Holder Mathias co-founder announces retirement

Peter Mathias, co-founder of architect Holder Mathias, has announced he will retire from the practice this summer after 44 years running the business.

Mathias will step down in June 2013 with Peter Gamble taking the reins as senior partner. The other six remaining partners will also remain in their current posts.

Holder Mathias with founded by Peter Mathias and Tim Holder in 1969 and now has studios in London, Cardiff and Munich. The practice has a turnover of £5.3m and employs 70 staff.

Peter Mathias said the practice’s “durability” was founded on the“skills and commitment of the next generation already in place”.

He added: “It’s been a thoroughly rewarding journey from those early days of small projects to the current highly respected practice critically focussed on design quality and delivery”.

Mathias played a key part in remodelling Cardiff Bay with his masterplan for Atlantic Wharf, which led to a success of Cardiff Bay buildings designed by the practice including Crickhowell House, the Atradius building and the Red Dragon Centre.

The practice has also worked on St Stephen’s Centre in Hull a retail-led regeneration scheme and is working on similar projects in Barnsley and York.

Peter Gamble, senior partner at Holder Mathias, said: “Peter and Tim created an excellent platform that the current partnership has built on. Peter’s outstanding achievement over two generations is to have inspired a unique culture within a sound business environment where good quality design can flourish.”

He said the firm had “a solid foundation” in a “robust base of sectors” and a “geographical spread of projects”, which would see it through the current challenging economic climate.