People Profile: Senior Architect Simon Marlin on problem-solving when delivering large-scale projects

Senior Architect Simon Marlin joined Chapman Taylor’s Manchester studio in 2015 and has played a central role in the delivery of some of Chapman Taylor’s best-known projects of recent years, including the mixed-use Port Baku Tower 2 in Azerbaijan, the Kampus Build-to-Rent residential scheme in central Manchester and Booking.com’s Manchester Goods Yard office headquarters. In this profile, we asked Simon about his background, his career journey and his experience of solving many of the challenges that can arise when delivering large-scale and complex projects.

Senior Architect Simon Marlin joined Chapman Taylor’s Manchester studio in 2015 and has played a central role in the delivery of some of Chapman Taylor’s best-known projects of recent years, including the mixed-use Port Baku Tower 2 in Azerbaijan, the Kampus Build-to-Rent residential scheme in central Manchester and Booking.com’s Manchester Goods Yard office headquarters. In this profile, we asked Simon about his background, his career journey and his experience of solving many of the challenges that can arise when delivering large-scale and complex projects.

Tell us about your background

I grew up in Glasgow in a house built by my architect parents just before I was born (my aunt and uncle built their house next door). I always knew I wanted to be an architect too, eventually studying architecture at Glasgow University. While at university, I studied for a semester in Brno, in the Czech Republic, as part of the EU Erasmus exchange programme, which was the highlight of my time studying – it was great to study, socialise and live alongside students from lots of different countries.

I studied for my Part III in Edinburgh, qualifying as an architect in 2002. My then-girlfriend (now my wife) accepted a post-university job in Manchester, which resulted in my spending a lot of time travelling up and down the M6 each weekend. Eventually, we decided to settle in Manchester together.

What were your first career steps?

One of my tutors at university worked for a small architectural practice in Glasgow, Coltart Earley, and suggested that I go and work for them. We did a lot of residential work, particularly social housing, and, because it was a team of just eight people, I gained good experience of projects from start to finish.

Upon deciding to move to Manchester, I visited the city and had three successful job interviews in that one day, accepting a position with a small practice in Altrincham called Pozzoni Architecture, where I stayed for 11 years. I eventually became a Senior Architect and then an Associate at the firm, where I worked on commercial projects such as three large business parks in Manchester, leisure centres and swimming pools.

I helped to set up the company’s London office and was the first person there, working in London a few days a week for 18 months. Operating from a hired desk in a shared studio in Clerkenwell, I worked on a lot of office fit-out projects on behalf of clients like Deloitte. The work was fast-paced and high-profile, which was great to experience – I worked on two floors of the Stock Exchange building in Paternoster Square, for example, as well as office space in Victoria, a large fit-out project for the British Standards Institution in Milton Keynes.

This was very rewarding part of my career – the projects generally completed within 12 weeks or so, so there was little risk of becoming bogged down or bored.

What brought you to Chapman Taylor?

Having had children, and with the London office successfully established and growing, I decided that I didn’t want to spend so much time driving up and down motorways every week. I returned to Manchester but missed the type of work I had been doing in London. I wanted to work on larger-scale and more complex projects and to manage a team rather than doing everything myself.

In 2015, a recruitment agency advised me of an opportunity to work at Chapman Taylor as an architect. I already knew a few people who had been at Chapman Taylor and sounded them out about what it was like to work for the company. I then met (Director) Andy Carroll and (Associate Director) Mike Grace and had an interesting conversation with them.

Being honest, I took a few weeks to decide because, technically, the move to Chapman Taylor was a downwards career step – I was at Associate level at Pozzoni and this job posting was for an Architect. However, I felt there was much more scope to progress further at Chapman Taylor, whereas I had hit a ceiling where I was.

What were the first projects you worked on at Chapman Taylor?

My first role was at The Lexicon in Bracknell and involved working with the primarily London studio-based project team. It was interesting because I hadn’t worked on retail developments up until that point. I created some of the production packages for two of the building phases.

