Lennon heads Todd’s Manchester move
Todd Architects has opened a new Manchester studio, with ex-IBI director Seamus Lennon at the helm.
Based at 125 Deansgate, the studio has been opened in response to a growing workload in the region – last week, the Todd-designed redevelopment of the Beechmere extra care facility in Crewe secured consent
The studio joins the practice’s offices in Belfast, Dublin and London, from which it has been working on a range of projects including Ballymore’s residential and mixed-use development at Royal Wharf in East London and the Kings Hall healthcare campus in Belfast.
Initially, there will be a team of three, with plans in place to double this within six months and ambitions to build headcount to a dozen within 18 months. The Manchester team will be supported by 80 staff from across the group.
Lennon spent 12 years at practices in London before joining IBI Group’s Manchester studio in 2013 where he led on projects including Outwood Wharf, a 246-apartment scheme in Salford. He headed the Manchester office for a spell before moving to Fletcher Rae.
He said: “Todd Architects is a practice that I have known and respected for some considerable time; their enviable track record in design and delivery coupled with my experience and knowledge of the North West make for a strong proposition. I look forward to building up a successful office and placing Todd Architects firmly on the map here in Manchester and the North West.”
Peter Minnis, the firm’s Great Britain director of operations, said: “Business expansion isn’t going to be on the mind of many within the construction industry at present, but given our growing commission base in the North West and the opportunities that we feel still exist in the region, we felt that this was the right time to establish a presence in the city.”
The move into the city by Todd follows that of London-headquartered Weston Williamson + Partners, which announced a Manchester studio earlier this week
The Beechmere extra care facility in Crewe, designed by Todd
