Pollen Bakery, Kampus x NoChintz: Patisserie processes, heritage features & celebrating new beginnings.

Inspired by the passion, quality and integrity which Pollen puts into each and every product, NoChintz designed an interior scheme for the popular bakery's second site with a focus on materiality, refinement and process.

Expanding to a second location in Manchester, Pollen’s Kampus site is home to the patisserie and large cafe area which flows out into the Kampus public gardens. Raw unrefined materials, repetition, layered materials, grained texture, clean industrial lines, linens, wholemeal tones and darker ‘caramelised crust’ accents pay homage to the baking process.

Here, Katie Lea, Design Director at NoChintz gives us an insight into how this sweet scheme was cooked up.

Can you talk us through the inspiration for this project?

"The inspiration for the project stemmed from the patisserie and its processes. Milled flours, industrial machinery, lamination and layering inspired the palette, layout and aesthetic. Polished stainless steel sits next to organic tones to create balance."

How did you evolve this second site to make if feel different to the first Pollen location?

"The second site represents where the business and brand is now, all that it has learnt and presents a more ‘workable’ space which give the patisserie its own dedicated space to support the business as a whole.

"It wasn't so much of an evolution as a new chapter, we spent a lot of time understanding what makes Pollen so loved, how to resolve issues with the first site and create something which feels new, that can create its own impression but still has a connection to its sister location."

How does Pollen fit in with the wider Kampus development?

"As the only coffee shop and bakery within the development it hopes to be that go to, welcoming heart of the development. We respected the building and its surrounding within the design by keeping window vistas clear, looking out into the amazing garden courtyard, allowing this to work with the design we put forward and not fight against it.

"We kept the 60s' waffle concrete ceiling, which was part of the original architecture, as clear as possible so there was a sense of belonging within the development, like it was always meant to be."

Check out Pollen for yourself at 42 Aytoun Street, Manchester, M1 3GL. And read more about NoChintz and its latest projects here.