Nottingham Architect Reveals ‘Grand Designs’ for Expansion

A booming Nottingham architectural practice has become so successful that after just four years at its current offices, it’s had to buy the building next door.

Acres Architects moved into its offices at Nottingham Science Park, opposite Nottingham University campus, in 2017, only eight years after founder and managing director Edward Acres launched the company from a laptop in his parents’ spare bedroom.

Now, the firm has purchased the office next door in order to house its ever-expanding team, which saw its most successful year in 2020, with this year expected to be even better.

Acres Architects, which specialises in residential projects, from private homes to large student accommodation developments, is also seeking several new recruits to join the practice, hot on the heels of signing four other recent recruits.

Edward Acres said: “We really are going from strength to strength. We’ve seen a consistent and significant increase in workload, but we’re pleased to say we’ve managed to recruit some top talent to turn our clients’ dreams into reality.

“It’s extremely fortunate that we were able to purchase the building next door. We looked at several options, but this made the most sense. We’re in a fabulous part of Nottingham.”

The new two-storey office has been opened up internally so that staff and customers are able to move between the two buildings easily.

Edward said that he was looking forward to the further easing of Covid-19 restrictions so that the new office space could be fully enjoyed by the entire team once again, as well as welcoming the growing cohort of new staff members.

“Our office is such a cultural hub for our team,” he said. “And our culture is such a fundamental aspect of how our team and our business will be successful. It is key to how we work together and key for maintaining and improving the mental health of our team.”

Recent additions to the team include interior designer Alicia Hollis, construction manager Tony Moore, new studio manager Bryanie Geehan and video and animation specialist Steve Clayton.

Acres Architects is now seeking four additional talents to add to that list: a CGI specialist, a landscape architect, an urban planner and a senior technologist.

The firm currently employs 11 people and is on-target to increase that number to 16 before the end of 2021 and more than 20 by April next year.

The firm believes that its recent success, during the pandemic, was partly due to many private clients choosing to expand their homes rather than move entirely, during uncertain times. Others have expanded home working spaces due to huge changes in Covid-related working patterns.

Yet, the team has also been involved in large housing developments, office block conversions and student accommodation during this period.

Ed continued: “Over the years, we have been known for the bespoke Grand Design style projects, but we have assisted many developers in getting large student developments and residential schemes through the planning process.

“We have a passion for seeing a job through from concept to completion, and we hope that larger scale projects will continue to come in our direction as our team expands.”

To find out more about the services provided by Acres Architects, please visit www.acresarchitects.co.uk, email [email protected] or phone 0115 838 9738.