A person walks along a pavement in front of a modern, multi-storey building with large windows and a sign reading Sister on the upper left side, under a blue Manchester sky—home to innovative Sustainable Ventures.

Renold Building. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

A modern office space in Manchester with wooden floors features a table set up for chess, large green plants from Sustainable Ventures, and a small enclosed meeting room with glass panels and a door. Natural light pours in through tall windows.

Renold Building Meeting Pods. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

A close-up of a light wooden door slightly ajar, showing a black door handle and part of the metal latch plate on the door frame, typical of the modern Meeting Pods found in the Renold Building.

Renold Building Meeting Pods. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

A light wooden door with a narrow vertical window and a black icon showing a person sitting and sound waves, likely at Sustainable Ventures in Manchester. Below the icon is a small plaque. The right side shows part of a corrugated wall and a chair.

Renold Building Meeting Pods. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

Small modern meeting room with wooden walls, a glass door, two chairs at a table, a plant outside, and a painting on the wall—all flooded with natural light—resembling the stylish Meeting Pods found in the Renold Building.

Renold Building Meeting Pods. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

A modern coworking space by Sustainable Ventures in Manchester with people on sofas and chairs using laptops and mobile phones. The area features plants, wooden floors, and doors in the background, creating a relaxed and productive atmosphere.

Renold Building Meeting Pods. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

A person walks out of a modern, private booth in Sustainable Ventures, a sustainable business hub in Manchester. The brightly lit corridor features wooden floors, white walls, exposed pipes on the ceiling, and motion blur as the door opens.

Renold Building Meeting Pods. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

A person sits inside a small, private Meeting Pod with a glass-panelled door, talking on the phone. The pod is one of several lined up in the modern Renold Building, each marked with a conversation icon.

Renold Building Meeting Pods. Photo credit Steve Longbottom, 2026.

A diverse audience sits in rows facing a stage in Manchester, where a man at the lectern speaks about sustainable business. The modern room has large windows, bright lighting, and people are attentively listening to the Sustainable Ventures presentation.

Sustainable Ventures, Manchester Launch. Photo credit Fiona Finchett, 2025.

A U-Build wooden board mounted on a brick wall displays business achievements: 1,000 start-ups launched, £1.2bn investment raised, 7,000 jobs created, and a 95% diversity index. Green plants frame the image on both sides.

Sustainable Ventures, Manchester Launch. Photo credit Fiona Finchett, 2025.

Two women stand and talk at a Manchester indoor event hosted by Sustainable Ventures, with plants and event signs around them. One wears a blue jacket with yellow designs, while the other sports a colourful jacket and a rucksack.

Sustainable Ventures, Manchester Launch. Photo credit Fiona Finchett, 2025.

A wall display with the Sustainable Ventures logo and the words Investment | Workspace | Venture Support above a grid of start-up and company logos—including U-Build—featured on individual cards.

Sustainable Ventures, Manchester Launch. Photo credit Fiona Finchett, 2025.

Renold Building Meeting Pods, Manchester

When the historic Renold Building was reopened by Sister as the cornerstone of a new innovation district, managing acoustics within its open, brutalist architecture was a key practical consideration. We had the pleasure of being asked to install a targeted acoustic solution on the Upper Ground floor, marking our first project within this Manchester landmark.

Positioned in a high-traffic area, this initial project addressed the immediate need for ground-level quiet zones. We designed and installed three distinct phone booth and meeting pod variations, demonstrating that reliable acoustic privacy could be delivered on a compact, non-permanent footprint.

Meeting Pod Designs

To provide quiet spaces within the open-plan UG floor, we installed three meeting pod styles that introduce functional zoning while fully respecting the heritage fabric of the building:

  • Meeting Pod 1: A single-occupancy phone pod designed for quick calls and video meetings, balancing structural rigidity with focused sound absorption.
  • Meeting Pod 2: A compact, private work pod featuring an alternative internal layout and an integrated desk for longer working sessions.
  • Meeting Pod 3: A larger, expanded modular footprint designed to accommodate small group collaborations, meetings or presentations without allowing sound to bleed into the surrounding floor.

The placement of these pods helped anchor a wider breakout zone on the UG floor. Look closely at the project photography and you will spot a custom chess board sitting right alongside them – a piece crafted by another of our Manchester-based clients, Dekiln, who we fortunately met at the opening night on site, an event which celebrated the building’s new chapter alongside the community.

Material Selection & Finishes

Because these pods sit in a highly visible, high-use zone, we selected a durable, low-carbon material palette that combines hard-working acoustic exteriors with warm, natural interiors.

  • External Finishes (Cork & Wood Wool): To dampen ambient noise from the surrounding floor, the pods are clad in natural cork and wood wool panels. These materials provide effective sound insulation while adding a textured finish that sits comfortably alongside the building’s concrete structure.
  • Internal Finishes (Spruce, Birch & Ecoboard): Inside, the focus is on a clean, biophilic aesthetic. We paired spruce and birch plywood for a furniture-grade finish, complemented by Ecoboard to maintain healthy indoor air quality.

As our first installation in the building, these self-supporting, fully demountable pods established our low-carbon approach on site, proving we could deliver acoustic performance without anchoring into or damaging the historic structure.

See our modular system at scale: Explore the Sustainable Ventures Manchester hub to see how we expanded on these principles to create a low-carbon, three-floor workspace in the same historic building.

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