Above: Group GSA's design for advertising agency Brave's new North Sydney office.

Multi-disciplinary design firm, Group GSA, has credited the government’s stimulus package with what it has called “unprecedented growth”.

The group has bucked industry trends by keeping busy throughout the global financial crisis, thanks to the government’s stimulus packages.

Founder and managing director, Mark Sheldon, said that the firm has emerged from the downturn stronger than ever, with housing, education, infrastructure and defence projects nearing completion.

“The government’s stimulus packages have presented many new opportunities, enabling the company to expand into new sectors,” Sheldon said.

The firm has also been on a hiring spree, with Sheldon confirming that the firm’s architectural team is now the largest it has ever been.

In the housing sector, the company has designed one and two bedroom aged care residences, and is currently involved in 25 housing projects in Sydney, the Central Coast and northern NSW, all of which will be completed by June 2010.

The firm is also working on numerous projects for the Building Education Revolution program and the Catholic Education Office, involving the upgrade and expansion of private and public schools. These projects are in the Sydney CBD, south coast, north coast and regional NSW, along with projects in Queensland.

“We have been able to rethink teaching spaces, the impact of new technologies and social learning in the development of new science research centres with the Catholic Education Office,” Pearse said.

In Infrastructure, Integral Energy is a major client and the group is currently working on a masterplan for the company’s facilities and upgrading a number of substations.

Defence projects are underway in NSW, along with housing projects across several states where facilities are being upgraded.

This year marks 30 years in practice for Group GSA, a period that has seen the group weather good as well as tough times.

“We have many remarkable projects set to take shape both here and overseas, including large scale infrastructure projects in Sydney and an increase in hospitality projects in various locations in the South Pacific,” said Mr Sheldon.

“We see recent work opportunities as a chance to leave a legacy of projects both domestically and abroad, creating infrastructure on both a physical and social level.”