Downing appoints head of interior design
Daniel Donnelly will play a crucial role in enabling the Liverpool-headquartered investor and developer to deliver on its £1.6bn development pipeline.
Donnelly has joined Downing as head of interior design from Corstorphine & Wright, where he was an associate director. His resume also includes positions at Veretec, Marchese Partners, and Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher.
He will be based out of the company’s head office at No1 Old Hall Street in Liverpool.
Regarding his new post, Donnelly said: “My role will be to act as a bridge between the construction and development teams to ensure all elements are aligned and that there is a strong sense of cohesion that will, ultimately, lead to the best possible results.”
He also spoke about what attracted him to the developer.
“Joining Downing is an incredible opportunity – the company’s ambition, combined with its significant growth opportunities, makes this a fantastic team to join at an incredibly exciting time,” he said.
Donnelly added later: “I’m looking forward to helping shape innovative living spaces across the UK and helping to Downing from strength to strength.”
One of the projects Donnelly will be working on will be the £400m Square Gardens at First Street in Manchester. The scheme, which will ultimately deliver more than 1,700 homes, saw its first phase complete earlier this year.
Next year will be a big one for the 35-year-old Downing, which teased that it would be starting on site with numerous projects – including “landmark” schemes in Newcastle, Leeds, and London.
That £1.6bn pipeline makes Donnelly’s appointment particularly timely.
Downing chief executive Sally O’Brien said: “As we prepare to break ground on our most ambitious development programme to date, Daniel’s role will be crucial in ensuring we maintain the highest standards of design across our portfolio.”
O’Brien also said: “Daniel’s appointment reflects our commitment to excellence and innovation as we continue to grow our presence in key markets. His expertise in delivering exceptional spaces aligns perfectly with our vision for creating forward-thinking developments that meet the evolving needs of our residents.”
Downing encompasses a series of smaller brands including Downing Living, Downing Students, Downing Construction, Aboria Capital, and On-Site Energy. The company boasts approximately 200 employees.
Downing, based in Liverpool but don`t think they`ve had a spade in the ground here for a long time, meanwhile have seen the stuff they`ve been doing round Vauxhall in London, and they got big schemes in Manchester and Leeds.
You`d think they`d want to do something in Liverpool but there`s money to be made elsewhere, were you can build higher without the fuss.
By Anonymous
So no indication of any “Landmark” developments in their home town, great, nothing to see here from our point of view?
By Liverpool4Progress
Yea, quite telling of their lack of interest in their home city.
By Anonymous
Take, for example, their First St project in Manchester, 2000 bedrooms and co-living,with four towers one of which is 45 storeys. Just imagine the furore of Downing trying to get that built in Liverpool, the head of planning whose door is always open would be picking holes in it right away, over height, density, etc,etc even if put forward to committee there would long delays and disruption. This is the difference between Liverool and Manchester, the former is living in the past, while the latter respects its past but builds on it and looks to the future.
In Liverpool take for example the Fusion student development on Upper Duke St, just over 400 rooms and nine floors, then whittled down to a maximum six after years of haggling, thankfully now on site, but getting back to Downing that’s possibly why they shy away from Liverpool.
By Anonymous