P&A Projects provides bespoke lighting solutions for the Express Building, Manchester

UK designers and manufacturers of lighting equipment, P&A Projects, have completed a successful commercial project at the Express Building in Manchester.

The Express Building is renowned for being the original Daily Express newspaper offices in Manchester. This Grade II listed building was designed by engineer Sir Owen Williams in 1939, and features a futuristic, space-age design with curved surfaces and glass finishes.

Today the building is used as a modern workspace in a vibrant neighbourhood in Manchester. The Express Building is home to a visitor reception, cafe, and business lounge, while the top fifth and sixth floors provide access to a dedicated terrace area with striking views across the city centre.

P&A Projects were appointed to the project by electrical contractor CSK Electrical to supply lighting features throughout the offices and meeting rooms. The brief was to provide a custom, alternative solution to the specified globe pendant luminaires and design a solution for the canopy luminaire.

Due to its glass fronted design, the expansive floors are flooded with natural light and the new lighting scheme makes the most of this, by accompanying it with a layered scheme featuring meticulously selected luminaires.

P&A Projects supplied 60 400mm Dia Globe luminaires with a bespoke decorative top cap, two 900mm Dia POLO pendant luminaires, a bespoke Art Deco exterior canopy luminaire, and various Subspace 70 linear luminaires varying from 1197mm to 3344mm in length. POLO and Globe are spherical suspended architectural luminaires, which draw the eye to their dynamic design, while the Subspace fixtures provide each area with comfortable general lighting.

Philip Ascroft, Managing Director at P&A Projects said: “We were thrilled to work on this innovative project, demonstrating how our bespoke lighting solutions can transform a space to meet the unique vision of the client. The Express building is a renowned architectural feature in Manchester and we were honoured to provide a custom lighting scheme that reflects this.”