The Renold Building, BCO Regional an National Innovation Award 2026 winner
SpaceInvader’s Studio Operations Director, Sarah Dabbs, joined the BCO North Awards 2027 launch at The Renold Building in Manchester to explore how reuse, circularity and community value helped shape the award-winning workplace.
Held at Sister, the event used Renold’s transformation to examine what makes a successful British Council for Offices Awards entry. The building received the Innovation Award at both the BCO regional and national awards in 2026, recognising an approach that brings heritage preservation together with the changing needs of its users and the wider estate.
Following an introduction from BCO North regional committee member Bianca Spoeala, regional judging chair Adam Tillis discussed what judges look for when assessing entries and the qualities that distinguished Renold. Sarah then shared the design thinking behind the transformation, drawing on SpaceInvader’s experience as the scheme’s interior design team.
Retaining and adapting the existing building was central to the project. Its transformation demonstrates how an existing structure can accommodate new uses while preserving the character that makes it distinctive. Securing listed status during the fit-out process also placed heritage considerations at the heart of a live project.
That commitment to making better use of existing resources extended to a 95% circular furniture strategy, designed to reduce the embodied carbon associated with furnishing the workplace. Alongside the building’s reuse, it illustrates how decisions about interiors can contribute to a project’s wider environmental ambitions.
Sarah also explored the importance of looking beyond the immediate workplace. Ground-floor space is made freely available for community use, giving the building a role beyond the organisations based there. Flexibility within the design supports future change, both for Renold itself and as the surrounding estate develops.
Across the wider scheme, heat recovery ventilation, electrification and reduced reliance on fossil fuels sit alongside biodiversity enhancements and carbon reduction measures. Together, these interventions demonstrate how environmental performance, social value and long-term adaptability can be considered as connected parts of a building’s transformation.
For SpaceInvader, Renold offers a valuable example of innovation through working thoughtfully with what already exists. Its recognition shows the potential of bringing interior design, heritage and sustainability into a shared approach that supports people today while allowing for change in the future.
Thank you to BCO North for the opportunity to share the project and contribute to the launch of the 2027 awards programme.
Explore The Renold Building project to learn more about the design approach and the building’s transformation.