Member Article

North East architect celebrates expansion success with growth

Ambitious North East architect practice Gradon Architecture is celebrating a successful first year in Northern Ireland by growing its team.

Gradon Architecture, based in Ryton, has seen its Northern Ireland operations go from strength to strength since opening in Derry in July 2015. After securing a number of prestigious projects in Northern Ireland and across the North East, the firm are now looking to expand.

Graham McDarby, Managing Director of Gradon Architecture, said: “It’s a really exciting time for all of us. We’re delighted to have had such a successful first year in Northern Ireland and it’s fantastic that we’re in a position to grow the team as we now seek to recruit a number of people at different levels to include Architects and Architectural Technologists.

Gradon Architecture got off to a strong start in Northern Ireland, scooping a prestigious industry award for its first project, the RoCo hair and beauty salon on the prominent Derry waterfront.

The practice is also growing a strong reputation for its innovative and sustainable design approach to complex social housing, city centre regeneration projects, as well as bespoke one-off homes, for which Gradon offers a personalised, hands-on service, guiding clients through each step of the process.

Founded in 2009 by Graham and Donna McDarby, Gradon has quickly grown into an award-winning practice operating across multiple sectors and international market places.

In addition to their Ryton and Derry studios, the firm also set up a design studio in Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar, becoming the first British architect practice to do so. Each of the three teams works to support each other across projects, creating a unique round-the-clock service for clients.

Graham added: “The collaboration we have between our three studios provides our clients in England, Northern Ireland and Asia, with access to a highly skilled and multi-cultural design team. We’re now looking forward to recruiting in both our Ryton and Derry studios as we enter into an exciting period of growth and new projects in new emerging markets for us.

Liam Nelis, Gradon’s Technical Director, who leads up the Derry operation along with co Director and architect Sean Furey, said: “It’s been a fantastic first year here in Derry and we want to carry that success forward. With a number of fantastic projects under our belts and more on the horizon, the next step for us is expanding the team.

“As a practice we pride ourselves on giving opportunity to young, local talent looking to develop their architectural skills in a supportive and exciting environment.”

Candidates wishing to apply to join our exciting design teams in Northern Ireland and the North East of England should look on our website for more information.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Johnson .