Former church and recording studio now offices | Offices.org.uk

Former church and recording studio now offices

Posted on by John Cronin

A Grade II Listed former chapel in Manchester that was once used as a recording studio is now offices for a media company.

chapel officeKnott Mill Chapel, dates back to the 1850s and is located in Deansgate, central Manchester. Following an £800,000 conversion programme the building now offers contemporary offices for Amaze, a digital media company.

Overseen by OMI Architects, the works had to be inspected by the local authority preservation team to ensure that the character of the listed building was retained. An independent 5-storey structure was built within the nave of the chapel rather than merging a new office floor space within the existing structure. The total footage of the building amounts to some 12,000 sq ft.

Chapel exteriorIn the 1980s, part of the church was used as a recording studio by pop music producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman who recorded many famous hits there including “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. Pete Waterman sold the building in 2006 to property developers Bluetree Estates.

Tasked with finding a suitable building for office space, David Laws of quantity surveyors Edwards & Co said: “Due to the nature of the Amaze business, we had been looking extensively for an unusual style of property which is full of character to provide a creative and stimulating working environment.”

Back in February, 2010 Amaze leased 5,000 sq ft of prime, Grade A office space in the Grade I Listed Royal Liver Building in Liverpool. The company previously leased offices in the nearby Port of Liverpool Building.

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