Like Architects
Like Architects is a Belfast-based, founder-led architectural practice founded in 2011 that provides architecture, planning, and interior design services — with a specialisation in adaptive reuse and creative refurbishment — to property developers, housing associations, and commercial operators across the UK and Ireland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersBelfast, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Like Architects does
Like Architects is a privately-held Belfast-based architectural practice founded in 2011 by Michael Martin and Ciaran Deazley. The firm provides architecture, interior design, and planning services to property developers, housing associations, commercial operators, and hospitality clients across the United Kingdom and Ireland, with an explicit specialisation in adaptive reuse and creative refurbishment of existing structures rather than demolition and rebuild. Its project portfolio spans Grade A commercial offices (Merchant Square, Eagle Star House), purpose-built student accommodation totalling 4,000+ bedrooms (Great Patrick Street, Library Street), residential and social housing (Tates Avenue, Ormeau Road, Lewis Square, Lisburn Road, Bushmills, Throne), retail (The Keep, Queensway Square Crawley), hospitality (Queen Street Hotel, Titanic Distillery, Crumlin Road Gaol), and large-scale masterplans (Warrington, 900 homes).
The practice differentiates on a sustainability-led creative-reuse methodology applied to 1960s-70s concrete-framed buildings and heritage-listed structures, with delivery evidenced by Northern Ireland's first BREEAM Excellent refurbishment (Merchant Square) and first WiredScore Platinum flexible workspace (Eagle Star House). The firm bills on a project-by-project basis as a professional services practice, with fees structured as a percentage of construction cost and work secured through direct client engagement, competitive tendering, referrals, and industry award visibility. Headcount sits in the 11-50 range with operations from a single Belfast headquarters (3 Linenhall Street West), and the firm operates without disclosed external funding, M&A, or parent-company structures, retaining founder-led ownership.
Like Architects firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Like Architects
- Legal name
- Like Architects
- Website
- https://likearchitects.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Like Architects is a Belfast-based, founder-led architectural practice founded in 2011 that provides architecture, planning, and interior design services — with a specialisation in adaptive reuse and creative refurbishment — to property developers, housing associations, and commercial operators across the UK and Ireland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Like Architects industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (236220)
- SIC
- General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Historic Home Renovation & Preservation (HSAPAEAG), Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Renovation, Remodeling & Tenant Improvements (General Contracting) (IMAFAAAE)
Keywords
Where Like Architects is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Belfast
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Like Architects business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Architectural Services: Professional architectural services billed as a percentage of construction costs, covering design, planning, and project delivery across residential, commercial, retail, and hospitality sectors
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Like Architects product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Like Architects is a Belfast-based architectural practice providing professional design, planning, and project delivery services for newbuild and refurbishment projects. Its core offering centres on adaptive reuse and creative refurbishment of existing structures—including 1960s–70s concrete-framed buildings and listed heritage assets—across residential, commercial office, retail, hospitality, student accommodation, and social housing sectors. Fees are billed as a percentage of construction costs on a project-by-project basis, with notable deliveries including the £87m Merchant Square, Eagle Star House, Titanic Distillery, and Crumlin Road Gaol conversion.
Product overview
Like Architects is a Belfast-based architectural practice established in 2011 that offers a diverse portfolio of architectural services across multiple sectors including commercial office (Merchant Square, Eagle Star House), residential (Great Patrick Street, Tates Avenue, Ormeau Road, Lewis Square, Lisburn Road, Bushmills), retail (The Keep, Queensway Square Crawley), hospitality (Queen Street Hotel, Titanic Distillery), and heritage (Crumlin Road Gaol). Their service offering includes planning, design, and project delivery for new build and creative reuse of existing structures. They have developed over 4,000 purpose-built student accommodation bedrooms. Notable completed projects include Merchant Square (£87m, Northern Ireland's largest commercial deal, BREEAM Excellent) and Eagle Star House (WiredScore Platinum). The practice operates from Belfast serving clients across the UK and Ireland.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architectural Design & Planning Services
- Adaptive Reuse & Creative Refurbishment Services
- Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) Design Services
- Commercial Office & Workspace Design Services
- Heritage & Hospitality Architectural Services
- Masterplanning Services
Quantifiable outcome
- First refurbished building in Northern Ireland to achieve BREEAM Excellent (Merchant Square)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Like Architects
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Like Architects technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Like Architects partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Like Architects competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Consarc Design Group: NI-based architectural practice with heritage, residential and commercial expertise. Comparable regional peer for developer-led, conservation, and mixed-use projects in Northern Ireland and beyond.
