anyone who’s looking to for an ideal spot to set up a new bar might be interested to know that the ground floor of 26 Lever Street is now available to let. Situated on the corner of Stevenson Square it’s right at the heart of the action. If you’re either:

a) Interested in finding out more

b) Know someone who’s interested in finding out more

c) Know someone who knows someone who’s interested in finding out more

then please call Richard or Ed on 0161 833 9991 or email richard@edwardsandco.com or ed@edwardsandco.com

There are Apps for everything these days. You can’t move for them. Gone are the days when an App used to be something you just used to check the weather or find the nearest shop that sells cheese sandwiches or check which way was north or find out if a shelf was level.

The App business has truly exploded in the last three years, and one of the latest to hit the virtual shelves is a nifty sales tool for letting agents that gives you a glimpse into the future. Using iPad 2’s gyroscope position and movement sensor together with its GPS capability and compass, agents can stand on site and use the iPad as a “virtual porthole” to look around and see how the building will look on completion.

In this instance the building in question is London Wall Place, and the people responsible for developing this witchcraft are none other than 24 Lever Street’s very own residents The Neighbourhood. Working with closely with branding agency Bostock and Pollitt, the App features:

– 360 degree interactive views of the proposed building.
– Interactive floorplans.
– Local amenities in real time link-ups with booking features available.
– Interactive animated furniture layouts for different professions.

Not that useful if you want to put up some shelves, but revolutionary if you work in the property industry and want to show prospective tenants to see how a building will look on completion. Well done to all involved.

Due to the changeable climate we enjoy here in the UK, holding an outdoor arts event could be described as an risky decision. Holding one in Manchester – that’s just madness. But Platform 4, brought to you by XTRAX has proved a massive success over the last couple of years and it’s returning, bigger and better than ever before next week. Hopefully we won’t have to add wetter to that list of adjectives.

Featuring some of Manchester’s finest, bravest, and craziest home grown talent, platform 4 is an intriguing mix of music, dance, circus and acrobatics, featuring intriguingly named acts such as Chutney on the Street, Mr Lucky’s Tea Party and Whalley Range All Stars.

It all takes place on our doorstep* in Piccadilly Gardens from the 19^th to the 21^st August, with more acts in St. Anne’s Square and evening events in Castlefield. If you’d like to find out more – and we recommend you do – you can do so here.

*Tenants of 24 should note it doesn’t take place on our actual doorstep. That would be foolish.

What do a rubber duck, an inflatable dinosaur, a pair of googly specs, a space hopper, 100 party poppers, 3 dozen balloons, a bunch of plastic coins, giant boxing gloves, gorilla hands, a giant banana and 3 fake moustaches have in common? Apart from all being part of a student fancy dress night? Well, there are no prizes for guessing, so we might as well tell you they’re all props from Henleys‘ latest advertising campaign.

The clothing brand were our first tenants to move into the building after the refurbishment, and this is their first work in collaboration with agency Various Artists. Sadly we’re unable to show you any photos from the shoot itself, taken by the talented Mr Tom Van Schelven, but we can show you this image of his assistant. Although he may not thank us for doing so.

The campaign is due to break in the coming months, so watch this space. Not constantly, mind. You might want to go and get some food, watch a film or go on holiday, then check again when you’re back.

As I’m sure most people have heard, there was some pretty anti-social behaviour in Manchester a few weeks back, and whilst the doors of 24 Lever Street remained safely shut tight, there were a lot of businesses nearby who weren’t so lucky.  We don’t need to go into details of what we think about those who took part in the riot, but the reaction of the community has been something to be genuinely proud of.

It’s been amazing to witness the wave of goodwill that’s swept the area, starting with the clean up in Piccadilly the morning after, and culminating in the N4 LOVES U street party that took place at the weekend. The event saw some 30 bands playing live gigs, including Kid British and Sonic Boom and the Northern Quarter was truly rocked. But in a good way, obviously.

Thanks to all those behind the events and those who helped spread the I LOVE MCR campaign.

We’re not quite sure what the best phrase to suit all this is: Every cloud has a silver lining, or Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It probably doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Manchester’s community has shown its true colours, and we can all sleep a little happier at night in the knowledge that the world isn’t such a bad place after all.

*It’s a little known fact that if you stand at any point in the NQ you’re no more than 3 metres away from the nearest I LOVE MCR poster.

A delicious new snack has hatched.

Some say it’s eggstraordinary.

Others say it’s eggshellent.

Most, however, say can you stop embarrassing yourself with the lame puns.

Yes, it’s The Manchester Egg.

Cornwall have their pasties, Melton Mowbray have their pies, Cumberland have their sausages, and Champagne have that fizzy drink. Now, thanks to Mr Ben Holden, Manchester has its very own egg. As you’d expect from something called The Manchester Egg, its main ingredient is indeed egg, but this is a pickled egg is wrapped in a sausage and black pudding coating and covered in breadcrumbs. Ben’s been working on the recipe for a few years, but it’s finally starting to attract attention from regional and national newspapers, and it’s just made it onto the menu of ‘acclaimed gastropub The Mark Addy’. Those aren’t our words. We stole them from the MEN review.

