Two years ago, Darlington architect and fundraiser Robert Niven died of cancer. Since his death, his wife, Meg, and her team, led by a new architectural director, have not only carried on the practice he began, but have built on his success. Sarah French reprots.

WITH order books at record levels, a team that has doubled in size in the past 18 months, projects worth up to £12m and a string of high-profile clients, Niven and Niven is a thriving practice by any measure.

As with any flourishing business, its success is down to hard work and having the right people.

But the achievements mask a tragic story that perhaps makes Niven and Niven's growth even more heartening.

Two years ago next month, the practice's founder, Robert Niven, died, aged 51. At the time, the practice employed eight people, including Robert's wife, Meg, as office manager, who was determined to carry on building the business.

She said: "Closing the door on the practice was never an option. Projects were ongoing and had to be seen through to the end, and in any case we had a thriving business."

"I know what it takes to build up a practice to this level and to have just thrown that away would have been horrendous."

Robert started the business with his brother, John, in West Auckland, County Durham, in 1984, after working for the Qatar government for eight years. In 1998, he and Meg moved to 41 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington.

"We had always loved the Georgian terrace and used to say 'maybe one day, we will have an office there'," said Meg.

The chance came when Richard Tonks, founder of the Savers chain, moved his headquarters and Niven and Niven had a new home.

"We built the practice up from there and went from strength to strength over the next five years," said Meg.

Durham County Council became a regular client with a number of major projects.

The four months following Robert's death was a testing time. Consultant architect Bruce Ireland, who had worked for Robert and Meg since the beginning, said: "Inevitably, it was a difficult time. It was Meg who brought the practice through."

At the end of 2002, she turned her attention to finding a new director. Simon Crowe had ten years architectural experience in Darlington, including five as a practice partner.

Meg knew his reputation and asked him to join as a director in charge of architectural projects; she remains as director with responsibility for practice management.

Since Simon joined in January last year, the practice has grown to 16.

Among the team is James Pitchers, recently named Tees Valley Champion Apprentice of the Year, who was recruited as a 17-year-old. The associate directors are Adrian Williams, David Lee and Ian Scott. The practice has a further ten consultants and technicians.

"It has been a gradual process of getting the right people in place so that we now have a very strong, hugely talented and committed team," said Simon.

"We have some very good clients, including those who have worked with the practice and myself, and a variety of new clients across many different sectors including the health service, education, commercial and residential developments and the leisure industry. The range of projects is broad and offers exciting and challenging work for our architects and technicians."

Renowned for versatility, Niven and Niven's local clients include Darlington Homes, Landteam, Supreme Care Homes, Darlington Memorial Hospital, Stockton Sure Start, Teesside High School, Cleveland College of Art and Design, Groundwork West Durham, Beamish Museum and Bowes Museum, at Barnard Castle, where they have won the contract to design the new visitor amenities.

At national level, the firm is working on projects for Procter and Gamble in Dublin and London, residential projects for Wimpey Homes and retail developments for Henry Boot. Some projects are worth £12m, but most fall within the £500,000 to £1m bracket.

Last year, amid fierce competition, the firm was appointed to Durham County Council's Strategic Alliance Partnership, a capital project partnership with an anticipated annual turnover of £29m.

A priority of the practice is to continue investing in IT. Training ensures every architect and technician is familiar with the latest technology and with architectural trends.

Simon said: "We are continually stretching ourselves and looking at ways to improve even further. We are constantly updating our computer hardware and software and creating 3D models and imagery, which clients find particularly useful when presenting a project to colleagues.

"It is a case of evolving and seeing just what this team can achieve. It is a new era for the practice and we are pleased to be playing a leading role in the development of the region."

Meg said: "We are a vibrant business in an exciting and ever-changing industry, so it is right that we move forward. The practice retains all the old principles, we haven't lost any of them, it is just that we continue to evolve."

One of those principles is the practice's family atmosphere. Simon's field cocker spaniel, Tarka, who is a regular in the office, has recently been joined by Meg's puppy Hettie, while the team socialises together and has trips away.

"It has been very much a team effort and part of that is maintaining a family atmosphere," says Meg, who has two sons, Grant, 28, and Callum, 26.

She said: "Of course, if Robert was still here, we wouldn't have stood still - a business has always got to develop and move ahead, so in some ways, we are now simply making up for lost time.

"He would have been thrilled with the way things have turned out, as I am. It is a hugely exciting time in the practice's history at the moment."

A community figure who made a difference

GIVING something back to the community in which you work was a philosophy that Robert Niven believed in and one that Niven and Niven continues today.

Director Simon Crowe, with colleagues David Parker and Adrian Williams, and other colleagues and friends of Robert, have recently raised £2,018 for St Teresa's Hospice, in Darlington, after cycling 114 miles around the Lake District in less than 14 hours.

Robert's community involvement was wide and varied.

He was a member of Darlington Rotary Club, a governor of Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College and chairman of the Teesside branch of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

He was also a keen and competitive sportsman. He was diagnosed with liver cancer less than a week after cycling to Darlington from his home in Ingleton and swimming 40 lengths before cycling back as part of his training for a triathlon.

Robert received day care treatment at St Teresa's Hospice and gave his support to the Giving For Life campaign to raise £250,000 for a six-bed full-time care unit for the terminally ill.

His campaigning inspired others to help. Peter Wharton, of Wharton Construction, persuaded a dozen construction companies to set up monthly direct debits of £100 to the hospice, donations which continue today. After Robert died, a golf tournament organised by Landteam raised £3,800 for the hospice unit.

Fundraisers reached their target in March last year after Darlington Primary Care Trust and Marie Curie Cancer Care gave the final amounts needed.

Robert was also a supporter of the Weardale Community Hospital at Stanhope, which he designed, and after his death, a sensory garden was created in his memory.

In 2002, King James I Community School, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, introduced the Robert Niven Prize, presented annually for outstanding performance in design and technology.

A Scotsman through and through, Robert's wife Meg has organised two Burns' Night suppers, one for the hospice, which raised £5,000, and this year's in aid of the Samaritans, which raised £4,000. A third is planned for next March.