Premier Construction

M7 Offices Belfast

M7
Written by Roma Publications

M7 Offices

A major refurbishment project has been completed at a new Grade A Office in Belfast City Centre’s Linen Quarter. The development, which comprises 23,500 sq.ft, is the first project in Northern Ireland by M7 Real Estate, the pan-European investor and asset manager and was acquired from receivers Ernst and Young following a two-stage bidding process.

Located at 20 Adelaide Street, the scheme is in the heart of Belfast’s central business district and within close proximity to a number of hotels, restaurants and cafes, as well as a wide range of public and private sector organisations. The site is also positioned near to Belfast’s major retailing hub Victoria Square, which is located 0.4 miles to the north east.

M7 appointed KB Architects as lead designers and Trident Building Consultancy as the Project Managers, along with local contractors Portview Fit-Out to deliver this Grade A specification project.

Commenting on the project, Kimia Benam, Director of KB Architects said: “It was apparent from the beginning that the brief needed to be developed to meet the required level of refurbishment this building deserved. By working closely with the client and the contractor, the design team were able to develop a balanced concept and specification which offered both Grade A reception space and modern flexible office spaces in line with the project brief.”

A full-scale refurbishment of the building was undertaken in order to modernise and upgrade the existing building, as well as to create a new proposition for the Belfast office market. The specification included a design led modern reception space, raised floors, cycle storage, shower facilities and a new air conditioning system.

Kimia added: “Key features would be the illuminated main entrance and the geometric feature wall and reception desk which capture your attention on arrival. The 3D geometric form applied to the feature wall and desk evolved and was inspired by the geometric hulls of ships as we wanted to reference the rich history of Belfast ship making. We applied a polished plaster paint finish to the 3D formed MDF substrate wall in an attempt to capture a patinated bronze finish to create a rich and textured appearance in a cost effective manner.

“The finishes and colour palettes applied to the main reception have been followed throughout the entire building to fluidly interlink all spaces together, however the Cat A offices are merely flexible blank canvases ready for the future tenants.”

Work on the project was undertaken between December 2018 and August 2019.

“The client’s feedback has been very positive on this project,” said Kimia. “It is always rewarding when your client is happy with the end product. We are pleased that we have manged to achieve M7’s aspirations for this project.
“Personally, I love working on commercial projects as they offer more freedom and flexibility when it comes to Interior Design and Architecture. Every reception space and office design is looking for a unique and individual identity so every project needs to have its own bespoke stamp of creativity, which is linked or themed to a local context or idea. The commercial office sector is ever evolving, responding to the latest ways of working and trends, especially in Biophilic Design to cater for modern working environments.”

 

Portview

Portview is a multi-award winning fit-out specialist that manages interior projects for some of the world’s most prestigious brands. The company has been in operation for more than 40 years and within this time has built an excellent reputation within the retail, hospitality, office and stadia sectors.

Located in the heart of Belfast’s business district, Portview recently completed major works on a Grade A office building in the heart of Belfast for pan-European investor and asset manager, M7 Real Estate. Located at 20 Adelaide Street, the development which comprises of 23,500 sq ft, is the first project in Northern Ireland by M7 Real Estate and involved the modernisation the existing unit, as well as creating a new proposition for the Belfast office market.

The specification included a design-led modern reception space, raised floors, cycle storage, shower facilities and a new air conditioning system. Working in close collaboration with KB Architects, the office spaces were ‘defurbed’ by removing the existing ceiling tiles and exposing new services to increase ceiling heights.

Managing Director of Portview, Simon Campbell said:

“In addition to strengthening our presence in the office sector, 20 Adelaide Street signifies a number of firsts for Portview. Not only did it provide us with the opportunity to work in our home city, but it was also the first time we worked in partnership with M7 and KB Architects to deliver something entirely new to the business district in Belfast.

“The end result is a collection of multi-functional, modern offices that have been finished to an extremely high standard that are guaranteed to wow anyone who enters.”

 

 

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