Hebburn-based Castle, continues its expansion, with a new architectural service led by senior, new appointments, Sarah Sabin and Andrew Bowkett.
Previously directors at Morpeth-based, Seymour Architecture, Sarah and Andrew join Castle Design, working in design director, Matthew Thomas’ team. Sarah joins as senior design lead architect and Andrew as senior design lead.
As well as providing architectural and design management services to assist Castle in developing a full turnkey design and build solution, Sarah and Andrew will support existing and new key design partnerships and clients requiring a full architectural service on standalone projects.
With a headcount of 200, Castle is continuing on its rapid growth curve. 20 employees have joined since the beginning of 2024 to strengthen its market-leading MEP services proposition, which is complemented by its now established principal contractor role across the north of England and Scotland.
Recognising a gap in the market, Castle aims to be the go-to contractor for professional, technical, financially stable and experienced project delivery.
Managing director, Andrew Dawson, said: “We welcome Sarah and Andrew to the team. Having worked closely with them on a number of previous projects, we had been in discussions for a while, and knew they would hit the ground running, greatly enhancing our new architectural offering.
“While Castle Design, MEP and Build each operate as divisions in their own right, we have developed an inhouse team to offer a turnkey solution, bringing together significant skill, knowledge and experience, providing coordinated, fast and cost-effective solutions, that delivers all client requirements.
“Sarah and Andrew’s specialist architectural skills sit perfectly with the strategic plan we have for the growth and increasing diversity of the support we offer clients. This consists of architectural, BIM, MEP and technical teams with design capability, a construction technical team with expertise in earthworks, ground improvement and drainage design and an estimating team with the experience to provide project costings quickly and accurately.”
Simon Groom, technical director at Castle, said: “We specialise in low volume, high value projects, that come with their own unique set of challenges. The ‘Castle Approach’ emphasises giving full attention to each project by working closely with clients to find the right solution within their budget. With in-house technical and BIM departments, we deliver a special construction experience.
“Our approach adopts early and accurate cost certainty, which allows for key decisions to be made enabling the project to establish viability and affordability at the earliest stage, as well as significantly reducing time and expense for clients, without any compulsory commitment to future stages, whilst providing a single point of contact for design and pricing to ensure a seamless process.”