History
The practice was set up in 2002 by the practice director, Paul McAlister who qualified as a Chartered Architect in 1997. Paul had worked with Michael Aukett Architects in London and also in offices in Dublin and Belfast before establishing the practice.
Since inception the practice has grown steadily, with the size and complexity of the projects increasing year by year. In 2008 the practice relocated to a restored stonework barn on the outskirts of Portadown to accommodate a growth in workload. The new office accommodation is testament to how, an intervention into an historical building, allied with careful on site supervision can produce an office environment that is modern whilst losing none of the vernacular charm of the original building.
The practice has a breath of experience from small domestic to large commercial projects. It continues to develop new services and skills. The introduction of an environmental policy in 2007 marks a move toward Ecological and Sustainable design. One of the key environmental concerns is to reduce CO2 emissions to all buildings designed by the office.  The Passive House or PassivHaus approach has been adopted as the most reliable standard in achieving energy efficiency in new buildings. We incorporate all or many of these low carbon design principles into residential dwellings and commercial buildings. Paul McAlister is also the first architect in Northern Ireland to be certified as a ‘Certified European Passive House Designer’ with the Passive House Institute in Germany. The practice is currently working on six new Certified Passive Houses as an exemplar scheme near Dungannon.

Practice Philosophy
Paul McAlister Architects is an RIBA Chartered Practice with diverse experience in architecture for both public and private sector clients.
Our expertise includes the whole spectrum of design from bespoke ‘one off’ houses to large scale housing developments and flagship commercial buildings.  Our experience and understanding of planning policies and their design implications allows for an innovative approach to green and brown field sites. In an urban context we aim to create a quality of design that improves the built environment for future generations.  We also Project Manage schemes with the traditional procurement route or in partnership with contractor led teams, including design and build procurement.  All of our work is subject an environmental assessment in terms of sustainability, energy conservation and green material selection.
Our philosophy is to listen and understand our clients’ needs and aspirations and to resolve them with pragmatic, elegant architectural solutions within a budget.  We believe that architecture should be more than just functional, but add intrinsic value through excellence in design.  The goal of our work is to create architecture which can have an innate sense of place and responds to its setting in a positive and inspirational way.

Paul McAlister BA,MA,RIBA
Director

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realised. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big."

Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect. (1864-1912)