Stephenson to head Allies and Morrison’s Manchester studio

Jack Stephenson has been appointed studio lead for the masterplanner and architect’s Northern base, taking over the role from Charlotte Hodges after her departure from the company.

Stephenson has been leading on two of Allies and Morrison’s most high-profile projects in the region over the past few years: the £2.5bn York Central from McLaren Property and Arlington Real Estate and the £1.7bn Sister innovation district from Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Manchester.

He has worked at Allies and Morrison for 12 years, getting his start as an architectural assistant at the firm’s London headquarters. In 2019, he returned to his Northern roots and moved to Allies and Morrison’s Manchester studio.

In his new role, Stephenson will be working alongside Paul Eaton, the partner responsible for the Manchester studio, on growing the firm’s presence in the North.

Eaton, who also works out of London and Cambridge, said the practice is on the hunt for more projects.

“Having secured some great work in the last few years, we are now keen to strengthen Allies and Morrison in the North of England,” he said.

Stephenson added: “We have an expanding portfolio in the region and so we need to deepen our presence in Manchester and the North.

“We have some great friends and collaborators in the city, and we would like many more.”

The practice currently has six staff members based in Manchester. In addition to York Central and Sister, the group is also hard at work on the much-anticipated first phase of Liverpool City Council’s Pall Mall office complex, which received £15m from the government last year.

Allies and Morrison is also leading on Trafford Council’s £4.2bn Trafford Wharfside masterplan, which hopes to deliver 17,000 homes around Old Trafford.

Allies and Morrison’s expertise in both the wider picture, evidenced by their work in masterplanning, and in individual building design sets the company apart from its rivals, according to Stephenson.

“I think it is that we can work comfortably at both the building and masterplanning scales, and shift between them easily,” he said.

“We’re doing this currently at Sister Manchester, at York Central and at Pall Mall Liverpool. These are big sites that will really bring transformational change to each of these three cities.”

Eaton added: “We are experts in a broad range of building types, but what ties them together is a rootedness in their place.

“Our work is about deep roots – it grows from the place it helps to shape,” he said.

“This is exciting to explore in Manchester with its remarkable built heritage, its energy and its forward-looking can-do approach.”

In addition to its bases in Manchester and London, Allies and Morrison also has an office in Cambridge. Outside of the UK, the firm has studios in Ireland, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.