I then worked as an Architect and BIM Coordinator on the Port Baku Tower 2 mixed-use, office-led building in Azerbaijan, which was a fantastic project for me to work on. It was on a completely different scale from anything I had worked on before – a US$200 million, 35-storey landmark building – and it was my first project outside the UK. I had the opportunity to visit Baku several times, and the project was an exciting, almost glamorous experience for me. It was exactly the type of development I had been hoping for when I joined Chapman Taylor.

You then worked on the Kampus residential development in Manchester?

We pitched to be Delivery Architects for the Kampus project, eventually winning against six other architect firms. The Main Contractor, Mount Anvil, wanted a company with the skills and resources to be able to see the project through successfully and to a very high standard, and they decided that we were best placed to do that.

The site, formerly part of Manchester Metropolitan University, will see over 500 apartments being delivered in new-build and refurbished buildings entirely for the Build-to-Rent sector, plus a mix of flexible, commercial spaces. The joint venture development partners Capital & Centric and Henry Boot Developments plan to create two floors of independent restaurants and bars around a lush garden, adjacent to the Rochdale Canal. The development will provide much-needed urban green space and a relaxing environment for residents and visitors.

I worked on the project from day one of our involvement, leading the Delivery team under the auspices of Andy Carroll and (Associate Director) Rachel Rogerson.

What were the main challenges of your role in terms of delivering an existing design?

One of the main challenges was with one of the main buildings on the site that has been retained – a 1960s university campus tower with waffle slabs that posed acoustic and fire safety problems. Designing to correct these issues required not adding too much weight to the tower. There were also Dutch houses proposed for the roof of the building, clad in timber, for which it would have been difficult to achieve a satisfactory fire rating.

We therefore had to subtly redesign in a way that matched the original design intent, visually, but which also met rigorous compliance standards, all within a tightly defined budget. The value engineering process took place while construction was already under way, which required logistical adjustment, as did the client changes to the scheme.

Developer Capital & Centric had a very strong vision of what it wanted to achieve, which was quite refreshing – this meant that we had clarity about what was required of us, even if that meant deep thinking about possible design solutions (for example, retaining the waffle slabs in the existing tower while ensuring that the acoustics were acceptable for neighbouring apartments).

What about the new building?

Delivering the new building has been more straightforward than the existing building because there is no requirement to correct deficiencies first, but it still involved value engineering decisions to deliver the visual design intent within a strict budget while ensuring the building is structurally viable. The buildings are fairly simple, concrete-framed structures with a brick skin and feature windows (pixels) – as one example of the value engineering process, we worked with the façade sub-contractor to create visually concrete-mimicking aluminium surrounds for the windows rather than actually using concrete (which wouldn’t have been practical).

The original design envisaged 30+ bathroom types, but Mount Anvil wanted to use modular bathroom pods, manufactured off site, which required us to rationalise the bathroom and apartment layouts as well as limiting the number of bathroom types to four. All the new-build bathrooms were assembled off site to be hoisted directly into the building, creating significant time and cost savings. This was not possible with the existing tower, where the bathrooms were constructed traditionally.

There are standalone warehouse buildings within the Kampus scheme, which are being delivered by shedkm. Although they are separate buildings, with a lot of listed elements retained, we are working with shedkm and landscape designers Exterior Architects to coordinate our work so that they form an integrated whole, particularly in terms of public realm space. Kampus is designed to be an open neighbourhood through which passers-by can wander to visit the bars and cafés or to sit by the canal, so effective public realm integration is a key element of the project.

We produced all the shell and core elements for the commercial spaces as well as creating the façades for the various units, working to ensure that the frontages, lighting and signage work well within the wider public space as well as creating a slightly bohemian edge.

What makes Kampus a special project for Manchester and for Chapman Taylor?

Kampus is probably the most central and high-profile Build-to-Rent residential development in Manchester and is notable for its scale. It is different from other Build-to-Rent developments in the city because it is only 16 storeys in height and involves traditional brick construction, which we think allows for the creation of a much stronger sense of community than, for example, a 50-storey glass and concrete tower. The amenities on offer are a little different from those in other Build-to-Rent developments, perhaps including the likes of a craft brewery and a yoga studio as well as space for community events (a Christmas market was already held there, last year).

