Practice

Our practice was established in 1976 and over the past forty plus years we have grown to be included within the Architects Journal’s list of top 100 UK practices, with studios in Belfast, London and Dublin, joined in 2020 by a new studio in Manchester.

We have developed expertise in a wide spectrum of project categories, ranging from those of basic architectural requirement to complex buildings of high technological content and major developments of visual, environmental and commercial significance.

Our commission base covers public and private sectors, with specialisations developed in healthcare, education, offices, workplaces, retail, hospitality, arts, leisure, cultural and industrial facilities. This expertise has extended in recent years into aviation, through the company’s acquisition of MAP (McAlister Armstrong and Partners), one of the UK’s most respected practices in the field.

Our completed buildings have been delivered under a range of procurement routes, from a ‘traditional’ approach to Design & Build – where we are regularly retained by contractors In a delivery role, leading in 2019 to our establishment of a dedicated Design Delivery Unit.

In addition to our core discipline of architecture, we offer services in project management, town planning, masterplanning, urban design, workplace design and interior design.

We are quality assured under an Integrated Management System (to ISO 9001,14001 and 45001) and have task groups within the practice researching and disseminating guidance on for example Modern Methods of Construction and net zero carbon design. Through investment in appropriate software and staff training, we offer a BIM modelling service on all our commissions and indeed where the first practice in the world to secure ISO 19650 – 2 BIM Certification for Businesses.

We have always been great believers in the benefits of working collaboratively with other architects, and in 2016 established a Strategic Alliance with Stride Treglown and Keppie Design, under the banner of 431 Architecture, which brings us into a group with 15 studios around the UK and over 400 professional and technical staff.

Our commitment to design quality is most directly evidenced in the number of RIBA and other industry awards our completed buildings have received and, from the perspective of service quality, in the number of commissions that we secure through repeat clients.