Architecture firm opens MK office after Bedford brewery job

The Bedford brewery job

Source: J Knight Design Ltd, 15 September 2026.

J Knight Design Ltd completed a 6 million pound project for Damm at its Bedford brewery, the first brewery the Barcelona brewer behind Estrella Damm has built outside the Iberian Peninsula. Construction completed in May 2025 and Damm officially opened the site in October 2025. The practice was appointed by the main contractor and worked from April 2024 to completion, covering RIBA stages 3 to 6. The project placed a seven-person Cambridgeshire architectural design practice at the centre of a significant food and drink production fit-out in Bedfordshire, and it is the reference point the firm now cites when explaining its decision to open a satellite office in Milton Keynes in October 2026.

The appointment by the main contractor rather than directly by the client shaped the working pattern. J Knight Design provided architectural design services through the later RIBA stages, from developed design through technical design and into construction, with weekly site visits forming part of the service. The practice, which has traded since January 2022 and is led by managing director Josh Knight, describes itself as CIAT chartered and SafeContractor accredited, and is working towards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Those credentials sit alongside a commercial portfolio that is almost entirely food production, FMCG, warehouse, distribution and industrial buildings, typically between 1 million and 10 million pounds, with some projects at 25 million pounds and over. The Bedford brewery job falls squarely within that range and that building type.

What the scope covered

The scope at Bedford combined structural, drainage, flooring, chilled storage and electrical infrastructure work. J Knight Design produced structural design calculations for UK compliance. A new canning line was installed with associated drainage and tiled flooring. UK-regulated chilled storage rooms were part of the package, as was drainage for sugar silo installation. A new transformer and switch installation with cable bridge was also delivered. Weekly site visits ran alongside the design work, keeping the practice close to progress on site through the construction period.

For a practice that specialises in food production and industrial buildings, the combination is a familiar one. Canning lines, chilled storage, sugar silos and transformer installations are the kind of fixed infrastructure that determines how a production building performs, and each element carries its own regulatory and coordination requirements. Structural design calculations for UK compliance sit at the front of that process, while drainage and flooring decisions for a canning line have to be resolved alongside the equipment layout. The chilled storage rooms must meet UK-regulated standards. The transformer and switch installation with cable bridge connects the building to the power supply it needs. Taken together, the Bedford project gave J Knight Design a completed reference in a sector where the practice already concentrates its work, and it was delivered for a brewer entering the UK market with its first site outside Iberia.

The Milton Keynes move

The satellite office opens in October 2026 at Midsummer Court, 314 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 2UB. Josh Knight, managing director, said: 'Bedford showed us how much commercial and industrial work sits along this corridor, from Milton Keynes down through Northampton. Having a base there from October means we can get to site faster for the food production and warehouse projects we specialise in, instead of driving over from Cambridgeshire every time.' Project enquiries can be made on 01908 467994 or at mkstudio@jknightdesign.com.

The decision to open a second base rather than continue serving the area from Cambridgeshire reflects the geography of the practice's workload. Bedford sits between the existing Cambridgeshire base and the Milton Keynes to Northampton corridor, and the brewery project demonstrated that commercial and industrial work is distributed along that route. A base at Midsummer Court places the team inside the corridor rather than at one end of it. The office opens in October 2026, roughly a year after Damm officially opened the Bedford site in October 2025 and around seventeen months after construction completed in May 2025. The practice has traded since January 2022 and has a seven-person team, so the satellite office is an expansion of an existing operation rather than a new venture.

The practice and its market

J Knight Design Ltd has traded since January 2022 and operates with a seven-person team. The practice is CIAT chartered and SafeContractor accredited, and is working towards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Its workload is almost entirely commercial, covering food production, FMCG, warehouse, distribution and industrial buildings. Typical projects range from 1 million to 10 million pounds, with some at 25 million pounds and over. The practice offers a single point of contact from planning to handover, a service model that suits clients procuring production and distribution buildings where design, compliance and construction stages need to be coordinated without gaps between them.

The Bedford brewery project illustrates how those elements combine. It was a 6 million pound fit-out for Damm, the Barcelona brewer behind Estrella Damm, at its Bedford brewery, the company's first outside the Iberian Peninsula. J Knight Design was appointed by the main contractor and worked from April 2024 to completion across RIBA stages 3 to 6. Construction completed in May 2025 and Damm officially opened the site in October 2025. The scope covered structural design calculations for UK compliance, a new canning line with drainage and tiled flooring, UK-regulated chilled storage rooms, drainage for sugar silo installation, and a new transformer and switch installation with cable bridge, with weekly site visits throughout. For a seven-person practice, the project sits at the upper end of its typical range and demonstrates capability in the food and drink production sector that its Milton Keynes office is intended to serve.

Why the corridor matters

The corridor between Milton Keynes and Northampton contains a high concentration of logistics, warehouse and food production sites along the Oxford to Cambridge arc. Specialist design support for that building type has been thin locally, according to the practice. J Knight Design's stated specialism is precisely that building type: food production, FMCG, warehouse, distribution and industrial buildings, typically between 1 million and 10 million pounds, with some projects at 25 million pounds and over. The new office at Midsummer Court, 314 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 2UB, is intended to shorten travel to sites in that corridor.

The logic set out by the practice is straightforward. Bedford showed how much commercial and industrial work sits along the route from Milton Keynes down through Northampton. A base there from October 2026 means faster access to site for the food production and warehouse projects the practice specialises in, rather than driving over from Cambridgeshire for each visit. The corridor's mix of logistics, warehouse and food production buildings matches the practice's commercial focus, and the practice's CIAT chartered status, SafeContractor accreditation and progress towards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 provide the compliance framework that clients in those sectors typically require. Project enquiries for the Milton Keynes office can be made on 01908 467994 or at mkstudio@jknightdesign.com.

Source: J Knight Design release, 15 September 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

When is J Knight Design opening its Milton Keynes office?

The satellite office opens in October 2026 at Midsummer Court, 314 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 2UB.

What project prompted the Milton Keynes move?

The practice completed a 6 million pound project for Damm at its Bedford brewery, Damm's first brewery outside the Iberian Peninsula. Construction completed in May 2025 and Damm officially opened the site in October 2025.

What was J Knight Design's role on the Bedford brewery project?

The practice was appointed by the main contractor and worked from April 2024 to completion across RIBA stages 3 to 6. The scope included structural design calculations for UK compliance, a new canning line with drainage and tiled flooring, UK-regulated chilled storage rooms, drainage for sugar silo installation, and a new transformer and switch installation with cable bridge, plus weekly site visits.

What kind of projects does J Knight Design typically handle?

The workload is almost entirely commercial, covering food production, FMCG, warehouse, distribution and industrial buildings. Typical projects range from 1 million to 10 million pounds, with some at 25 million pounds and over.

What accreditations does the practice hold?

J Knight Design is CIAT chartered and SafeContractor accredited, and is working towards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.