Capital & Centric is committed to creating a very high-quality sense of place for residents and visitors, which has been inspiring for us. The relationship with Main Contractor Mount Anvil has been excellent too, helping to bring in new delivery work at both the Friary Park and Keybridge residential developments in London. Seeing it all come together and beginning to be used has been very satisfying.

You are currently working on the Manchester Goods Yard development, creating a headquarters building for Booking.com – tell us about that.

We took over the Manchester Goods Yard office development at Planning stage, where we have developed the design and are currently delivering it on site with Lend Lease. I am Senior Lead Architect on the project.

Manchester Goods Yard forms part of the St John’s Development in Manchester city centre and will provide a total of 31,000m² of commercial space, including 28,000m² of workspace and 3,000m² of retail space across three interlinked building blocks. The development will become a new global headquarters for Booking.com, who have taken 20,000m². The building will create an enjoyable, state-of-the-art facility for up to 3,000 people, and will provide a benchmark for high-quality, flexible workspace in the city.

The majority of the façade has been manufactured off site, which has helped maintain the building programme despite the inevitable delays caused by the COVID-19 lockdown period. Booking.com has required a number of changes as we have progressed, which has been a challenge but which also provide an opportunity to provide creative solutions for them. For example, we are now providing a large central kitchen space which requires a creative extraction strategy – the extraction vent needs to pass through a number of floors above (including two which are earmarked for other companies) via large openings in the slabs.

What have you enjoyed about the project?

It has been nice to work on an office development again, especially alongside a top contractor such as Lend Lease and a top developer such as Allied London. We are also looking at designing and delivering No.1 Grape Street, which is the next building along from the Booking.com building, alongside them.

I had the opportunity to see the building’s façade panels being tested under controlled conditions, with rain and wind blasted at them by jet engines – that was fascinating to watch as well as very satisfying to see them pass with flying colours. Seeing those same panels being put in place on the building gives a great sense of progress, and we anticipate the building being ready for occupation in spring 2021. The successful completion of a project, particularly seeing it in use, is always the greatest reward for a delivery architect.

What were your first career steps?

One of my tutors at university worked for a small architectural practice in Glasgow, Coltart Earley, and suggested that I go and work for them. We did a lot of residential work, particularly social housing, and, because it was a team of just eight people, I gained good experience of projects from start to finish.

Upon deciding to move to Manchester, I visited the city and had three successful job interviews in that one day, accepting a position with a small practice in Altrincham called Pozzoni Architecture, where I stayed for 11 years. I eventually became a Senior Architect and then an Associate at the firm, where I worked on commercial projects such as three large business parks in Manchester, leisure centres and swimming pools.

I helped to set up the company’s London office and was the first person there, working in London a few days a week for 18 months. Operating from a hired desk in a shared studio in Clerkenwell, I worked on a lot of office fit-out projects on behalf of clients like Deloitte. The work was fast-paced and high-profile, which was great to experience – I worked on two floors of the Stock Exchange building in Paternoster Square, for example, as well as office space in Victoria, a large fit-out project for the British Standards Institution in Milton Keynes.

This was very rewarding part of my career – the projects generally completed within 12 weeks or so, so there was little risk of becoming bogged down or bored.

What brought you to Chapman Taylor?

Having had children, and with the London office successfully established and growing, I decided that I didn’t want to spend so much time driving up and down motorways every week. I returned to Manchester but missed the type of work I had been doing in London. I wanted to work on larger-scale and more complex projects and to manage a team rather than doing everything myself.

In 2015, a recruitment agency advised me of an opportunity to work at Chapman Taylor as an architect. I already knew a few people who had been at Chapman Taylor and sounded them out about what it was like to work for the company. I then met (Director) Andy Carroll and (Associate Director) Mike Grace and had an interesting conversation with them.

Being honest, I took a few weeks to decide because, technically, the move to Chapman Taylor was a downwards career step – I was at Associate level at Pozzoni and this job posting was for an Architect. However, I felt there was much more scope to progress further at Chapman Taylor, whereas I had hit a ceiling where I was.

What were the first projects you worked on at Chapman Taylor?