(photo also from The MEN)

Anyway, some, or all of you might be asking yourselves why this is sensational news is appearing on the 24 website. Well, when he’s not designing delicious eggs for Manchester, Mr Ben Holden is designing stylish websites for clients, and he used to it in this very building. He doesn’t anymore – he’s moved to another company now – but  there is a genuine, if slightly tenuous, link.

If you’d like to find out more, The Manchester Egg has its own website, Facebook page and twitter account, as any self-resepcting egg should. Good luck with it Ben – looks like it’s really taking oeuf. (Sorry.)

It’s probably fair to say that you won’t catch Daniel Craig strolling through the offices of MI5 in one of Henley’s latest T-Shirts. He’s generally more of a suit and tie chap. But Henley’s latest range of Tees for their Project Deluxe collection has some beautiful foil blocking that any Bond character would be jealous of. OK, perhaps not any – mainly the ones with ‘Gold’ in their name – Gold Finger, GoldenEye and that guy who had a shiny gun.

As well as a distinct love of gold, the new range injects a heavy dose of acid bright graphics and neon gloss, making it quite possibly the boldest and Henleys collection to date. Which is perhaps why Bond doesn’t wear it more often – it’s tricky to work undercover when you’re making such loud statement.

It’s all currently on sale from the Henleys website, here, along with plenty of other eye-catching designs. And if you do happen to see any famous Bond celebs wearing Henleys, be it Mr Craig, Dame Judy or even Sir Sean, then do take a picture and send it on for us. there might be a prize, but we can’t guarantee it.

More work great work from our tenants on the forth floor The Neighbourhood, and we’ll do our best to avoid the use of fish related puns when describing it. Although we can’t promise anything.

The Saucy Fish Company make fish dinners. That should come as no surprise. It should also come as no surprise that those fish are served in a delicious sauce, taking all the hassle out of preparing a evening maritime meal. To paraphrase an old ad slogan from yester year, they do all the hard work, so you don’t have to.

The Neighbourhood were tasked with bringing all this to life in the form of a TV ad, which you may have had the pleasure of seeing on ITV across Yorkshire, Meridian and the South West. But in case you don’t live in one of those regions, here’s the finished article:

Mr Jon Humphries, Creative Director at the Neighbourhood, was kind enough to talk us through it: “The TV campaign reflects the sense of approachability and playfulness of the brand and creates an alternative voice in the marketplace. One of the main challenges was to persuade consumers to overcome their fears and preconceptions and inspire them at the same time. Our approach was to inject a sense of fun, charm and personality to carry these messages.”

And from the resulting film we’d have to agree. Nice work all involved.
There… zero fish puns.

Those of you familiar with the Northern Quarter will no doubt know of Affleck’s Palace – a beautiful mixture of eclectic, electric and eccentric shops, stalls and stylists for the brave, the bold and the bizarre. (When we say electric, we mean energetic, although you can buy some electrical items in there. We just needed a word that fitted nicely with eccentric and eclectic.)

Before:

And those of you familiar with Affleck’s Palace will no doubt be familiar with Eastern Bloc, the iconic record store that played host to The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, and helped launch the careers of Inspiral Carpets and a string of local DJs. Or at least you would have been, had they not moved out earlier this year. The good news is that Afflecks’ loss is our gain, as they’ve recently reopened their doors just across the road from 24 Lever Street on Stevenson Square. Not that it’s a long walk to Afflecks or anything – it’s just easier.

And the even better news is that as well as shifting a plethora of specialist vinyl and CDs (for the younger readers, that’s what people used to use to listen to music) they’ve also branched out into the world of cookery, and you can now grab a nice tortilla wrap with your rap. Or soup with your soul. Or espresso with you techno. (Granted, that one doesn’t really work so well.) This may not please the hardcore regulars, who now have to fight through the latte-lovers to get to their fix of dubstep, but it pleases us as we’ve now got a great new place to eat right on the doorstep.

After:

So, welcome to the block, Eastern Bloc. We hope you’re as happy in your new home as you were at the Palace. And see you soon for a slice of carrot cake and skinny latte.

For more information on Eastern Bloc, you can go here. For another tasty fusion of music and masterchefs, go here. Thank you Swede Mason.

We’re a little late on this one, but better late than never I suppose. It depends who you ask. Some people would almost prefer better never than late. Funny old world.

Anyway, on the 13th October 2011 The Roses Design Awards was held at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Manchester. If you haven’t heard of it, it celebrates the best of design and architecture outside of the M25. Why it’s only outside of the M25 is another debate, but it’s fair to say that The Neighbourhood’s ‘Kid in a Sweetshop’ animation they created for Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant in Bray would (and will) do pretty well inside the M25 too. Sadly we can’t show you the whole film here – that’s reserved exclusively for:

a) People who book a seat in Heston’s restaurant.

b) Design and Advertising Juries.

c) People who work at or with The Neighbourhood.

