Archive for February, 2010

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Last night me and the gang from Urban Splash, No Chintz and Rejuvenate welcomed more than 100 esteemed guests to our newly fitted out apartments at Albert Mill in Manchester.

It’s the first time we’ve thrown the doors open to the homes which include a loft apartment and a huge two bed, two bath offering, each of which have been designed to a high specification, maximising space and featuring some unique furniture. The evening started with a fashion show, cleverly staged on Albert Mill’s external walkways, watched by guests who were gathered outside under a marquee. We then moved our way around the new show apartments stopping off in each one to collect a drink and goodies including beauty products and some gorgeous cupcakes.

The reaction to the building was superb and people had lots to say about the unique lighting that was supplied by Deadgood as well as the sizes of the homes which take advantage of the depth that this former Victorian Mill provides.

Although we only had two fitted out homes to show at the building last night, there are a further eight in the pipeline so to register your interest, or for a look around the building drop our sales team a line by emailing live@urbansplash.co.uk.

Filed under: Albert Mill, Manchester No comments

A bright future ahead! by Tom Lawrence

Monday, February 8th, 2010

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Anyone with an interest in Park Hill has probably had their say this week on the very colourful new additions to the building.

The original building, which was developed in the 1960s, featured distinctive brickwork. Constructed in four bright colours, each row of brick represented a ’street in the sky’ and ranged from plum, terracotta, beige and ivory. As the largest Grade II* Listed building in Europe it was really important that the redeveloped Park Hill retained this distinct element so that’s why we feel incredibly proud to have delivered something that emulates the original form.

Something we’ve also done is to flip the proportions around, changing the windows from two-thirds brick and one-third window in the original building to two thirds glazing and one third solid panel in the modern version, thus flooding the apartments with natural light. These panels are anodised aluminium, a fantastic material, that offers a fabulous sparkle and lustre, which alters in appearance depending on the light levels and the angle they are viewed from.

The most exciting achievement though is that for the first time people can see how the regenerated Park Hill will appear in the future – bright, bold and beautiful! Let us know what you think about the panels below or alternatively register your interest to find out more as the scheme progresses!

Filed under: Park Hill, Sheffield, Urban Splash 5 comments

5 comments to A bright future ahead! by Tom Lawrence

  1. Kieran says:

    I have been waiting for for a long time to see these panels on Park Hill.
    Ever since I saw the samples on a recent BBC program I have wondered how Park Hill will look with them, and, now I have seen them, I love the result!
    The colours respect the origional building, whilst giving the structure a fresh and vibrant feel, I certanly think colour was the way to go on this building!
    Urban Splash (and employed architects) are great at producting unique and conemporary buildings that should really set the trend for future developements.
    Great Job!!

  2. Julie says:

    Its so nice to see some really positive comments about Park Hill and great to see people embracing something that is a little different and a bit ‘risky.’ I think the injection of colour adds a real contrast to the expanse of concrete and the two compliment each other.

  3. Dave Skupski says:

    I had wondered for a while what was happening with these flats. I often saw them from Park Square roundabout and they certainly occupy an imposing position on the Sheffield landscape. I’m delighted they are being regenerated by Urban Splash and I’m sure you’ll do a job as good as those at Fort Dunlop and the Midland Hotel, Morecambe. The coloured panels look great and will add a modern vibrant touch to the concrete building but in keeping with the original design.

  4. Andy G says:

    I’ve seen in person and the use of such bright colours, to me, looks risky. They might indeed work, but their use seems to add further risk to what’s already acknowledged publicly as a risky project. The question is: Will these colours add or detract from the value of of the flats and draw in or push away new sales?

    When seen in daylight, these colours really are very bright and currently, very, er, unpleasant to look at. I am not aware of other current / recent projects that have followed a theme as bright as this. To me, the design of the moment seems to be much dependant on natural or neutral colours and the use of bright colours hasn’t been seen in a while. That said, that’s just my non-researched opinion.

    So, let’s see where this goes and see if it has the power to create a colour revolution. Hey, maybe Apple will start creating colourful mac computers again and all those white Audi A5s will be replaced with bright Yellow ones :)

    All the best with the project

  5. Alex Szabo-Haslam says:

    In a region where the architecture is; save for just a few exceptions; becoming increasingly homogeneous and uninspired, I am delighted to see there is progress at Park Hill.