My first role was at The Lexicon in Bracknell and involved working with the primarily London studio-based project team. It was interesting because I hadn’t worked on retail developments up until that point. I created some of the production packages for two of the building phases.

I then worked as an Architect and BIM Coordinator on the Port Baku Tower 2 mixed-use, office-led building in Azerbaijan, which was a fantastic project for me to work on. It was on a completely different scale from anything I had worked on before – a US$200 million, 35-storey landmark building – and it was my first project outside the UK. I had the opportunity to visit Baku several times, and the project was an exciting, almost glamorous experience for me. It was exactly the type of development I had been hoping for when I joined Chapman Taylor.

You then worked on the Kampus residential development in Manchester?

We pitched to be Delivery Architects for the Kampus project, eventually winning against six other architect firms. The Main Contractor, Mount Anvil, wanted a company with the skills and resources to be able to see the project through successfully and to a very high standard, and they decided that we were best placed to do that.

The site, formerly part of Manchester Metropolitan University, will see over 500 apartments being delivered in new-build and refurbished buildings entirely for the Build-to-Rent sector, plus a mix of flexible, commercial spaces. The joint venture development partners Capital & Centric and Henry Boot Developments plan to create two floors of independent restaurants and bars around a lush garden, adjacent to the Rochdale Canal. The development will provide much-needed urban green space and a relaxing environment for residents and visitors.

I worked on the project from day one of our involvement, leading the Delivery team under the auspices of Andy Carroll and (Associate Director) Rachel Rogerson.

What were the main challenges of your role in terms of delivering an existing design?

One of the main challenges was with one of the main buildings on the site that has been retained – a 1960s university campus tower with waffle slabs that posed acoustic and fire safety problems. Designing to correct these issues required not adding too much weight to the tower. There were also Dutch houses proposed for the roof of the building, clad in timber, for which it would have been difficult to achieve a satisfactory fire rating.

We therefore had to subtly redesign in a way that matched the original design intent, visually, but which also met rigorous compliance standards, all within a tightly defined budget. The value engineering process took place while construction was already under way, which required logistical adjustment, as did the client changes to the scheme.

Developer Capital & Centric had a very strong vision of what it wanted to achieve, which was quite refreshing – this meant that we had clarity about what was required of us, even if that meant deep thinking about possible design solutions (for example, retaining the waffle slabs in the existing tower while ensuring that the acoustics were acceptable for neighbouring apartments).

What about the new building?

Delivering the new building has been more straightforward than the existing building because there is no requirement to correct deficiencies first, but it still involved value engineering decisions to deliver the visual design intent within a strict budget while ensuring the building is structurally viable. The buildings are fairly simple, concrete-framed structures with a brick skin and feature windows (pixels) – as one example of the value engineering process, we worked with the façade sub-contractor to create visually concrete-mimicking aluminium surrounds for the windows rather than actually using concrete (which wouldn’t have been practical).

The original design envisaged 30+ bathroom types, but Mount Anvil wanted to use modular bathroom pods, manufactured off site, which required us to rationalise the bathroom and apartment layouts as well as limiting the number of bathroom types to four. All the new-build bathrooms were assembled off site to be hoisted directly into the building, creating significant time and cost savings. This was not possible with the existing tower, where the bathrooms were constructed traditionally.

There are standalone warehouse buildings within the Kampus scheme, which are being delivered by shedkm. Although they are separate buildings, with a lot of listed elements retained, we are working with shedkm and landscape designers Exterior Architects to coordinate our work so that they form an integrated whole, particularly in terms of public realm space. Kampus is designed to be an open neighbourhood through which passers-by can wander to visit the bars and cafés or to sit by the canal, so effective public realm integration is a key element of the project.

We produced all the shell and core elements for the commercial spaces as well as creating the façades for the various units, working to ensure that the frontages, lighting and signage work well within the wider public space as well as creating a slightly bohemian edge.

What makes Kampus a special project for Manchester and for Chapman Taylor?

