Established sustainable architectural practice, ECD Architects has opened its first office in England outside London, in Preston. As a practice specialising in energy conscious design, the opening of this office is in response to demand outside of the capital for its low energy, low environmental impact design services, and aims to create up to 25 jobs over the next five years.

Currently retrofitting over 10,000 homes through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), including large schemes in York and Newcastle, ECD works with local authorities, housing associations, government departments and developers throughout the UK, and the new Preston office will provide an efficient service for the north’s exciting regeneration schemes.

ECD is also providing expertise on building safety and cladding remediation projects, including tower blocks, viable decarbonisation and Passivhaus – the company has a Passivhaus Certifier in house and 25% of its operational staff are Passivhaus designers.

A trailblazer in the industry, ECD Architects has recently been announced as an AJ100 Champion and shortlisted for the AJ100 practice of the year awards 2024 – the Architects’ Journal ‘gold standard’ accolade awarded to firms with proven commitment to sustainability, as well as driving positive change in their own projects and the wider industry.

The company is also one of the very few practices in the country to have achieved Building Safety Charter Champion status, a marque awarded by Building a Safer Future (BSF) and reserved for companies wholeheartedly dedicated to improving building safety.

James Traynor, RIBA architect, author and Managing Director of ECD Architects, said:

“Our new Preston base links our existing offices in London and Glasgow and means we can act on the imminent requirement for sustainable housing, retrofit and cladding remediation at scale in the north. The Levelling Up fund is turbocharging regeneration here; as a northerner myself, I’m excited to be back, see what is happening and be part of this change.”

The company has a 60+ strong team within its offices in London, Glasgow and Preston. Founded in 1980, the company prides itself in being a sector leader in low energy design buildings of outstanding quality, with particular focus on decarbonisation, new build regeneration, building safety & cladding remediation and retrofit at scale.

For further information please visit: www.ecda.co.uk.