Space 48’s move to Manchester: from vision to reality
At the start of 2018, in the amazing surrounding of our new Manchester office, the Space 48 team looks forward to an exciting year in the buzzing tech and ecommerce community of the Digital North! We take a look back at the journey that took us to our fantastic new Manchester home.
From the initial vision, through to the build and finally the majestic result, Space 48 Founder and MD Jon Woodall discusses the project, the reasons why Space 48 DNA was reflected in the new office environment, and why the future in Manchester is bright!
Moving to Manchester
The move to Manchester was in the making for 12-18 months. As a business, Space 48 has enjoyed successful growth for a number of years now and we wanted to see that growth continue. We thought that becoming part of a key network hub like Manchester was very important for our future growth – not only financial growth but culturally too!
We have a lot of partners that we already work with based in Manchester. There is a lot of entrepreneurial spirit in the city. There’s a great network around us, which we feel will help us get to the next level of growth.
I did a Q&A about why we moved to Manchester if you want to find out more: Jon Woodall on Moving Space 48 to Manchester
The build and the vision
Learning and development is a big part of the Space 48 culture and we wanted to make sure the new office embodied that culture. The architects and builders did a great job of implementing a dedicated training space, for in-house training, workshops and events (both internal events and for use for the wider community).
Our vision was to have the new office design based around our culture, and our culture embodies leadership, learning and innovation. One of the key focuses of the new office was creating a learning and events space, in which both local and global developers could utilise. And it was great to been able to invite some many innovative people in the new office for the Dev Exchange, ahead of the Manchester Mage Titans conference!
I won’t lie though, it’s wasn’t all about learning and hard work. We did make sure the designers included some fun touches, to give the office a vibrant energy and youthfulness. A ping pong table, a pool table and some retro gaming machines were added to the mix! It wouldn’t be an agency office without a few games, right?
Plus there are some great views of Manchester from the meeting rooms!
Our new home!
The impact has been unbelievable. We really feel like we’re in the middle of the action here in Manchester and it was great to kick-start our office Xmas party in the new digs!
We’re excited about having more and more people come in and use our events space. We think it’s important to contribute to our key communities; Magento community; ecommerce community and the local Manchester community too! The idea is to create an environment where people can become part of the Space 48 brand.
Take a look at our “welcome to the new office” video to get a better look at the new office in all its glory!
Summary
The project has been a huge success and we’d like to thank everyone who was involved. The early signs and overall feeling within the new Space 48 HQ is very encouraging and super-positive. Recruitment has certainly been a lot easier. We’re all excited to see what the next 12 months have in store!
Space 48 is a leading UK ecommerce consultancy, based in Manchester. Specialising in Magento website development, our ecommerce experts create award-winning omnichannel strategies for top retail brands.