Kampus is probably the most central and high-profile Build-to-Rent residential development in Manchester and is notable for its scale. It is different from other Build-to-Rent developments in the city because it is only 16 storeys in height and involves traditional brick construction, which we think allows for the creation of a much stronger sense of community than, for example, a 50-storey glass and concrete tower. The amenities on offer are a little different from those in other Build-to-Rent developments, perhaps including the likes of a craft brewery and a yoga studio as well as space for community events (a Christmas market was already held there, last year).

Capital & Centric is committed to creating a very high-quality sense of place for residents and visitors, which has been inspiring for us. The relationship with Main Contractor Mount Anvil has been excellent too, helping to bring in new delivery work at both the Friary Park and Keybridge residential developments in London. Seeing it all come together and beginning to be used has been very satisfying.

You are currently working on the Manchester Goods Yard development, creating a headquarters building for Booking.com – tell us about that.

We took over the Manchester Goods Yard office development at Planning stage, where we have developed the design and are currently delivering it on site with Lend Lease. I am Senior Lead Architect on the project.

Manchester Goods Yard forms part of the St John’s Development in Manchester city centre and will provide a total of 31,000m² of commercial space, including 28,000m² of workspace and 3,000m² of retail space across three interlinked building blocks. The development will become a new global headquarters for Booking.com, who have taken 20,000m². The building will create an enjoyable, state-of-the-art facility for up to 3,000 people, and will provide a benchmark for high-quality, flexible workspace in the city.

The majority of the façade has been manufactured off site, which has helped maintain the building programme despite the inevitable delays caused by the COVID-19 lockdown period. Booking.com has required a number of changes as we have progressed, which has been a challenge but which also provide an opportunity to provide creative solutions for them. For example, we are now providing a large central kitchen space which requires a creative extraction strategy – the extraction vent needs to pass through a number of floors above (including two which are earmarked for other companies) via large openings in the slabs.

What have you enjoyed about the project?

It has been nice to work on an office development again, especially alongside a top contractor such as Lend Lease and a top developer such as Allied London. We are also looking at designing and delivering No.1 Grape Street, which is the next building along from the Booking.com building, alongside them.

I had the opportunity to see the building’s façade panels being tested under controlled conditions, with rain and wind blasted at them by jet engines – that was fascinating to watch as well as very satisfying to see them pass with flying colours. Seeing those same panels being put in place on the building gives a great sense of progress, and we anticipate the building being ready for occupation in spring 2021. The successful completion of a project, particularly seeing it in use, is always the greatest reward for a delivery architect.

You then worked on the Kampus residential development in Manchester?

We pitched to be Delivery Architects for the Kampus project, eventually winning against six other architect firms. The Main Contractor, Mount Anvil, wanted a company with the skills and resources to be able to see the project through successfully and to a very high standard, and they decided that we were best placed to do that.

The site, formerly part of Manchester Metropolitan University, will see over 500 apartments being delivered in new-build and refurbished buildings entirely for the Build-to-Rent sector, plus a mix of flexible, commercial spaces. The joint venture development partners Capital & Centric and Henry Boot Developments plan to create two floors of independent restaurants and bars around a lush garden, adjacent to the Rochdale Canal. The development will provide much-needed urban green space and a relaxing environment for residents and visitors.

I worked on the project from day one of our involvement, leading the Delivery team under the auspices of Andy Carroll and (Associate Director) Rachel Rogerson.

What were the main challenges of your role in terms of delivering an existing design?

One of the main challenges was with one of the main buildings on the site that has been retained – a 1960s university campus tower with waffle slabs that posed acoustic and fire safety problems. Designing to correct these issues required not adding too much weight to the tower. There were also Dutch houses proposed for the roof of the building, clad in timber, for which it would have been difficult to achieve a satisfactory fire rating.

We therefore had to subtly redesign in a way that matched the original design intent, visually, but which also met rigorous compliance standards, all within a tightly defined budget. The value engineering process took place while construction was already under way, which required logistical adjustment, as did the client changes to the scheme.

Developer Capital & Centric had a very strong vision of what it wanted to achieve, which was quite refreshing – this meant that we had clarity about what was required of us, even if that meant deep thinking about possible design solutions (for example, retaining the waffle slabs in the existing tower while ensuring that the acoustics were acceptable for neighbouring apartments).

