Member Article

New appointments underpin architecture firm’s continued growth

An architectural practice has made a series of new appointments to support its burgeoning portfolio across the north west.

Base Architecture, which has offices in Chester, Conwy in North Wales and Shrewsbury, has welcomed four new employees to the team — architect Jake Boardman and architectural designers Harry Braid and Aaron Williams with Jenny Powell taking on the newly created role of business and planning executive.

Managing Director Harry Reece said the new appointments came as the firm’s reputation in the commercial and residential sectors spreads across the UK and particularly the north west and Wales.

“Since we opened our Chester office in 2017, followed by our Conwy studio in 2019, our workload has increased by 40 per cent with a 50/50 split between residential and commercial contracts,” he explained.

“We’re now working on projects from as far south as Kent up to Yorkshire in the north and even across Europe, with a key focus on Cheshire and North Wales, which has led to the subsequent growth of our team.”

Harry added: “Our new staff have been handpicked to ensure we continue to grow our reputation as architects that deliver innovative and creative solutions from concept to completion, and we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together in the coming years.”

Jake, who graduated from Northumbria University, has spent the last seven years working in Manchester’s competitive and growing commercial scene and Cheshire’s flourishing private residential market.

His experience includes an extensive portfolio from award-winning multi-million-pound developments working with some of the north west’s biggest developers on numerous high rise residential towers, university halls of residence, office space and leisure facilities, to collaborating with private homeowner clients on high-end residential schemes.

Aaron completed his Part I and II at Liverpool John Moores University and joined Base from a multi-disciplinary practice, working in a variety of sectors including residential, education, industrial and leisure. He is currently studying for his Part III qualification to become a fully qualified architect.

Harry Braid graduated from Part I of his Architecture qualification at the University of Wolverhampton in 2019 with an award-winning final project and has worked with several practices in Birmingham and south Wales on a variety of projects from smaller householder applications to larger schemes for commercial developers. He has is now studying for his Part II qualification.

With a master’s degree in planning, Jenny will use her background in strategic planning, public/private partnership working and community engagement gained at several local authorities, to support the senior leadership team and help deliver Base’s strategy for growth across the region and beyond. Jenny commented: “The creation of my new role demonstrates the importance Base places on inward investment, as well as supporting and servicing our clients. My experience in planning, specifically in heritage, land-use planning and certificates of lawfulness, will mean I work closely with Senior Associate and Chartered Town Planner Joe Salt on planning issues.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Base Architects .