THE SHARP PROJECT

he Sharp Project is in a refurbished Sharp Electronics warehouse in Newton Heath, East Manchester (UK). The building is conceived as a new type of digital content production complex to create a unique hub for digital and creative businesses. This not-for-profit initiative, led by urban regeneration company, New East Manchester on behalf of site owners Manchester City Council, provides a new environment for Manchester’s raw, young start-ups and established professionals in the digital and creative sector provided through converted shipping containers which can be picked up on short-term leases and their number increased or decreased as necessary: a concept designed to replicate the cheap garage offices in California, where Google started out.

When completed, the building will offer 200,000 sq ft of flexible and affordable workspace, sound stages, and social interactive space in an innovative environment with affordable fast connectivity starting at 1GB. The level of interest in the building reflects the latent demand for this kind of affordable workspace, which is clearly responding to the needs of young, dynamic companies and provides an ideal environment for collaborative working. The new complex aims to create a ‘counter-corporate’ location for likeminded creative companies that will complement rather than compete. With a focus on animation, CGI and visual effects, Sharp will bring together small and medium businesses with national and international production companies, providing the opportunity for them to interact in a creative melting pot set up to encourage the exchange of ideas, work and labour.

That given, the architectural quality of the refurbishment, actually, is not particularly significant; what caught our attention, however, is the recent communication strategy implementation for The Sharp Project. The short movie realized to present the spaces and the potential of the complex is certainly an interesting and innovative application of the possibilities offered by computer animation to architects and real estate marketing, and its spirit seems perfectly in line with the creative content that the complex is designed to accommodate. The robot in the flythrough is called ADH168 and, apparently, was a homeless droid living on the streets of Salford and he’s now got a new home in The Sharp Project. Follow him, as he moves through the former Sharp Factory.

The Sharp Project’s site

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You’re currently reading “THE SHARP PROJECT,” an entry on 5

Published:: 01/04/2011 / 7:21 AM

Category:: ARCHITECTURE, BUSINESS IDEAS, MARKETING & ADVERTISING, VIDEO

Tags:: 5, 5 magazine, 5coolhunting, 5election, 5mag, 5magazine, FIVE, Garage offices, Industrial refurbishment, Manchester offices, refurbished Manchester warehouse, refurbished Sharp Electronics warehouse, The International Coolhunting Magazine, The Sharp Project, Warehouse refurbishment

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