Architect of his own destiny

THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW/Hugh Wallace: Douglas Wallace:Property prices in this county might be slowing at a faster rate than a Formula One car entering the pits for a tyre change, but Dublin-based architect Douglas Wallace continues to maintain its growth at a breakneck pace.

Perhaps with one eye on the property market here, Douglas Wallace has spread its wings of late by acquiring businesses in Northern Ireland and London.

These have added to its existing operations in Dublin, Galway and London.

The firm confidently predicts that last year's revenues of €15 million will double by 2010 with staff numbers growing from 160 to 235.

At the start of September, the firm, which is headed by chief executive Hugh Wallace, acquired the specialist interior design and architecture division of London-based Corporate Edge Group Ltd.

This followed hot on the heels of its takeover of Ferguson Wheeler, a leading architecture and design practice in Belfast.

"We see a lot of opportunities outside [the republic of] Ireland," Wallace said.

"There are huge opportunities in Northern Ireland.

"There are a lot of brownfield sites in Belfast and Derry waiting to be developed and Ferguson Wheeler gives us the credentials to take on the best competition from the UK and Europe."

Douglas Wallace has already built an impressive CV since it was founded in 1987. Recent work includes the Dundrum Town Centre and the Morrison hotel, both in Dublin, the refurbishment of the Bow Street Magistrates Court in London, the G Hotel in Galway and the much talked about Edwards Court upmarket residential development in Dublin's Donnybrook.

The firm has also worked for Harrods, helping to design the children's department and its towels and bedding section. And it worked on the redevelopment of a shopping centre in Slough, better known as the location for The Office, the quirky BBC television comedy.

"We see the UK as having huge potential," Wallace says. "There will be lots of opportunities for the redevelopment of town centres."

In addition, the firm has worked on projects in Spain, Romania and Latvia. Wallace has even talked about looking at Libya, once a pariah state but now a potential investment area for American businesses.

Wallace was a founder of the firm and a driving force behind the business.

He had hankered to be an architect from the age of four, taking inspiration from an uncle in the profession. He almost didn't make it to the drawing board, however, having been identified at an early age with dyslexia.

At one point, his mother had resigned herself to packing the extrovert Wallace off to the army. "That would have been interesting," he recalls, with a twinkle in his eye.

Fortunately for Wallace, he was able to complete his Leaving Certificate orally, boosting his results and gaining him entry to the Dublin Institute of Technology in Bolton Street.

That's where he met business partner Alan Douglas and they have worked together ever since.

Ironically, having sweated to qualify as an architect, Wallace retired his pencil and T-square on entering business, focusing instead on sales and marketing. "Alan was much better [ at design] than I was," Wallace admits. "Somebody had to be out the door grafting for business and that was me."

Wallace recalls the bad old days in the early 1980s when business was thin on the ground and it wasn't uncommon to slip off early for a couple of pints. Only three people in his class stayed in Ireland after qualifying.

"I stayed," he recalls. "I should really have gone and worked for somebody else - that would have been an interesting experience."

He describes his business partnership with Douglas as being "very special" over the past 27 years. "We've had rows and arguments over projects, but that's all."

In spite of the gloom overhanging the construction sector at the moment, Wallace remains upbeat about the future.

"Unfortunately the pendulum has swung the other way for now but there's still a lot of activity going on and a lot of big projects being planned," he says.

He's all in favour of Sean Dunne's master plan to rejuvenate Ballsbridge with a 36-storey tower, apartment blocks, retail and other facilities.

"It will be great," he says defiantly. "Thirty storeys is not tall. It is for Ireland but so what? Thirty-storey buildings can be very elegant. What's important is that the development complements the area.

"I think the impact of Lansdowne Road [ stadium] will be far greater on that neighbourhood than this [Sean Dunne's development]. I'm amazed by the bulk and sheer scale of the project [ stadium]."

After 27 years of hustling for business and with his 51st birthday hoving into view, Wallace has one eye firmly fixed on succession within the business.

"My role over the next four to five years is to ensure the proper handover of the company to the people who are going to run it into the future."

If all goes to plan, Wallace expects to hand over the reins at the end of 2010. He will continue to have a role in the business, but it will be more focused on individual clients and projects.

Douglas, meanwhile, is likely to leave the business at that juncture and work as a consultant.

Some senior managers have become shareholders and Robert Coen, its chief operations officer, has been earmarked for the top job in three years' time.

Wallace says it's a natural evolution. He will merely be making space in his head for the next stage of his life and career.

"I'm looking forward to the journey continuing as I empty my mind to refill it."