PROJECT
Red Deer DESIGN A NEW HOTEL BRAND WITH A UNIQUELY MANCUNIAN SOUL, INCORPORATING VALUES OF EXPERIMENTATION, REALNESS AND CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT International architecture and interiors practice Red Deer have designed The Alan Hotel in Manchester focused on experimentation, realness, and constant improvement while rejecting the pretentious and cradling the imaginative. The Alan was borne from a vision of wanting to do things differently. Something experimental, fresh and with an emphasis on partnerships between artists, chefs, designers, and forward-thinkers. Situated opposite the Manchester Art Gallery, in the heart of the city, next
to the vibrancy of Chinatown and the bustle of the central shopping district, The Alan is a unique six-storey building with a pop-up mixeduse space, ground floor restaurant/cafe/bar, and 137 bedrooms. “The Alan started life with an open forum between all the key stakeholders of the project including branding, interiors and the client,” says Red Deer lead designer Ciarán O’Brien. “We were interested in finding value where it was lost, being playful with form and providing an offering that was unexpected and new in the Manchester scene.”
Luxury Hospitality Magazine
By exposing the building’s modest beginnings – the historic brickwork, the pitted stonework and honest craftsmen marks – they have been able to pay homage to the building’s rich heritage and bring the interior back to life. The original plasterboard and lowered ceilings, which had made the whole building disproportional, were removed, revealing the true tall dimensions of the rooms and unlocking the potential for stunning sculptural additions in both communal areas and guestrooms. Red Deer worked with makers and craftsmen Robin Grasby, Mika Kaski and Int Marble to transform the former cotton warehouse. “The guest suite vanity units are a feat of engineering in their marriage of the impossible joints of a shower and bedroom,” says O’Brien. “They fulfil so many functions, from wardrobe to sink, mirror to partition, all whilst being a sculptural art piece in their own right, helping to anchor the room against its vast size.”
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