GT3 Architects Expands With New Belfast Studio Focused on People First Design
GT3 Architects, the AJ100 architectural practice known for its ‘people architecture’ design philosophy, is in a strong phase of sustained growth. It has increased its team by more than 20 percent in the past year and has now expanded its presence with a new studio in Belfast.
This latest move reflects the practice’s continued growth and builds on its commitment to putting people, place, and purpose at the heart of every design – demonstrating real outcomes for communities.
The Belfast studio is being led by senior architects Darren Breslin and Damien Graham, a long-standing duo whose complementary skillsets, sector experience, and friendship have been the driving force behind GT3’s expansion into the region.
“Like all good things at GT3, the establishment of the Belfast studio started with people,” said GT3 director Simon Dunstan. “It’s Darren and Damien’s partnership – their architectural synchronisation and trust in each other, their individual expertise, and shared vision that gave us the ambition to confidently invest in a long-term future in Belfast.
“We’re really not looking at this as your orthodox footprint expansion, but it rather marks a deliberate step forward in our evolution – a move to grow with intent while continuing to deliver people-first places across the UK and Ireland.”
Having both previously worked together in Newcastle, Darren and Damien reconnected professionally when Darren made the move back to Northern Ireland, bringing GT3’s progressive design culture with him. Over the course of years, their success in delivering projects remotely, alongside GT3’s growing project portfolio in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, prompted the next steps in establishing a permanent presence.
GT3’s Belfast studio opened earlier this year in a co-working space in the city centre and has already become a hub of collaboration, design, and innovation. As well as bringing a new sport and leisure specialism into the Northern Irish architecture scene, the practice is in equal demand for adjacent sectors such as workplace and interior design, supported by growing demand and its people-led design philosophy.
Senior architect Damien Graham said: “Sport and leisure is a sector that truly lives its purpose. These buildings are designed to make people’s lives healthier; they serve in a way that no other typology truly does. That’s why I was drawn to GT3’s ‘people architecture’ ethos.
“When I came back to Belfast, the opportunity to help shape something different and meaningful was really one I couldn’t pass up.”
Damien has spent his post-master’s career almost exclusively in sport and leisure architecture and is passionate about the long-term community value of this typology. Darren, meanwhile, brings wide-ranging design experience from across the UK and Ireland, including leading multi-use urban regeneration schemes such as the Guinness Quarter in Dublin. He is also playing a key role in developing GT3’s expertise in emerging technologies, from AI-led feasibility modelling and generative design to establishing ethical frameworks and governance around the use of AI in architectural practice.
Project Architect Darren Breslin said: “GT3’s approach to design is both collaborative and strategic, which aligns perfectly with how we’ve grown the Belfast studio to date. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, combining national expertise with local insight, and helping clients embrace new ideas, including AI and digital tools that unlock capacity and accelerate workflows. More importantly, we’re supporting them in delivering meaningful, people-focused outcomes”
The studio has hit the ground running, bidding for major projects across Northern Ireland and the Republic, while continuing to deliver national schemes in England. GT3’s flexible team structure has enabled Damien and Darren to remain fully embedded in live project delivery, while also laying the foundations for a long-term Northern Irish platform.
With strategic benefits such as proximity to EU-linked markets, growing investment in public infrastructure, and a pipeline of skilled graduates from local colleges and universities, the Belfast base is already proving a valuable move for the practice.
Long-term, the goal is to grow a fully rounded studio capable of local project delivery, but the focus will remain on quality over speed.
Simon also added in closing: “We’re committed to growing around the right people, at the right pace. We’re already seeing momentum build, and we’re hopeful that we’ll soon be able to announce a significant Belfast-based leisure project which will mark a fantastic next chapter for the team and the practice.”
GT3’s recent projects include Eclipse Leisure Centre in Spelthorne – the first 50/50 wet and dry leisure centre in the UK and largest 50/50 wet and dry in Europe, to be designed to Passivhaus standards – and a £50m low-carbon sports and wellbeing facility in Brighton, which has seen the practice pilot a range of AI-led planning tools to support client funding strategies and energy-efficient metrics.
