Our Story

With over 60 years of experience, the architectural practice that is now Doherty Architects was established in North Belfast in the early 1960’s. Over these years, working from our own premises, we have developed expertise in the design and delivery of a wide range of building types. During 2009, the company was rebranded as Doherty Architects and since April 2024 is under the direction of Lee Doherty and Graeme Skelly. Lee and Graeme have established a core team of individuals who all contribute a wealth of expertise. Using this knowledge base as a foundation we used our own offices as an exemplar project to promote our core principles of design quality, social responsibility and commercial viability. Three run down terraced houses, off the Antrim Road, provided the perfect opportunity to showcase how we unlock the potential within existing buildings and the existing site constraints. We pride ourselves on utilising the latest technology to help us deliver each project. We transitioned to using BIM in 2007, years ahead of the government’s strategy. We are also one of the first firms within Northern Ireland to utilise VR as a core part of our design process.

Our Design Studio

Supported by a team of associates Lee and Graeme steer the design vision of the company and are integral to each project. Our team come together as a collective of knowledge and creativity, working within a fast paced and enjoyable environment. The sharing of ideas is heavily promoted within the office and we take pride in the collective contribution of our team approach to each design.

Our Core Values

Unlocking Potential

The creation of functional buildings which maximise site efficiency providing value. We work closely with all our clients to assess and uncover the potential within each individual scheme and provide a design centric solution which exceeds the clients expectations, aspirationally and economically.

Societal Contribution

A belief in the need for our buildings to contribute positively to their site in the context of improving the urban design and/or the landscape of the vicinity as a whole. 
The appropriate retention and reuse of historical buildings which reinforce the continuity of community.

Commercial Sense

We work with our clients to determine both their short and long term vision and commercial goals during initial briefings to provide flexibility of design throughout a projects lifetime. This assists clients to develop their project in the future without compromise or wasted expense.

Whole Life Design

We review all our projects to ensure they are well detailed, robustly designed and buildable and seek to produce robust buildings with low maintenance and running costs.