Architecture director appointed at Urban Splash

House by Urban Splash, the housebuilder’s modular arm, has hired Tom Jarman as director of architecture.  

Jarman has joined Manchester-based Urban Splash to lead on developments including New Islington in Manchester and Wirral Waters in Merseyside, having previously worked as a partner at architect Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. 

During his time at FCB, Jarman worked on several projects including the refurbishment and expansion of Manchester School of Art on Oxford Road.  

In his role with Urban Splash, Jarman will work with architecture partners including another of his former employers Shedkm, Glenn Howells Architects, and Proctor and Matthews. 

Jarman said: “Urban Splash is tangibly pioneering a new approach to housebuilding in the UK.  It is absolutely the right time to reframe the agenda around UK housebuilding and bring real change to the way we conceive, create and deliver new homes and communities.” 

House by Urban Splash, which specialises in off-site creation of modular homes such as those being delivered at New Islington, offers customers a choice of how to customise and configure units to their own specifications. 

“We are just at the start,” Jarman added. “Reversing trends and norms that have been baked into the planning and design of lower density housing for 40 years or more will take time. The industry needs to regain the confidence to innovate at scale and lose the aversion to risk that generates so many anonymous outcomes.”  

House by Urban Splash co-founder Jonathan Falkingham described Jarman’s appointment as a “critical” step in helping the firm achieve its goals.