Over the past five decades, BDP has become one of the world's leading design practices – and it began life here in the north west.

Ben Rooth meets the company's newly appointed Manchester chairman, Gavin Elliott.

THE walk from Piccadilly station to Manchester University was a comparatively short one but it changed Gavin Elliott's life.

It was the 1980s and the 18-year-old from Oxford had just stepped off the train to embark on his training to become an architect.

What struck Gavin was the dilapidated state of the city's buildings, although the potential was obvious to him from the start.

Within days of moving to Manchester he had also discovered the full force of the city's vibrant arts and music scene and has drawn constant inspiration from these ever since.

"I've always thought there is something incredibly forward-looking about this city, which was one of the main reasons I decided to study and settle here," says Gavin, 46.

"But I'd be the first to admit that the modern city we live and work in today is totally different from the dark and dilapidated mills I discovered on my arrival.

"The difference now is massive and it has much to do with the city planners approving some excellent design over the intervening years."

BDP has played an important role in this renaissance of the `new' Manchester.

Nowhere is the `good design' better evidenced than in the BDP's new £10m Manchester headquarters, in the heart of the Northern Quarter.

This building epitomises the best of the cutting-edge sustainable practices that exist today.

The natural ventilation slats include devices to limit sound pollution and there is natural light at every turn.

Whenever low-energy artificial light is necessary, it is linked to daylight sensors ensuring energy is never wasted.

An array of large circular rooflights - made from a substance called ETFE that was used to cover the biomes in Cornwall's Eden Project - are clustered along the roof.

If more natural ventilation is needed, these roof lights can be raised using the inflatable `air pillows' that each dome sits on.

And the building's total energy use is digitally monitored at regular intervals.

But perhaps the crowning glory of the office, which became home to the company's 260 employees including architects, structural engineers, specialist designers and interior design experts last month, is the `living roof'.

This has been designed in conjunction with the RSPB to attract the black redstart, one of Britain's rarest birds, back into the city centre where it was a regular visitor following the Second World War.

All these innovations have resulted in the building being classed as `excellent' by the world's most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings, BREEAM.

While Gavin has not designed the building himself, he is understandably very proud of what it has come to epitomise at the heart of Manchester.

He adds: "Many of the office's walls are made from concrete which results in the mass of the building warming up in summer and cooling down during the night - it's a great insulator.

"It's become a fantastic place to work on many levels and also means that clients can see first hand how sound environmental practice can be incorporated into their buildings.

"In the past, there has been a feeling in some quarters that sustainability is all about denial and those things which we can't have.

"I'm delighted to say that there has now been a reversal in this opinion and customers are demanding sustainable buildings - and BDP is ideally positioned to provide them with that service."

Gavin says he first became interested in architecture while growing up in Oxford.

The son of an Open University lecturer in biophysics, he completed his architectural studies in Manchester with flying honours and has never looked back.

He joined BPD in Manchester the day after he graduated from university and the first major project he worked on was the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) building in Southampton.

For this he had to design a building which covered the same floor space as a football pitch - without the use of any columns supporting the floor above.

Another major project was the redesign of the iconic Halifax headquarters, in Yorkshire. For this, he won a coveted design award from the British Council for Offices.

More recently he worked on the redesign of Marks and Spencer's store next to the Arndale Centre which formed the centrepiece of the post-bomb reconstruction.

Gavin, a Didsbury-based father of three, adds: "I'm proud of all the projects I've worked on and even now still get a buzz when I see them.

"It was a fantastic experience to have just graduated and then, after joining BDP, get the chance to work on projects worth between £30m and £40m.

"Few companies foster talent so much."

BDP was formed in Preston in 1961 and is now consistently recognised in the trade press as one of the world's leading design consultancies.

It has 14 offices across Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands and last year the Manchester studio contributed £17.8m towards a total group turnover of £84.2m.

"The future of the practice here in Manchester has never looked better and we are working on an increasing amount of education and sports projects - among many more," adds Gavin.

"We've also got ongoing projects for universities in Russia and Libya being coordinated from this studio.

"The economy in this country has undoubtedly slowed down and we have seen this recently with major regenerations projects such as that in the Stockport area being carried out by Lend Lease being put on hold.

"But the diversity of our portfolio and the international nature of the business will provide us with some resilience, as will the fact that we have a 50/50 split in the public and private sector work we undertake.

"My passion in this business has always been for the best design - it's one of the reasons why I'm so proud to work for this company and why I'm so proud to live and work in Manchester."

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