Base Structures is proud to announce our collaboration with Printworks and John Turner Construction on the groundbreaking redevelopment of Manchester’s iconic entertainment venue. This project features three distinct fabric schemes adorning both the internal and external elevations of the site.

The internal facade artwork, created by Manchester-based artist Alex Sylt, serves as a central public art piece within the venue. Utilizing our large format fabric facade system and fabric printing expertise, we brought Sylt’s vision to life, adding a dynamic element to the venue’s interior.

Printworks boasts an impressive history, and was once the business premises of several news outlets. The site housed a printing press until the late 1980s, and through much of the 20th century, was the largest newspaper printing house in Europe and overtime has become a popular venue for shops, bars, restaurants and events. Following this extensive renovation, it now features updated artistic facades and a new impressive digital ceiling, the largest in Europe.

Working at this prominent city centre complex site posed challenges inside and out with restrictive pedestrian management which had to be managed with careful planning and limited access via the narrow surrounding streets. To overcome this, Base Structures engineered a steel frame on Dantzic Street, to install five large printed screens by hand. Also give the congested nature of the site and the intricacy of our works, careful coordination was essential, particularly while working alongside the digital ceiling installation.

The client required the internal artwork to be framed by a flashing surround with hidden fixings. We achieved this with innovative brackets and connections, incorporating fifteen speaker panels into a flush facade. These panels were designed to be removable and held with magnets, concealing all fixings. We were very happy to be able to develop an efficient system of work that resulted in a quality build, ready in time for the renovated Printworks grand opening.

Andy Traynor, Director at Base Structures and Head of Installations and Health & Safety, remarked:

“We were delighted to be part of this artistic and iconic redevelopment of a prestigious city centre location. Embracing creativity, we have enjoyed being able to bring large format art to the public. This renovation project has created a truly unique immersive experience and destination attraction to boost the public engagement with the space.
The success of this project showcases the skills of the Base team, the breadth of what’s on offer at Printworks and what stunning results can be achieved in terms of updating our city centres and community spaces”

For more information, further quotes or images, please contact Base Structures at mail@basestructures.com and for information about Printworks Manchester, visit https://printworks-manchester.com/.