Buttress Architects

We listen.
We think.
We do.

Buttress is a leading design studio providing architecture, urban design, interiors and conservation design services.

We’re thinkers as much as makers. Believe that architecture is as much about people as buildings, and that buildings should be shaped by their surroundings, their role and the people who’ll use them.

A community of specialists, people are at the heart of our business. We work with a wide variety of clients from commercial businesses, to cultural organisations, to individuals; and add value by bringing expertise and understanding. Making seemingly complex issues understandable and enjoyable.

meet the team
We are based in a single design studio in central Manchester. We support teamwork with informal reporting and regular reviews. We encourage learning and knowledge share across teams. We engage with the wider architectural community, and mentor and encourage the next generation of built environment professionals. We want to bring out the best in our staff and encourage and support ways to do so.

When not working, we have an active calendar of social events and have an annual European weekend away. There is a secure bike store for staff, and if sport is your thing you will always find someone going for a run, organising football or netball games. Or suggest something; there’s bound to be someone keen to try something new.

Buildings that people like to look at and love to use

New design

We enjoy the unusual, the complex and the challenging, and approach each project individually. Our aim is to create high quality modern buildings that respond sensitively to their context and yet are unquestionably of their time.

view projects
Creative Re-use

Our approach is about combining the practical and the beautiful; redefining established ideas with a creative vision for how a building might be used. Fundamental to creative re-use is the ability to listen and question; finding different angles and perspectives that start a new conversation.

view projects
Conservation

We have a passion for working with beautiful listed buildings and historic places. When we do, we add to, restore and conserve them with a sound understanding of what makes them special in the first place.

view projects
Masterplanning

Behind our masterplanning is an acute sense of place. What makes one place a success above another is found in the detail of access and connections, hierarchy and legibility, and in its heart and richness. Our strategic plans bring these all together as a bespoke and flexible framework for change and sustainability.

view projects

"Due to the nature of the scheduled monument site and listed buildings, the architectural and practical challenges were numerous. Buttress have consistently overcome them."

Frank Hargrave, The Norton Priory Museum Trust

Norton Priory Museum and Gardens

"The selection of our architects is key to realising our vision and Buttress were selected based on their acclaimed residential experience and exemplary understanding of placemaking."

Phil Mayall, English Cities Fund

Timekeepers Square

"The finished building is a result of a collaborative and innovative process, with the building sitting comfortably within the historic parkland setting."

Elaine Boardley, Culford School

Culford School Learning Resource Centre

"Their willingness to listen effectively, communicate and translate the views of First Step, has been vital in turning the vision of Chorlton Villas into reality."

Harry Dhaliwal, First Step

Chorlton Villas

"Their approach is categorised by a high level of design flair, coupled with an understanding of the commercial aspects of regeneration projects."

Darren Leary, Galliford Try

Brunswick Area Regeneration

We take pride in our work

and are recognised nationally with prestigious awards

view our work

+25 years in the business

The practice was established in 1988 and today has a wide range of projects large and small across sectors including residential, education, arts and heritage, regeneration, commercial and ecclesiastical.

Ours is a start to finish service, built around quality, creativity and fresh thinking, designed to give you what you want, and more than you expected. Good to look at. Great to use.
Buttress is in the AJ100