NEWS
Bridging the past - the Create Architecture team including cofounder Craig Kipling ( far left ), and directors Andy Arthur ( back left ) and Emma Kipling ( front left ).
WORDS : PHILIP TALLENTIRE PICTURE : STUART BOULTON
A familiar name returns
A
noteworthy name in the world of architecture is back in circulation following a two-year partnership with a London practice . Create Architecture has emerged from that profitable partnership with new clients , a bigger team and ambitious plans for the future .
The Middlesbrough-based company , which was formed 11 years ago , is on the verge of announcing several new six-figure contracts .
Factor in the imminent appointment of two new members of staff and a move to new premises at Preston Farm , and it ’ s clear the future ’ s looking incredibly bright .
The decision to merge with a business based in the south of England meant the Create Architecture name was put into cold storage for a couple of years . But , from New Year ’ s Day this year , it ’ s been back with a bang .
Explaining why the business went through with the merger , managing director and Create Architecture cofounder Craig Kipling said : “ We decided to link-up with another firm in a bid to branch out and through the merger we expanded into the London market and hooked up with bigger clients .
“ The plan was to grow the Teesside office and we ’ ve done that . We ’ ve doubled in size in two years so that ’ s worked well for us and got us to where we are now .
“ We see the demerger from our former
88 | Tees Business
Create Architecture is back with a bang
partner as progression ,” he added . “ We can see what ’ s happening in Tees Valley , the regeneration that ’ s going on and we want to continue to be part of that . It ’ s been a totally positive move from our point of view .
“ Where we are at now is we have several large projects for Tees Valleybased businesses in the pipeline and we ’ ll be revealing more about those in the coming weeks .”
Critical to the demerger plan and the relaunch of Create Architecture was the ability to attract an injection of capital from a Teesside investor , which is clearly an indication of its undoubted potential for further expansion .
“ It ’ s an exciting time to be a Teessidebased business ,” enthused Create Architecture director Andy Arthur .
“ We ’ re now predominantly working on projects that are based in the North- East . What ’ s going on here - things like Teesworks and the airport - means that there is a genuine buzz around Teesside and we want to be part of that .
“ There are some really good projects in the North-East and we really value building relationships with people - we value loyalty with our clients .
“ We want to work collaboratively with other local businesses because there are many really great firms in Tees Valley .”
When Craig founded the company , its early projects included industrial units , domestic work and building conversions .
“ We ’ re a very technical practice and over the years our work has changed dramatically ,” said Craig . “ When we started , the first job on our books was the retail park just outside Bishop Auckland and we are back on site now working on a new multiplex cinema . We ’ ve designed it , we did all the planning on it and we ’ re there on site now .”
Recruiting talented , highly motivated staff has certainly proved beneficial . Teessider James Platts , for example , is a new recruit who ’ s making a massive impact at Create Architecture , as is his colleague Matthew Nevitt , who ’ s been rewarded with a much-deserved promotion .
“ We saw James ’ potential and when he became available we brought him onboard ,” said Andy . “ He ’ s working on quite a large project in Tees Valley , helping with façade design .
“ That expertise massively increases our offering as a practice , both for our company directly and as an out-sourcing service .
“ Matthew goes above and beyond for us ,” continued Andy . “ He was a senior technologist and now he ’ s an associate technologist .
“ He ’ s worked on some key developments and he ’ s the lead on the cinema project at Bishop Auckland . He ’ s part of our growth strategy and we wanted to recognise that .”