John Freeman, a chartered architect, brings extensive expertise in the retail, leisure and office sectors, as well as specialist knowledge of strategic facilities management gained as part of an MBA programme. His appointment has been made to help Church Lukas build on its reputation as an award-winning practice.
John, who was previously a director at Stockton-on-Tees architects Listers, joins fellow directors Sue Churchill, Chris Mahony and Andrew Roberts at the Victoria Street offices of Church Lukas, which has been established since 1993 and offers a nationwide service.
“Church Lukas is renowned for its regeneration projects, which have historically been residential-led,” said director Sue Churchill. “We recognised that the retail element of our mixed-use schemes was having a far greater influence on the viability of our projects and knew that being able to offer specialist design skills in this area would be beneficial to both the practice and our clients. John’s expertise in the retail sector, along with his knowledge of property asset management will complement our senior management team.”
His strategic facilities management knowledge is seen as increasingly important, as all businesses respond to the current economic situation and consider efficiencies in their property portfolios.
Chris Mahony, Director of Building Consultancy at Church Lukas, welcomed John’s appointment saying: “We live in a changing world and more and more firms are looking to make the most of their assets, whether by occupying smaller space to reduce running costs or through partial disposal. We are also starting to see far greater awareness of the impact of both rising energy costs and carbon trading following the introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme and John’s expertise in these areas will be invaluable. His passion for reducing carbon matches our aim to be a national leader for low carbon buildings in both building surveying and architecture.”
Andrew Roberts added: “John has the very rare ability to be creative, commercial and compliant. He is perfectly positioned to help us expand and deliver our low carbon projects. We are very fortunate to have him join us.”
John began his career as an apprentice joiner with a building contractor near Barnsley before training as an architect at Birmingham School of Architecture. He went on to study for a diploma at the University of Sheffield, while at the same time working for a number of Sheffield practices. He later undertook a training course at Huddersfield University which paved the way to him lecturing at universities in Sheffield and Huddersfield.
John started his professional career in the property department of a major national bank before moving to private practice and specialising in large scale commercial projects.
“Church Lukas is a forward-looking, entrepreneurial practice that has prepared itself for a new economy and is already reaping the rewards. I am excited by the projects that are on the drawing board,” he said.
Since launching 17 years ago, Church Lukas has seen a significant change in its projects, now having a major involvement in research and development for industry-changing housing initiatives alongside its core commercial sectors.
Pictured left to right, Church Lukas directors John Freeman, Andrew Roberts, Chris Mahony and Sue Churchill.
