Projection mapping and augmented reality brings past and future to life at St James’

The past, present and future of one of Manchester’s most iconic buildings has been brought to life by leading regional property partner, Bruntwood as it unveiled a major refurbishment of its St James’ office workspace on Oxford Road.

Bruntwood is harnessing projection mapping and augmented reality (AR) to showcase the newly refurbished 9th floor of St James’, using technology to provide potential customers with an immersive viewing experience.

Visitors are invited to ‘Look Again’ at the 9th floor, which is just under 20,000 sq ft, using a bespoke AR app that offers visualisations of how the space might be used in the future. This is the first time Bruntwood has used AR in a viewing scenario to enable a more in-depth exploration of its spaces.

The St James’ ‘Look Again’ concept was designed in conjunction with Manchester creative agency, Holdens.

St James’ textile industry heritage was also celebrated during the reveal, with moving images being projected onto a series of fabric banners located throughout the refurbished space. The building, which dates back to 1912 was once the headquarters of the Calico Printers Association.

The experience is designed to showcase Bruntwood’s sensitive regeneration of a landmark building into a vibrant, modern and forward thinking home for Manchester’s next generation of businesses. St James’ has some of the best digital connectivity in the city and as part of the Oxford Road Corridor offers the opportunity to link and collaborate with a wealth of innovative organisations based on the doorstep.

Ciara Keeling, Director of Asset Management from Bruntwood says, “St James’ is widely considered to be one of the finest period properties in the city but the facilities on offer there are contemporary in every way. The building offers comfort and character but it also provides customers with a collaborative, open space to work in. It has excellent connectivity and transport links and is located right in the middle of the Corridor Manchester innovation district, presenting countless networking opportunities.

“We look forward to building upon St James’ legacy by nurturing a community of innovative businesses that will be part of something bigger.”

Ted Holden, managing director at Holdens, said: “We were delighted to turn Bruntwood’s vision for St James’ into reality, focusing on the customer journey at every stage.

“The brief really allowed us to develop innovative solutions to its challenges, using the latest technologies in AR and projection mapping to bring the ninth floor to life in new and interesting ways.

“As one of three new agencies on Bruntwood’s roster, we look forward to building a relationship with them and working on more exciting projects in the future.”