Architecture firm backs own scheme in HQ move

An architectural, structural and civil engineering firm is eyeing growth in a headquarters expansion.

Building Design Northern is switching to Sunderland’s Eastgate Point.

Bosses say the move – expected to be completed later this year – “reflects where the business is today and where it wants to be in the future”.

However, the expansion will also carry notable poignancy, with the business set to transfer to the multi-million-pound commercial development it is delivering alongside main contractor Hewitson Group.

Spanning a 125,000sq ft footprint across a former Littlewoods site in Sunderland’s Hendon area, Eastgate Point will feature 19 industrial and commercial units across nine buildings.

Richard Marsden, managing director of Building Design Northern, which will move its 35-strong team from a site in Sunderland’s Old Simpson Street School, said: “This move is particularly rewarding because we’ll be working from a development we’ve designed and delivered.

“We genuinely believe in the quality of what we’ve created, and there’s no better demonstration of that than choosing to base our own business here.”

Richard added the firm’s move will unlock the next chapter for Old Simpson Street School, with the company having submitted plans to convert existing office accommodation in the Grade II-listed building into six apartments.

The properties will complement nine existing apartments in the northern section of the former school.

He said: “Old Simpson Street School has been a fantastic home for us and we’ve enjoyed being part of its story.

“It’s fitting that our move will also create an opportunity to breathe new life into another part of this wonderful historic building.”

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.