RMJM has designs on London market

Published on Thursday 1 October 2009 21:30

SCOTTISH architectural heavyweight RMJM is hoping to make greater inroads into the London market after poaching Stirling Prize-winner Will Alsop to head a new office there.

Alsop, who won Britain's most coveted architectural award in 2000 for his work on Peckham Library in London, has been hired from stock exchange-listed Archial, which took over Alsop's eponymous practice in 2006.

RMJM is confident Alsop's appointment will help it to build a greater presence in the London market, where it has struggled to compete in the past.

Although the architectural practice – which is best known north of the Border for its work on the Scottish Parliament building – already has an office in Old Street, London, a large proportion of its contracts have so far been overseas.

For example, the London team designed the controversial Gazprom Tower in St Petersburg, Russia, which was recently given the go-ahead by the city's authorities, to the dismay of heritage groups.

Alsop will manage a new office south of the Thames, in Battersea, which will be branded "Will Alsop at RMJM". It has already won several contracts in the Middle East.

RMJM said yesterday it would maintain both offices in the short term, but it intended to merge its London operations "within a year".

Peter Morrison, RMJM's chief executive, told The Scotsman that although it was "early days" for the new practice, it was likely to recruit between 30 and 60 staff over the next six to nine months. It already had a workforce of 30, while the Old Street office employed "between 30 and 45" staff.

At the height of the recession, RMJM axed 60 jobs at its operations around the world, including in its Edinburgh and Glasgow offices. It also asked staff to take a 10 per cent pay cut. Industry insiders said yesterday that Alsop's appointment was a major coup for RMJM, as his maverick designs had led him to become one of the best known architects in recent years. His work also includes the so-called "Chips" building in Manchester and the North Greenwich Tube station in London.

Alsop had previously said he planned to retire after leaving Archial – there have been rumours he was disillusioned with the company.

Yesterday, he said: "Over recent years, I have come to admire RMJM's vision and the way it has embraced the current economic climate by expanding into new and emerging markets and strengthening its offering through the creation of global studios comprising dedicated experts in key growth sectors."

RMJM has also expanded recently into several emerging markets, including Istanbul in Turkey, Libyan capital Tripoli, and Bahrain and Doha in the Gulf.