The UK’s first fashion manufacturing lab the ‘Work in Progress Pavilion’ for Robotics Living Lab (RoLL) has completed. The pioneering pavilion, designed by Bennetts Associates for Manchester Fashion Institute at Manchester Metropolitan University, provides fashion designers and manufacturers a base from which to create and produce more sustainable fashion manufacturing with the aid of robotic technology.
The pavilion design champions UK materials and construction methods that help reduce the upfront embodied carbon of the building in conjunction with passive environmental controls to reduce energy consumption for ventilation and cooling. This includes a UK Douglas fir timber frame, which is a native material, and UK straw insulated wall panels that lock away carbon captured within a much shorter timescale than traditional sequestering materials. The exterior is clad in a larch tree charred timber panelling which protects the straw cassette panels beneath.
The simple, elegant pavilion occupies and enlivens an under used courtyard tucked away behind the listed Righton Building in central Manchester. The pavilion’s black shou sugi ban clad form and new landscaping give the previously unassuming courtyard a characterful, new sense of place. The timber frame forms and expressive waffle soffit structure, left exposed, with contrasting light this provides a calm backdrop to the changing roster of research outcomes on display.
Bennetts Associates’ approach to the design has resulted in an upfront carbon figure of 468 kgCO2e/m2 GIA (A1-A5), the full breakdown of which is available to download here. A further -340 kgCO2e/m2 GIA biogenic carbon is captured in the building. This is expected to align with the Net Zero Carbon Building Standard new-build Higher Education target up to 2030. The project has now been submitted to the NZCBS Pilot Scheme, and a Post Occupancy Evaluation exercise is now underway.
Bennetts Associates has also ensured that many of the materials and components can be reused in the future, adopting principles of the circular economy in line with the University’s Leadership in Sustainability strategy working towards a zero-carbon future, and Greater Manchester’s Zero Carbon Manchester 2038 plan.
Adrian Lonsdale, Studio Director at Bennetts Associates, said: “The Work in Progress Pavilion is a pioneering space that not only represents a milestone in resource-conscious design and challenging conventional building techniques, but also marks a significant first for the university and the UK fashion industry. As a practice known for our commitment to sustainability, we are proud to deliver an exemplary project that highlights the potential of biogenic and regenerative low-carbon materials. It’s been fantastic to work with a client whose ambition for a low-carbon future aligns so well with our own. This has enabled us to develop a multifunctional space that is lean, elegant and minimises upfront carbon using low-carbon and biogenic materials.”
Susan Postlethwaite, Professor of Fashion Technologies at MFI and Director of RoLL, said: “This launch is the culmination of years of planning, collaboration and research, and I’m delighted to showcase the important work of the lab inside this beautiful structure designed by Bennetts Associates to meet our climate commitments.”
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