News — 74

Skip to Content

Following our award from leading Chinese title ‘Modern Decoration’ at the end of 2019, our Toybox student amenities project in Birmingham has now been published across six pages of this esteemed title in the new edition of the magazine.

Hox Haus wins first ever international award for 74

Hox Haus, the stunning two-storey pavilion clubhouse we created at the Hox Park student campus for client Moorfield Group, has won the practice its first-ever international design award – the Annual Space Award at the International Design Media Awards 2019 in China. 74 Founder David Holt went to Shenzhen in December to collect the award in person.

David Holt cites Paul Klee and I M Pei as influences

74 Founder David Holt was invited recently by the Editor of Architecture Magazine to write about his formative influences, talking about painter Paul Klee and architect I M Pei in the piece and concluding ‘I still clearly recognise the lineage of Paul Klee’s paintings and the monumental, abstract architecture of I M Pei in the development of my own aesthetic. Both brought together dual impulses: to be highly creative and yet mathematical and to understand the question exactly and strive to answer it by producing beauty and functionality in perfect harmony.’

Edward Pavilion wins ‘Commercial Interiors – over 30,000 sq ft’ at Mixology North 2019

Clockwise is a co-working space within the Grade-I-listed Edward Pavilion in the Royal Albert Docks, Liverpool, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The scheme, where 74 were implementing designers to an initial concept by Aedas, working closely with contractors Ardmac, was a winner at the Mixology North Awards 2019, taking the Commercial Interiors – over 30,000 sq ft prize. The 32,000 sq ft space is run by the building’s owner Castleforge, who undertook a comprehensive refurbishment of the building over 12 months.

74 named ‘Interiors Practice of the Year’ at Northern Design Awards

The 74 team is delighted both to celebrate its fifth birthday and continued growth as a practice. The timing coincided with regional recognition of the highest order when we were named ‘Commercial Interiors Practice of the Year’ at the Northern Design Awards 2019.

74 completes ‘The Toybox’ student amenity for Moorfield Group

74 has created the new 355 sq m ground-floor social and study amenity space within The Toybox, a new-build, 15-storey student accommodation block by architects Corstorphine + Wright, located on Bishopsgate Street in Birmingham. The Toybox is a new glazed, green brick and zinc-clad block in the Westside area of Birmingham, just south-west of the city centre, The interior is comprised of 290 new student apartments, with 74 commissioned to create the dynamic series of communal spaces that make up the ground floor area, including a reception, lounge, study area, gaming area, kitchenette, staff welfare space, toilets and fitness suite.

Mix Interiors asked 74 Founder David Holt to answer the question 'Why has coworking suddenly become the force it is today?' for their regular ‘Big Question’ feature, published in the magazine’s October issue and also online

ICE named Silver Winner at the London Design Awards

The refurbishment of Building 3 (re-branded ICE), part of Salford’s prestigious Exchange Quay development for client Ekistics Property Advisors LLP has been named a Silver WINNER in the London Design Awards 2019 in the Corporate & Commercial Interiors category. This is the second year in a row 74 has been a winner at these global city-based awards. The project forms part of 74’s ongoing involvement with the 435,000 sq ft Exchange Quay development, a collection of seven different buildings offering remodelled Grade A office space in a premium location on the edges of Salford Quays.

David Holt included in Insider’s ‘Property Disruptors 2019’ list

Insider Media has released its 2019 list of 'Property Disruptors' and we're delighted that, for the second year in a row, 74 Founder David Holt has made the list. Read what David has to say about 2019 and what's to come here

CULTUREPLEX opens in Manchester, with 74 part of the initial concept consultation team

CULTUREPLEX is now open in Manchester, the latest offering from hospitality gurus Pablo Flack and David Waddington, who founded London’s Bistrotheque restaurant in 2004, as well as Hoi Polloi for Ace Hotel Shoreditch. 74 were instrumental in the conceptual stages of the project, working closely with the client team to develop spatial strategies and overall design direction.
(Image credit: Felix Mooneeram)

74 welcomes Sam Vickers to the team

We're delighted to welcome Sam Vickers to the 74 team, joining us to help with our burgeoning portfolio of new projects in London, Leeds, Liverpool and Dublin across the build-to-rent, co-working and student living sectors. Sam hails from Stockport, studied Interior Design at the University of Salford and has five solid years of experience at major practices in the region across the workplace, residential, education and retail sectors.

