Timeline - 1960s
The 1960s are known as the 'swinging sixties', a decade of flamboyance, freedom and cultural change.
Think the sixties…think 1966, the year England famously won the FIFA World Cup. But that was not the only key event of the year – it also saw the BBC broadcasting in colour, Henry Cooper flooring Ali, The Beatles releasing 'Yellow Submarine', Ford releasing the Cortina mark II...and in October 1966 the founding of ATP.
ATP was established by two Architects trading independently from a single office suite in Buckhurst Hill, Essex – one specialising in Town Planning, government buildings and petrol station projects, the other on social housing and Salvation Army projects. Today it seems inevitable that the sharing of resources and knowledge within a single room would result in the formation of a new Architectural Partnership...the chosen trading name not so obvious!
Timeline - 1970s
We are often asked what ATP stands for, the natural assumption is the initials of the founding Partners, but that was not the case. As the background of our founding Partners differed, they chose to encompass their specialisms into the company name:- Architects and Town Planning Group Partnership began trading. It is no surprise it was soon abbreviated to ATP Group Partnership.
As the practice grew in size, further Partners joined offering further diversity – Michael Booth, a former Local Authority Chief Architect, introduced education and public building clients, Philip Johnson, an RICS Building Surveyor, offered a Building Surveying discipline, and Howard Spencer offered a fresh design approach only an exemplar student of the Architectural Association could offer.
Timeline - 1980s
By the late 1980s we had incorporated two Essex based Architectural Practices and a London based Surveying practice and were now trading from offices in Ilford, Central London and Billericay. As our founding Partners retired Richard Brown, Alan Salisbury, Peter Briggs and David Harris became partners.
The 1980`s saw a growth in our commission size and greater diversity of our client base and the building sectors were working in. We were successful in becoming approved Architects for many London Local Authorities providing housing and school projects and established a long standing relationship with the TSB bank. We also became approved Architects for Housing Associations and National House Builders.
Timeline - 1990s
The 1990`s began with a recession. ATP remained strong through the recession due to the varied client base and reputation we had gained. It was an opportunity to readdress the direction of the company and it was decided to focus on the London market and relocate all of our staff into our Ilford office.
Despite the decade beginning in recession, the 1990`s saw ATP further expanding our client base and professional services. We became approved Architects for national High Street Supermarkets and saw a big increase in our commercial sector commissions. Some of our staff members acquired professional qualifications to act as Planning Supervisor under the new Health and Safety Regulations which was embraced by our clients.
Timeline - 2000s
The middle years of the millennium saw a boom in the construction industry and we were part of that. At our peak we were employing in excess of fifty members of staff in our Ilford office. Daren Flight and Keith Warwick became partners towards the beginning of a decade which saw the retirement of Howard Spencer, Philip Johnson and Richard Brown.
Our residential projects were now tall and dense, we were designing new schools, our surveyors were travelling the country for Housing Associations and the Church of England. We began offering a Project Management service and our Planning Supervisor Health and Safety service was flourishing.
Unfortunately the industry boom hit another recession. ATP again remained strong throughout the recession benefitted further by the new professional services we were offering.
Timeline - 2016 and beyond
Today we employ just in excess of twenty five members of staff. Our success and ability to ride recessions has been mainly due to the diversity of service we offer and the varied sectors in which we work. We value our clients and we are successful in retaining their need for service for repeat commissions.
The decade so far has seen us becoming a limited company: ATP Architects + Surveyors Limited, trading simply as ATP, the retirement of David Harris and Joel Walsh becoming our latest Director.
Throughout the last 50 years, the profession has naturally seen changes in architectural style but also significant advances in technology, none more so than the tools we use to create our designs and serve our clients.
We hope our timeline has been of interest and an insight into our evolution. We have presented an overview of our buildings through the decades together with the technological advances each decade has brought
We would like to thank past and present Partners, staff and our clients for their valuable contribution over the last 50 years. We are now looking to our centenary in 2066….pondering the technological advances the next 50 years will bring!
