A FIRM of architects is celebrating after winning a £9m contract for a health centre development.

DKS Architects said the project for the health centre, in Stratford-upon-Avon, was the biggest in the company's history.

Work is scheduled to start on the site after Christmas and will take between 15 and 18 months to complete.

DKS said the contract win would help raise its profile significantly. Martin Desmond, a partner with the Middlesbrough firm, said: "Our aim is to be able to compete for major £10m-plus projects. To be involved with something like this represents a real breakthrough for us."

The health centre, built on four storeys, will use non-traditional construction methods. It is one of the firm's first major contracts outside the North-East.

Dave Knudsen, a partner with DKS, said: "This is an excellent opportunity for us to expand our expertise in the healthcare sector as well as being able to further develop a portfolio of work outside the North-East."

The scheme follows a £3.5m project for a residential care secure unit for the same client two years ago.

The company's design for the health centre relies heavily on pre-fabricated materials.

Mr Knudsen said: "Pre-fabrication is becoming increasingly popular and we were keen to exploit its benefits in order to overcome the current shortage of skilled bricklayers and minimise the health and safety risks associated with multi-storey construction."

The architects, which said they were keeping the name of the client confidential for commercial reasons, have specialised increasingly in health and education schemes in recent years.

The company said that although the Stratford project was its biggest scheme to date, DKS was on the verge of securing a number of other high value contracts.

Until now DKS, which employs 17 staff at offices in Linthorpe, has been best known for designing two of the region's most distinctive- churches.

The company was behind the modern Roman Catholic cathedral at Coulby Newham, erected in the 1980s. More recently, it designed St Margaret's Church, in Great Ayton.