What about the new building?

Delivering the new building has been more straightforward than the existing building because there is no requirement to correct deficiencies first, but it still involved value engineering decisions to deliver the visual design intent within a strict budget while ensuring the building is structurally viable. The buildings are fairly simple, concrete-framed structures with a brick skin and feature windows (pixels) – as one example of the value engineering process, we worked with the façade sub-contractor to create visually concrete-mimicking aluminium surrounds for the windows rather than actually using concrete (which wouldn’t have been practical).

The original design envisaged 30+ bathroom types, but Mount Anvil wanted to use modular bathroom pods, manufactured off site, which required us to rationalise the bathroom and apartment layouts as well as limiting the number of bathroom types to four. All the new-build bathrooms were assembled off site to be hoisted directly into the building, creating significant time and cost savings. This was not possible with the existing tower, where the bathrooms were constructed traditionally.

There are standalone warehouse buildings within the Kampus scheme, which are being delivered by shedkm. Although they are separate buildings, with a lot of listed elements retained, we are working with shedkm and landscape designers Exterior Architects to coordinate our work so that they form an integrated whole, particularly in terms of public realm space. Kampus is designed to be an open neighbourhood through which passers-by can wander to visit the bars and cafés or to sit by the canal, so effective public realm integration is a key element of the project.

We produced all the shell and core elements for the commercial spaces as well as creating the façades for the various units, working to ensure that the frontages, lighting and signage work well within the wider public space as well as creating a slightly bohemian edge.

What makes Kampus a special project for Manchester and for Chapman Taylor?

Kampus is probably the most central and high-profile Build-to-Rent residential development in Manchester and is notable for its scale. It is different from other Build-to-Rent developments in the city because it is only 16 storeys in height and involves traditional brick construction, which we think allows for the creation of a much stronger sense of community than, for example, a 50-storey glass and concrete tower. The amenities on offer are a little different from those in other Build-to-Rent developments, perhaps including the likes of a craft brewery and a yoga studio as well as space for community events (a Christmas market was already held there, last year).

Capital & Centric is committed to creating a very high-quality sense of place for residents and visitors, which has been inspiring for us. The relationship with Main Contractor Mount Anvil has been excellent too, helping to bring in new delivery work at both the Friary Park and Keybridge residential developments in London. Seeing it all come together and beginning to be used has been very satisfying.

You are currently working on the Manchester Goods Yard development, creating a headquarters building for Booking.com – tell us about that.

We took over the Manchester Goods Yard office development at Planning stage, where we have developed the design and are currently delivering it on site with Lend Lease. I am Senior Lead Architect on the project.

Manchester Goods Yard forms part of the St John’s Development in Manchester city centre and will provide a total of 31,000m² of commercial space, including 28,000m² of workspace and 3,000m² of retail space across three interlinked building blocks. The development will become a new global headquarters for Booking.com, who have taken 20,000m². The building will create an enjoyable, state-of-the-art facility for up to 3,000 people, and will provide a benchmark for high-quality, flexible workspace in the city.

The majority of the façade has been manufactured off site, which has helped maintain the building programme despite the inevitable delays caused by the COVID-19 lockdown period. Booking.com has required a number of changes as we have progressed, which has been a challenge but which also provide an opportunity to provide creative solutions for them. For example, we are now providing a large central kitchen space which requires a creative extraction strategy – the extraction vent needs to pass through a number of floors above (including two which are earmarked for other companies) via large openings in the slabs.

What have you enjoyed about the project?

It has been nice to work on an office development again, especially alongside a top contractor such as Lend Lease and a top developer such as Allied London. We are also looking at designing and delivering No.1 Grape Street, which is the next building along from the Booking.com building, alongside them.

I had the opportunity to see the building’s façade panels being tested under controlled conditions, with rain and wind blasted at them by jet engines – that was fascinating to watch as well as very satisfying to see them pass with flying colours. Seeing those same panels being put in place on the building gives a great sense of progress, and we anticipate the building being ready for occupation in spring 2021. The successful completion of a project, particularly seeing it in use, is always the greatest reward for a delivery architect.