Belfast architectural firm gets set for growth with new staff and city centre studio featuring a Bungee cord wall and 60-year-old Persian rug from Iraq

A Belfast-based architectural practice has invested in new staff and a city centre design studio as it gears up for growth.

Collins Rolston, formerly located in the Castlereagh Hills, has relocated to a new purpose-designed studio in James Street South, Belfast, with plans to open

new presences in Dublin and London.

Collins Rolston has invested a six-figure sum to purchase its offices and undertaken an extensive fit-out.

Managing director, Mark Collins, explained: “We are undergoing significant growth with a range of assignments throughout Northern Ireland, The Republic and Britain and that has driven the need for new staff, including a sustainability champion with significant international experience.”

The firm has also launched its own training academy, with three full time architectural students and two work experience students benefiting from hands-on mentoring from the firm’s professionals.

Inspired by a 60s retro theme, the new offices were designed to create a showpiece environment for clients and staff alike.

Mark continued: “The crowning jewel for me is our branded sign, ingeniously inset within laminate slats, that injects a powerful visual element consistent with the client’s premium brand identity.”

Amongst the other notable design talking points are a feature Persian rug which is more than 60 years old and was sourced from Iraq and a Bungee cord wall creating a physical separation between reception and the open plan office.

The practice has consciously diversified its commercial project portfolio to now incorporate health, education, retail, office, heritage, and social regeneration schemes, with a strong focus on sustainability. In healthcare alone the firm currently has 44 live projects ranging from refurbs to hospital wards, MRI units, X Ray facilities and a host of other schemes including extensions at Bessbrook Surgery, Warrenpoint Health Centre, Shantallow Health Centre, Belfast City Hospital’s imaging department, and the Daisy Hill Hospital’s Doctors’ Hostel.

Collins Rolston has delivered more than 85 commercial projects from January 2021– August 2023, including a fast-track extension to Altnagelvin Hospital’s A&E

Department; a new headquarters for Springfield Charitable Association where smart design played a role in driving down levels of vandalism, a new £7m office innovation hub in Glengormley and a £50m public realm project at Corporation Street, Belfast.

The firm also has 14 live retail projects for Henderson Group from extensions, interior alterations and siteworks.