Urban Playground Manchester
Baranowitz + Kronenberg (B+K) expands its narrative lifestyle-driven know-how into Competitive Socializing. Urban Playground (UP) is the new brainchild of Mellors Group; a world-leading theme parks, attractions, and entertainment company that approached B+K to join their journey and develop a new playing ground where spatial experience and design set UP as a leader of its kind.
UP introduces a mix of physical and digital arenas that attract and inspire; an escape for people from all walks of life to come together, play, connect and indulge with The Cube and Putters, both streaming seamlessly around The Butcher (another B+K’s project), a premium burger brand that set a new standard for burgers aficionados’ way back in 2012 in Amsterdam.
Located at the heart of Arndale Mall in Manchester and stretching over two floors and 4000 square meters, UP premiers The Cube TV gaming show, and for the first time ever the public would be able to boost its gaming skills inside 12 enticing tech totems which B+K meticulously positioned throughout the space serving as destinations of social-hubs and regulators of the spatial energies. The transparent Cubes allow players and spectators to share the thrill of the moment either on-show or off while lounging, dining, or anchored to the alcohol bars at the heart and soul of each venue.
Putters coincide with The Cube and infuse tech-driven golfing into29 crazy holes designed to captivate and challenge the determination and UP’s followers.
UP space is conceived in red & black echoing the classic fairgrounds of old yet bridging UP to the realms of Here & Now through wide strokes of red over black over floors, ceilings, and mechanical systems. A see-through, metal mesh curtain stretches along the perimeter of UP, enhancing the presence of The Cube and Putters, embracing the energies of each while The Butcher is left exposed in front of the main entrance, magnetizing the traffic as a prominent sizzling focal point.
Creative Directors: Irene Kronenberg and Alon Baranowitz
Project Leader: Yuval Bar-Adon
Photography: Marcus Holdsworth