Hox Haus included in Top Ten Guide to Student Halls

Great to see our award-winning project Hox Haus - a student clubhouse on the Hox Park campus for students at Royal Holloway College - commissioned by Moorfield Group - included in this Top Ten list of student halls ('The ‘Hox Haus’ building mixes classic brickwork with chic glass walls to house a stylish on-site clubhouse with 70s accents and chic coffee bar - perfect for catching early morning light when you’re Instagramming breakfast.')
Article

Advice to Graduates

This month, 74 Founder David Holt was asked by the BCFA’s Design Insider what advice he’d give to the new graduates of 2019.

Welcoming Megan Jones to the 74 team

We are delighted to announce our new Interior Designer Megan Jones to the 74 team. Megan is a hospitality specialist, whose experience will add greatly to our offer. We are both architects and designers at 74 and value both approaches equally, so that we offer clients the bigger picture, technical expertise, design flair and a continual people-centred approach to all that we do.

Bianca Yousef asked to name ten important influences and passions

Design Insider, the web magazine run by the BCFA (British Contract Furnishing Association), has created a brand new section called ONE. 74 was approached to be the first company to feature in the section and Associate Bianca Yousef picked out ten questions to answer, of which three asked for longer commentary. These included ONE book (The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker) and ONE love, which turns out to be snooker! Read the whole piece here

Defining Hospitality

The hospitality sector is going through an interesting time in terms of boundary-blurring, thanks to co-working and event and exhibition projects spreading their wings. When we were asked by Interior Designer Magazine’s ‘Ask the Designer’ column to define hospitality, this is what we had to say – ‘Hospitality is defined by words and phrases like 'welcome' 'warm reception’ and ‘friendliness’. In interior design, it has typically been associated with F&B and hotels, but, as a designer, I feel hospitality shouldn’t be restricted to a specific sector or type of space. Hospitality should be interwoven into all the spaces we design. Welcoming spaces, offering warmth and friendliness, create the ideal user experience and the physical materiality of how hospitality becomes a reality is limited only by a designer’s imagination.

Bianca Yousef Named as Associate

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Bianca Yousef as company Associate. Bianca, a former Senior Interior Designer at 74, has been with the company for four years and has been part of or led a number of its key portfolio schemes, including the award-winning Hox Haus student clubhouse in Surrey for Moorfield Group; the interior design of student facility Elgin Place in Glasgow (also an award winner - at Mixology ’17) and the architectural concept and interiors for Knight House in Sheffield.
‘We are delighted to reward Bianca for her hard work and commitment in this way’, company Director & Founder David Holt commented. ‘Over the last four years, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing her creative ability and ideas grow in stature, along with her increasing ability to control and deliver entire projects.’

Who loves Manchester? We do!

Regional website ‘I Love Manchester’ asked us to comment on the new wave of high-rise construction going up everywhere in the city. 74 Founder David Holt was happy to comply. “With an upsurge in demand comes an increase in destiny and that means further height,” says David Holt, architect and founder of Manchester-based practice 74. He believes there’s nothing wrong with going tall, but certain prerequisites should be met. “That they’re well-conceived architecturally, built with high quality materials and excellent workmanship and create attractive, relevant and animated external spaces,” he says. “But the quality of buildings and spaces is definitely improving as class leading developers are attracted to the city and understand the need to give something back that is above and beyond the norm.” Read the full article here.

Hox Haus a winner at Mixology 2018

For the second year in a row, 74 has been named a winner at Mixology North. Last year it was Elgin Place, which took ‘Large Commercial Interiors Project of the Year’ and this year it’s Hox Haus, our campus clubhouse and student workspace on the Hox Park Campus in Surrey, for client Moorfield Group.