Our Heritage
At Thorpe, Whyman & Briggs, we specialise in architectural and interior design. Since 1902, we’ve focused on designing buildable, logical and functional constructions, and with years of professional experience, there isn’t a single challenge we’d back down from.
It's an ethos that has been passed down through the tradition and heritage of our founding architects:
Fred Thorpe was born in 1890 and died in 1974, with a long career that included the offices of the famous Oldham Brewery, which he designed in the Edwardian Baroque style. You can still see his original drawings here in our office, duly signed and dated. Although the brewery has long since ceased trading, the building is still in use and has clearly stood the test of time.
Gordon Whyman was 103 years old when he passed away in 2013. During the war years, he perfected his skills as a Royal Engineer in India, before returning to Thorpe, Whyman & Briggs. His work included The Blue Coat School in Oldham and he’s responsible for many of the education institutions built throughout the North West. So dedicated was he to his work, legend holds that when he retired on his 65th birthday, his wife set fire to all of his work clothes so as to stop him returning to the office!
Harry Briggs loved his work too, so much so that he encouraged his son Stephen Briggs to follow in his footsteps, passing on his knowledge and expertise to continue the family tradition. Stephen worked in the practice until 2007, before retiring to Norfolk.
Together, these men formed the foundations that stood the test of time, like all good designs should, to become Thorpe, Whyman & Briggs. They’ve passed on a wealth of knowledge, expertise, tradition and custom, inherited by the current generation of our business.
We're proud of this heritage, and to this day we continue to uphold the values and ethics that our practice has always maintained. We've also got piles of blueprints and drawings we inherited too, when the bulging and burgeoning ceilings in our former Highlands offices collapsed under their weight!
Our Team
We're currently a small multi-disciplinary team based in Manchester, though the portfolio of projects at Thorpe, Whyman & Briggs spans right across the UK and Europe. We are able to bring together every technical discipline to make our projects successful, including Structural Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers and even Contractors whom we trust and have a great `open-book` working relationship with.
We are a collective of like-minded individuals, and we believe that the best spatial solutions are created from a series of layers, each starting with your personal aspirations. We fuse creative thinking with technical expertise to create work you both love and find practical. Our projects are only finished when your expectations are exceeded.
We have worked across a wide variety of sectors including Retail and Leisure, and specialising in Regeneration. Today our focus is on Residential and we have our own Property Development Company, called ARGONAUT HOMES LTD. We would be at home working on developments made up of one-bed apartments to blocks of Apartments and individual six or seven bedroom houses. We have designed them all over the years and continue to do so today.
BIM and Autodesk REVIT Architecture are fully implemented as standard as our preferred operating system, and we’ve got the expertise to utilise all the potential the software has to offer: we don`t just claim to be able to use it, we actually can!
Whatever your requirements are, we can help, providing Architectural Design, Development Planning, Technical Detailing and Specifications, 3D Visualisations from the REVIT model and Project Management. We can undertake Contract Administration and we have Performance Specifications for every Work Package associated to a successful build.
The methodology and the tools required in architecture change all the time; the pressure to deliver has intensified and the competition remains rampant. But at the end of the day, experience and knowledge remain the vital building blocks in any project.
At Thorpe, Whyman & Briggs, we use whatever technology and resources are needed, but support this with experience, professionalism, and a commitment to greatness.
Our Philosophy
For us, design is all about understanding. Understanding clients like you is the mainstay of our everyday working practice and at the core of all our designs. We believe that if we can get to know you, your day to day operations, values, plans for the future, financial budget and ultimately, you own identity, then we can create dynamic and contemporary spaces that reflect the uniqueness of you and your project.
We approach each of our projects with 5 essential ingredients:
- TWB EXPERIENCE: We employ talented designers with creative instinct and highly credible portfolios.
- TWB TECHNOLOGY: We utilise the latest software available in Building Information Modelling to provide you with the most thorough and efficient service currently available.
- TWB PROFESSIONALISM: We provide a single point of contact for your project, supported by a team of qualified staff that will ensure the success of your project to its conclusion.
- TWB CREATIVITY: We are fresh and forward thinking in our approach to design, balancing experimentation and experience.
- TWB CUSTOMER FOCUS: Our proactive approach to customer care has meant that many of our clients have been continually working with us for decades.