- McAdam Design: Established Belfast architectural practice with broad portfolio across residential, commercial, healthcare, and education. Comparable regional peer serving developer clients and public sector bodies across Northern Ireland.
- Hamilton Architects: Belfast-based architectural practice working across heritage, education, residential, and commercial sectors. Direct regional peer competing for similar adaptive reuse and new build commissions in Northern Ireland.
- Hall Black Douglas: Belfast-headquartered architectural firm with strong heritage, conservation, and commercial portfolios. Directly comparable in adaptive reuse of listed/older buildings and commercial office conversions.
- TODD Architects: Belfast-headquartered architectural practice with strong commercial, residential and healthcare portfolios across Ireland and the UK. Directly comparable regional peer competing for similar developer and institutional clients in the NI/RoI market.
Broad incumbents
- Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM): Major UK architectural practice with deep expertise in commercial office, education, and adaptive reuse projects (e.g., Tea Building, White Collar Factory). Comparable in adaptive reuse methodology but operates at much larger scale across London and major UK cities.
- Purcell Architecture: UK-wide architectural firm specializing in heritage, conservation, and adaptive reuse of historic and listed buildings. Closely comparable to Like Architects' Crumlin Road Gaol, Titanic Distillery and Queensway Square heritage work.
Direct peers
- Feilden+Mawson: UK architectural practice with strong heritage, education and masterplanning portfolio. Comparable mid-size practice working across conservation, residential and commercial sectors with similar client mix to Like Architects.
- Proctor & Matthews: UK architectural practice focused on residential-led mixed-use developments, masterplanning and urban regeneration. Directly comparable in mixed-tenure residential, brownfield regeneration and developer-led masterplanning work.
- Page\Park Architects: Scotland-based architectural practice with heritage, conservation and adaptive reuse expertise. Comparable in working across listed buildings, distilleries, and residential/commercial reuse projects across the UK regions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Like Architects social profiles
Digital presenceLike Architects compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Like Architects financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Like Architects leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Like Architects funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Like Architects M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Like Architects
What does Like Architects do?
Like Architects is a Belfast-based architectural practice providing professional design, planning, and project delivery services for newbuild and refurbishment projects. Its core offering centres on adaptive reuse and creative refurbishment of existing structures—including 1960s–70s concrete-framed buildings and listed heritage assets—across residential, commercial office, retail, hospitality, student accommodation, and social housing sectors. Fees are billed as a percentage of construction costs on a project-by-project basis, with notable deliveries including the £87m Merchant Square, Eagle Star House, Titanic Distillery, and Crumlin Road Gaol conversion.
Is Like Architects a public or private company?
Like Architects is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Like Architects founded?
Like Architects was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Like Architects based?
Like Architects is headquartered in Belfast, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Like Architects make money?
One revenue line is on record: architectural Services.
Who are Like Architects's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Consarc Design Group, McAdam Design, Hamilton Architects, Hall Black Douglas and TODD Architects. Broad incumbents are Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) and Purcell Architecture. Direct peers are Feilden+Mawson, Proctor & Matthews and Page\Park Architects.
Does Like Architects have an API?
No public API is recorded for Like Architects.
What industry is Like Architects in?
Like Architects's product category is Architectural Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services, with a secondary code of HSAPAEAG, Historic Home Renovation & Preservation. Its NAICS code is 54131 and its SIC code is 1540.