Historic commercial office space revived at Walker House

Solus worked with fit-out specialists ICON Projects and design team Incognito on the recent refit of Walker and Horton House. Having previously collaborated with both firms on the Solus Manchester Studio, we were delighted to be involved once again. 

A significant challenge for ICON was working within a live, occupied building. They minimised disruption with temporary access systems and daily briefings, keeping everyone informed. With Grade II listed status, careful preservation was essential, and the logistics of a city-centre build added complexity. A clear plan and strong communication helped ensure the project ran smoothly. 

Richard Storton, Solus Area Sales Manager, explained: “Our relationship with Incognito and ICON is great, and we’ve been able to demonstrate the range of services Solus can offer through our collaboration on the Manchester Studio. Walker House was another opportunity to exceed expectations, and we did this with some lovely bespoke-cut tiles in the reception and elevator areas.” 

Incognito’s Howard Powsney reflected on the design brief and approach: “One of the biggest challenges was respecting the building’s history. It’s a grand structure with a lot of heritage. Doing something ultra-modern would have felt wrong. We wanted the design to be sympathetic.”

Walker House may be monumental in scale, but its reception area is modest. The design had to make an impression without overreaching. “The old layout was wrong,” Howard noted. “There were layers of updates over the years, and the space had lost its soul. We mirrored the entire orientation; something that sounds simple but changed everything. Suddenly the circulation made sense. People coming in and out had a clear route to the lifts. It became intuitive.” 

That sense of logic and order extended to the tile layout. The floor pattern draws on the building’s history and the story of Exchange Flags itself. “Formerly, it was where traders set up stalls in a grid,” Howard explained. “We echoed that with a gridded floor design. Solus helped us recreate it through bespoke tile cutting. It gave the space rhythm.” 

The ceiling also held hidden inspiration. When layers were stripped back, Incognito discovered beautiful pot-and-beam tiles: terracotta with delicate indentations. 

“They weren’t in a good enough state to expose, and there were fire regulations to consider,” said Howard, “but we didn’t want to lose that detail. So, we photographed them and recreated the graphic as a motif within the suspended ceiling tiles.

Lighting was another careful choice. “Rather than going for bright downlighting, we created a secondary grid between the suspended tiles and used ambient up-lighting in a heritage green. It gives the space this gentle, boutique feel. You move from the hard flags of the square into something much more organic.” 

In addition to bespoke-cut tiles from Solus, the space includes warm detailing and furniture pieces that bring scale and softness: “We added a curved plinth, dressed with largescale art. The space needed something commanding. And there’s a beautiful watervapour fireplace that the client was really pleased with, an atmospheric touch that works with the tone of the space.” 

The result is more than a visual update. As Howard put it: “We’re not just about making spaces look good. We think about how people move through them. We consider the psychology of arrival, how the first impression resonates with the architecture. We also try to future-plan and phase our projects, even if we can’t always talk about what’s next.” 

While future plans remain under wraps, Incognito’s approach is clear: a rejection of trend-led design in favour of spaces that respond to context. “We don’t design to fashion. We listen to the building.” 

That ethos aligns with Solus’ approach, too. “It’s great to be part of a team that cares about the integrity of a project,” said Richard Storton. “At Exchange Flags, we were able to add real value, not just through product, but through partnership.”