The North West Design Centre (NWDC) is a unique facility specifically created as a project resource centre for hospitality and leisure, which provides a vast showroom and specialist trade facilities for designers, architects and specifiers.
Located in Manchester, the NWDC offers over 20,000ft² of showroom space spread across two floors, which incorporates prominent interior brands and associate suppliers. It is well established as a leading destination for hospitality and leisure professionals.
The design resource centre provides the largest product library outside of London. With over 400 brands, this is a unique complimentary service for designer professionals.
With ample parking, free WiFi and help on hand to assist with projects, the centre provides an ideal environment to work from. Paul Gillingham from PG Interior Design, says:
“I’ve been using the NWDC for some time now to develop my projects, and have found it saves so much time having everything in one place to choose from.
“I also do not need to commit time and space managing my own materials library, which has made a huge difference to the growth of my practice.”
Much of the space is utilised as live venue settings, which highlight a range of products and materials. This includes the new Urban Collection space, which features reclaimed flooring, industrial-style feature light fixtures and reclaimed tables. The AV media suite and cinema room displays polished plaster walls and the latest technology from a range of partners, including Habitech, Epson and Rako.
Jonathan Pengelli, MD at Habitech, explains: “We teamed up with the NWDC to provide interior designers and architects with a showcase for the seamless integration of technology within design. We demonstrate how the virtues of ultra-discreet home cinema and whole-house AV control can be scaled for any project and concealed to meet the design vision for the space.”
Rako’s Peter Bloom adds: “We regularly use the centre for client meetings and to introduce them to the other products and services available. A great resource has been the large client meeting rooms, which we have used to run Rako training and programming courses for dealers and installers of our lighting control system.”
The stylish bathroom display highlights new products from Vitra, Porcelanosa and Grohe, with on-hand technical support and access to the latest bathroom designs.
Every part of the NWDC has been utilised to demonstrate products that are often hard to source elsewhere. The latest addition has been the new stretched ceiling fitted into the walk-in wet room. Thanks to the ceiling’s reflective surface, the room now looks 5m high, giving an impressive feeling to the small space.
Internal doors within the centre demonstrate Longden Doors’ offering of quality bespoke joinery. “Longden has a range of doors displayed throughout. The centre is well placed for meeting clients and customers in the North-west; it is a great meeting venue. We have worked closely with NWDC staff on a number of projects, and clients appreciate the resources available within the centre and the knowledge of the staff.”
The material wall has been added as part of the NWDC’s ongoing development. This houses the latest innovations in natural stone, solid surface, glass, translucent materials, timber, wall cladding and floorcoverings.
The new Infiniti natural stone cladding range includes a striking collection of large ceramic tiles which can be used on floors, walls and other surfaces without the need for grout lines. This has proved popular for a variety of uses, from washrooms to bar fronts. The range also includes an extensive variety of flexible real stone tiles, which can be fitted to any curved interior or exterior surfaces.