Needless to say it’s a beautiful and intricate piece with a ridiculous amount of love and craft put into it. Which is probably why the judges at The Roses gave it the Grand Prix at the Awards. (The Grand Prix is the award for the single best piece of work.) Featuring the gravelly, grandfatherly voice of John Hurt it takes prospective diners on a psychedelic trip through Heston’s menu, tantalising their taste buds in anticipation of their visit.

If you’d like to see the full film we’d recommend giving The Neighbourhood a call, or failing that you can book a table at Heston’s restaurant. Good luck though – they get approximately 30,000 calls a day.

Congratulations all involved – well deserved recognition.

We’re pretty happy here today. No, it’s not the festive spirit that’s picking it’s way through the streets of the Northern Quarter. Nor is it the giddy anticipation of saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing Final (we’ve only just recovered from last weeks X Factor final).

No, it is indeed the news that the highly respected fashion agency Brand National have moved into the first floor of 24 Lever Street. Run by husband and wife team Darran and Kam Harris the agency began life back in 2000, and now boasts a portfolio of clients including Superdry, Schott, Gabicci Vintage, Matt & Nat and Eleven Paris. Although boasting is perhaps the wrong word to use. They’re far too down to earth for that.

So welcome to the building Darran, Kam and the rest of the team, and welcome to Manchester too. Yes, it’s a bit colder and wetter than London, but the air’s cleaner and the beer’s better.*

*source: unknown.

In case you’ve been wondering why the shops are rammed during the day and it takes you 45 minutes to get served in a bar at night, it’s all to do with an annual Christian tradition called Christmas. Each year more and more people find time to moan about how consumerism and greed have ruined the Christmas spirit, and how we’ve forgotten the true meaning of the holiday. Us? We’re just happy to see more people happy. Tidings of comfort and joy come in many different shapes and sizes, so as far as we’re concerned, if Christmas puts a smile on your face then it’s mission accomplished. And putting a hearty smile on our collective faces this year are two beautiful pieces of festive fantasy.

First is the Christmas market and playground down the road in Piccadilly. Yes, the ice rink has now been located to Spiningfields, but the giant advent calendar more than makes up for it. Measuring a whopping 9 metres high and 12 metres wide (that’s 9000 millimetres by 12000 millimetres, for those of you who prefer to work in those dimensions) windows are opened each day in the run up to Christmas (as is tradition with all advent calendars) revealing special offers from local businesses, local events, or just a cheery festive message. Find out more about Christmas in Piccadilly here.

Second on the list of smile-enducing entertainment is this beautifully crafted piece of seasonal projection mapping from the visual maestros on the third floor, the Neighbourhood. We did have an extensive chat with Stuart, the brains behind the Cubic Light Tree, who kindly explained the technical wizardry behind its production, but sadly we kind of got lost after the first sentence. Needless to say it’s pretty complicated, and you can learn a little about the process in the video below.

Cubic Light Tree. from The Neighbourhood on Vimeo.

Well that pretty much wraps things up for 2011. All that’s left to say is a massive thanks to all our tenants in the building for making it a great year, and have a very merry (smiley) Christmas.

See you in 2012.

So, it’s 2012 – the year of the Dragon if you ask the chinese, the year of Co-operatives if you ask NATO. If you ask my mum it’s the year she’ll finally get round to growing her own vegetables, but you won’t find that in Google. Unless she’s started a blog, but I think that was on her list for 2013.

Anyway, a few of you creative types may have made it your new year’s resolution to seek out more inspiration; get to more talks and exhibitions – that kind of thing. Well luckily for you, the annual Future Everything festival has just announced its line up for 2012. The festival covers the broad remit of Art, Music & Ideas, and will take place at venues across Manchester, a few of which just happen to be in our neck of the woods. Read all about it here.

If you liked what you saw in our pre-Christmas post featuring The Neighbourhood’s Cubic Light Tree, then you’ll love Amon Tobin who’s headlining this year’s Future Everything with his ‘ISAM Live’ show. It looks set to be an audio visual spectacular, with Amon himself sitting amongst a giant projection mapped installation. It’s difficult to describe using just words, so take a look at the clip below:

And, if you want to see a bit more about how the show comes together, take a look at this extended trailer:

You can buy tickets here, but be quick about it, they’ll get snapped up fast. So, here’s to a happy and prosperous new year to all – see you at the ISAM show.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that a rather large piece of street art has cropped up in our neighbourhood. No, it’s not another Banksy found lurking beneath some ivy, (this actually turned out to be fake) but Manchester’s starring role in Converse’s ‘Wall to Wall‘ project.

If like us, you just suddenly saw it was there one day – we thought you might like to see how it got there. Enjoy.