ARCHITECTS tend to spend their time looking forward but at Southampton-based Pope Priestley Associates the staff are taking a brief backwards glance as the firm celebrates its tenth birthday.

From its offices in Ocean Village, Pope Priestley Associates has spent the past decade notching up an impressive portfolio of projects, many of which have been recognised through both local and national awards.

Locally these include the £6m administrative and teaching facility at the Southampton Institute Campus, the £0.5m remodelling of the commuter halt at Southampton Airport Parkway station, offices at Queens Terrace and Commercial Road and the contemporary five-storey apartment building at Portland Street Terrace.

As Pope Priestley Associates heads towards the next ten years, the company is about to embark on an ambitious expansion plan including the recruitment, this year, of around ten new team members across all disciplines.

Dennis Priestley, one of the original founders, is excited about this new phase of the company's development.

"Ten years is an impressive milestone in any business, but especially so in the topsy-turvy world of construction," he comments.

"Our reputation is built on a comprehensive range of broad-based skills, attention to detail and a high degree of both technical and creative expertise. We're immensely proud of what we've achieved so far and following considerable recent investment in technology and with the help of our new recruits, our future performance can only be enhanced".