Childs Sulzmann Architects are Celebrating our 30th Anniversary!
In November 1994, our two founding partners, Nick Childs and Peter Sulzmann, handed in their notice to the Bristol based developer, JT Group, and set up Childs & Sulzmann Partnership from their kitchen table in Clifton. With a modest amount saved to support the business, Nick and Peter used their experience to pursue a new mantra: “…to work with interesting clients on challenging projects”. A simple statement, but one that has shaped the focus of our practice over 30 years, helping deliver schemes across a range of sectors and, most importantly, enabling us to work with many, many fantastic clients – you know who you are!
Looking back, Nick and Peter may wish they had invested their start-up money in shares in Amazon which, coincidentally, was also founded in 1994 from Jeff Bezos’ garage in Washington. Yet, the rise of the personal computer during the 1990’s also provided exciting opportunities within the architectural profession, shifting away from drawing boards, Rotary ink pens, and electronic typewriters, in favour of Computer Aided Design (CAD), Microsoft Word and ink-jet plotters. By the time Bill Gates released Windows 95, Peter and Nick were at the forefront of this digital revolution with the agility to undertake projects at a far larger scale than their kitchen-setup would suggest.
As Peter navigated the technical design ‘engine room’ and oversaw the day-to-day management of the business, Nick focused on the front-end marketing and concept design. The first notable success came in the leisure sector, having secured a major commission to design and oversee the role-out of four new health clubs called Viva! Wellness (later purchased by Livingwell and now managed within the Bannatyne Group). Just as cashflow started getting tight, their hard work payed off, and the first cheque arrived in the post. It was quickly cashed, and later framed, hung as a reminder of the challenge all new businesses must overcome within their first 12-months (albeit Amazon was already the biggest internet company in the world and preparing to go public…).
The next challenge was to cultivate and grow this early success and to focus the practice on commercial projects (avoiding any temptation toward smaller scale domestic schemes). Nick and Peter began by signing a 2-year lease for a basement office at 24B Berkeley Square (at the top of Park Street in Bristol) and hired their first two employees, Pete Hook and Denise Major. Next, the practice rebranded as childs+sulzmannarchitects and they ordered enough posh letter-headed paper to last for over 10-years (which, to be fair, was partly due to the unexpected rise of email communication).
As their reputation grew, the team expanded to eight and the studio in the basement delivered a diverse portfolio of work including hotels, leisure centres, spas, community halls, and the renovation and extension of several Listed buildings. Nick began engaging with local design institutions including: the Bristol Architecture Centre; the South West Design Review Panel; and the Bristol Urban Design Forum and between 2002 and 2012 was invited to become a teaching fellow at the University of Bath. Working at one of the best architectural courses in the UK this role helped to attract the next generation of architectural students to join the practice: most notably, Matt Parsons in 2003, and Mike Cox the following year. Both Matt and Mike had been nominated for the RIBA’s prestigious President Metal, a student award where candidates are chosen to represent the best work of their academic year.
The practice quickly sponsored Mike and Matt to undertake their RIBA Part III qualifications, finally completing their 7 years of training before promptly being promoted to Associates in 2008. Over the next 8 years, the practice continued to grow, and a decision was taken to move to larger offices in Beacon Tower, one of Bristol’s most iconic tall buildings (and a significant upgrade from the basement we had become accustomed to!). We also branched out into Wales, opening a satellite office in Cardiff to help engage with the social housing market and deliver our first Passivhaus scheme. With the excitement that comes with a fresh start, we collaborated with Stuff Creative Studio to design our second and current re-branding: CHILDS SULZMANN ARCHITECTS. Now, I know you are curious to know about our American cousin, Amazon – they were already onto their fifth rebranding by this point and providing services to over 100 countries worldwide…
After 20 years in any profession, it will not come as a surprise that the founding partners were keen to develop succession plans for the practice, and a strategy was initiated in 2016 when Matt and Mike became equity Directors. Peter Sulzmann stepped away from the business in 2019 and Nick retired in April 2022 having sold his remaining shares as part of a management buy-out in 2021. Wait, I hear you ask, can it be a coincidence that Jeff Bezos decided to follow suit the same year when he stepped down as CEO of Amazon? No comment on how those share prices compares with ours!
In all seriousness, the founding partner’s legacy is one of success, creativity and innovation, deeply reflecting our continuous desire to exceed our clients’ expectations at every stage of a project. Matt and Mike are thankful for their leadership over the 20 years they worked together, and our portfolio of work is testament to their achievements (you must see the rest of our website for examples!).
So, what’s next?
As we reflect over our 30-year history, we are pleased to report Childs Sulzmann Architects continue to go from strength to strength. We are currently delivering some of our most interesting and complex projects in our practice history and, having navigated through the pandemic, high inflation, and the cost-of-living crisis, we are on track to post our highest ever turnover for 2024/25. We continue to focus on providing the best quality service to our clients and seek out new challenges to keep our extremely talented studio engaged.
The next chapter of our evolution will be focused around three key members of our team, recently promoted Associates, Zoe Day, Jacob Long and Alex Steenfeldt.
Zoe leads on delivering highly complex new-build developments within the education, residential, and leisure sectors. Current projects include a large mixed-use town regeneration project on Pentrebane Street in Caerphilly and a 94-unit Passivhaus development for Exeter City Council. Zoe recently led our successful bid to provide a further 37-units as part of an extended masterplan for the site, overcoming stiff competition from 25 regional practices who submitted designs.
Alex joined the practice in July 2015 as a full-time Part II Architectural Assistant before qualifying as an architect in 2020. He is a main point of contact for many of our clients and his team focus on designing and delivering a wide array of community and culturally significant projects including work within the charity sector. Notable examples include The Royal West of England Academy and the headquarters of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. He is currently overseeing the refurbishment and extension of Pontardawe Arts Centre and advising the Welsh Wildlife Centre on opportunities to improve their existing headquarters.
Jacob originally joined the practice in October 2014 having completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Bath. He then went on to study a postgraduate degree at The Centre for Alternative Technology before being selected in 2023 to be one of four members of the highly prestigious SPAB Scholarship scheme. Over a 10-month sabbatical, candidates are given the opportunity to meet craftspeople and conservation experts across the breadth of the country, who share their knowledge and passion for our country’s heritage assets. Jacob is keen to continue his studies to become conservation accredited, and is currently delivering Kingsley Hall, the headquarters of the homeless charity, 1625IP, who are working alongside the National Heritage Lottery to redevelop their Grade II* Listed building. Recently, Jacob was instrumental to our successful bid to be selected as one of only four practices who will work with Historic England’s Estate Framework over the next four years.
To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we will be holding several events throughout the next 12 months, which we kicked-off with a celebratory meal with our Bristol studio and special guest, Nick Childs. Stay posted for future updates!
