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Printworks

Prize(s) Honorable Mentions
Lighting Design/Product Company Cundall
Lead Designers Liz Skelton
Architecture Company TP Bennett
Client Canonical
Photo Credits Jason Lock
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Entry Description

Printworks in Manchester is a £21m redevelopment featuring Europe’s largest digital ceiling screen, a 1,000sqm installation that transforms the space. Located in a 150-year-old listed building in Manchester’s retail district, the venue offers a vibrant entertainment and leisure experience.
Cundall’s specialist lighting team designed a dynamic lighting scheme to complement both the architecture and the immersive ceiling screen. Their scope included illuminating the historic façade and key internal spaces such as the ‘streets’ and ‘pumpyard’. The design draws on the building’s history as a newspaper printing house (1873-1985) by incorporating frosted glass referencing printing blocks into the external feature wall luminaires. These luminaires blend with the façade by day and create a striking effect at night.
Inside, the lighting scheme is carefully synchronized with the ceiling screen using RGBW linear wall-grazers and architectural projectors, programmed via a Pharos control system. The internal luminaires guide visitors through an immersive visual experience.
Bespoke lightboxes and signage, fabricated by The Light Lab in collaboration with Cundall and CDA Architects, provide wayfinding and branding, further enhancing the overall experience.