We want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from all of us here at Benchmark Architects!

It’s almost Christmas and we’re nearly at the end of 2022, so we wanted to take a moment and share our achievements and celebrations from the year!

We began the year with new directors appointed to our board. Jen, Lindsey, and Mark joined the leadership team to take responsibility for operations, design, and technical delivery. This came following a period of growth where we saw our team increase by 40% in the 6 months prior.

We won the High Growth Business of the Year award at the MK + Buckinghamshire SME Business Awards and were also chosen as RIBA East’s ‘Practice of the Month’. Following that, two of our crematoriums were finalists in very prestigious awards; Hambleton Crematorium was a finalist at the Brick Awards, and Huntington Crematorium was a finalist at the AJ Architecture Awards.

It’s been a very busy year for both our Bespoke Homes and Commercial teams. Our Bespoke Homes team has commissioned 12 projects this year, some of which have had planning approvals and are already on-site. Our Commercial portfolio is continuing to grow with new projects and lots of planning applications submitted from a large residential development in Poole to a charming new development in Cogenoe.

We have received a number of planning approvals this year including: Guildford Street; 177 high quality residential apartments // A Grade II Listed building in Weston Underwood; consisting of a new contemporary single storey flat roof extension // Paddington Packet Boat; 61 high quality studios near to Brunel University in London // Haynes; 27 new-build dwellings // West Quay Marina; 291 residential apartments & 733 sq.m commercial/retail floorspace // Lower Stondon; two 5-bedroom houses in an established residential setting // Bournemouth; a small office or retail space and two 2-bed duplex apartments on the upper floors // Aston Clinton; a development of 5 new 3-5 bedroom detached houses and bungalow.

Works on Hatfield Crematorium began at the beginning of the year and are progressing very well, all the primary structure has now been installed and the building form is starting to take shape. Rushcliffe Oaks Crematorium is well under way to be completed very soon. And to top it off, planning permission has been granted for our design for a new crematorium in East Cambridgeshire.

Works are also progressing very well for our student housing scheme in Leicester. Students are moving in, and the building is 80% occupied already. The façade is due to be finished very soon. Our design for student accommodation on the Paddington Packet Boat site has received planning permission. We are so pleased with the outcome and are looking forward to getting started on site.

We have welcomed 3 new members of staff to Benchmark this year. They’ve all integrated so well, and it’s great that they are bringing their own skills, innovative ideas, and approaches to our amazing team.

Bring on 2023 – we’re ready for you!