Design and architecture company, HLM, has bolstered its Northern Ireland leadership team with the appointment of Nicola McKay to Associate, who alongside Steven Lennon will support Simon Bell in leading HLM operations locally.

With studios in Belfast city centre, HLM provides architecture, landscape and urban design, interiors and environmental design to the commercial and public sectors in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain. The Belfast team works nationally and internationally as part of the company's 180-strong team.

A renowned expert in the landscape and urban design sector and a key national contributor to the design industry's implementation of BIM, Simon Bell has been working with the company for 20 years and is now also responsible for leading the 12-strong Belfast team.

Simon Bell, who is leading HLM’s operations in Ireland commented: "Talented people are at the absolute heart of our business and I am delighted to welcome Nicola to the leadership team in Northern Ireland. This is part of our core strategy of driving continued growth in the commercial and public sectors with a key focus on bringing out the best in our team and leading on some of the most exciting design projects in NI as well as nationally and internationally."

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With a strong focus on personal career development, training and employee support, the HLM office was recently shortlisted for the 'Best Company to Work For' category in the Belfast Business Awards 2017, along with the 'Workplace Wellbeing' and 'Best Place to Work' categories in the Irish News Workplace and Employment Awards 2017.

Growing within the ambitious HLM environment for 3 years, Nicola McKay adds to the design expertise of the local leadership team through her new role as Associate. Nicola has delivered several high profile projects, both in the UK, Ireland and internationally, in a broad range of sectors including healthcare, education, civic, commercial and hospitality. Nicola embodies HLM's ethos and is a key driver of its 'one-team' culture and employee academy having been a lecturer throughout her career. Nicola has worked on high profile NI healthcare projects including the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital. In addition to her local focus, Nicola is currently managing HLM’s hospitality projects in Abu Dhabi.

Steven Lennon, HLM Associate, completes the three-strong leadership team and has been with the company for almost a decade. He has extensive knowledge and design expertise, particularly in operationally-led design projects. Steven notably leads HLM's award-winning flagship work with the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) alongside fire service projects across the UK. He is also overseeing the £73m North Wing project at Altnagelvin Hospital, L'Derry, which is due to be completed in December 2019.

Simon Bell added: "I am very proud of the HLM team in Belfast and all that we have achieved to date. We have strengthened our team and our expertise particularly throughout the past year, with home-grown projects such as the significant Paediatric Out Patient Department (OPD) and Urgent Care Centres as part of Dublin's new Children's Hospital and internationally through our work on the highly prestigious hospitality projects in Abu Dhabi.

"With the support and combined knowledge of HLM’s 180-strong team across its offices, we are able to design and deliver ground-breaking projects across Ireland and beyond. As we continue to build on our team in Belfast, we look forward to reaching new heights and advancing best practice within the industry."