Location?

We made our Manchester home on Tariff Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Here, we have brought our creative thinking to bear on our shop front studio putting ourselves “on show” and adorning our windows with custom designed graphics that display our history, visions and values with a nod to our locale.

When did the practice start?

Hawkins\Brown was founded in 1988 by Roger Hawkins and Russell Brown.

In 2014, Katie Tonkinson relocated to her home city of Manchester to establish the practice’s presence in the North. In October 2015 Studio North as we know it opened its doors. 

How many staff?

Hawkins\Brown is an internationally-renowned award winning practice of over 290 architects, interior designers, urban designers, researchers and support staff. Studio North is home to 28 members of the Hawkins\Brown team.

Company ethos?

At Hawkins\Brown, people are at the heart of everything we do, from our design approach to the way our studio runs. Our talented designers bring a fresh and collaborative approach to each new design challenge, creating places with personality and purpose that are well-made, well-used and well-loved. 

At Studio North, our particular interest is in establishing and maintaining a studio that puts people first, that designs and delivers, and embraces projects across a range of scales. We are also keen to make the studio local, embedded in “the Manchester way” - open, inclusive and collaborative.  

Current projects?

The University of Manchester’s Schuster Annexe has just completed and is Studio North’s first built project. The building houses the University’s Physics and Astronomy department and its intricate brickwork skin marks a gateway to the campus from Upper Brook Street.

Studio North is working on a variety of projects including:

• A new rooftop creative workspace with an external terrace in the heart of the Northern Quarter.
• A new landmark building for Leeds Beckett University that brings together the schools of Film, Music, Performing Arts and Fashion.
• The regeneration of Rutland Mills reusing a collection of buildings to establish a new creative and cultural cluster, adjacent to The Hepworth Wakefield.
• A masterplan for 538 no. new homes on the site of the historic Nestlé Factory in Hayes.
• A contribution to the Olympic legacy: 524 no. new homes for the build-to-rent market, across a pair of colourful towers, linked by a shared amenity skybridge, in Stratford’s East Village.
• A dedicated Student Centre and new high quality public square woven into the heart of Preston for the University of Central Lancashire.
• A collaboration with the Manchester International Festival and Jeremy Deller, designing and delivering a catwalk for the City in Piccadilly Gardens.
•  A detailed study of opportunities for improvement and development of the stops along the Manchester Metrolink Victoria-Bury line.
• Our young designers used digital fabrication methods to design and construct an interactive pavilion for the National Festival of Making in Blackburn.
•  A contextual response to Chester’s Northgate Quarter to provide and entirely new retail, leisure and residential district in an historically sensitive setting.
•  343 no. new homes across three towers with shared amenity space and a waterside park for Salford, across the river from The Factory and St. Johns Quarter.
• The transformation of the old Kellogg Building to create a new university in conjunction with UA92, the University of Lancaster and other business partners to deliver courses in sport, media and business.

Have you always been at this studio?

With the exception of Katie, Marvin and Siobhan, all staff at Hawkins\Brown Studio North started in this studio. Katie worked in our London studio for 13 years before relocating to Manchester to establish Studio North. Marvin and Siobhan have recently relocated to Manchester, Marvin from our main London studio and Siobhan from one of our Crossrail studios. Studio North has only been here on Tariff Street, we recently had our two year birthday party.

Favourite part of the studio?

Taking a break from our screens is really important to us so we enjoy spending time in the model workshop, rooting through the sample library and sitting in the reading corner. We try to move around the studio regularly so no one is tethered to their desk. In the summer we like to spill out in to the courtyard but the Mancunian rain doesn’t allow this as much as we would like!

Favourite nearby coffee shop?

Being in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter we are spoilt for good coffee. Some local favourites are Takk, North Tea Power, Ezra and Gil and Café Cotton. However, most of the coffee which powers Studio North comes from our own coffee machine which is filled with locally roasted ManCoCo beans. We are also prolific tea drinkers. Our tea bag selection is significant and still growing. 

Do you all eat lunch together?

We eat lunch together most days but our growing studio means we are outgrowing our lunch table. We have regular kitchen table days where each of us brings a dish and we donate our lunch money to charities such as Centrepoint, Maggie’s Centres and Macmillan. We also like to welcome new starters with lunch trips to nearby restaurants like PLY and Tariff & Dale.

Pets allowed?

We don’t have any full time pets in the studio but we do have regular visits from a few canine friends; Buddy, Angus, Murphy and Megan.

Most played song / artist / musician?

The studio uses Sonos speakers so everyone has a say in what music we play. A wander around the studio can journey from house and techno to hip-hop to Friday afternoon disco hits – we’re a diverse bunch!”

Favourite architect?

It is difficult for us to agree on a favourite architect but we do agree that a lot of our creative inspiration comes from our collaborations with artists. We are currently working with a number of artists across our projects including United Creatives, Jeremy Deller, Nathan Coley.

Favourite building in Manchester?

A few of our favourites include Sir Owen Williams’ Daily Express Building, Basil Champneys’ John Rylands Library, David Chipperfield’s Screen One and the Kantorowich Building. We all hope that our own contributions to the city will become somebody else’s favourite Manchester building.