A slow climb back from recession following WWI, meant that the building industry had stagnated, and the Practice ventured beyond the centre of Manchester to find new work other than the patching up of damaged buildings. Two notable buildings of this period were premises for Thomas French and Son in Hulme and a convalescent home in Arnside for the Manchester and Salford Hospital Saturday Fund. Both of these were built in the Art Deco style, and the latter still in use in the 1990s.

Commissions became significantly larger and were accepted further afield, initially in London, working with blue chip clients and banks on HQ buildings. At the same time schemes were developed for Bury Market Hall, Leyland Bus Factory, & homes for both Boy George and Bernie Ecclestone. In 1981 the last of the Fairhurst family retires and the Practice name change to Fairhursts. The business had changed yet the type of clients it represented remained the same, business, commerce, medical & universities. Fundamental to future work, this period also saw the beginning of the development of Dock 9 at Salford Quays, and ventures into Europe. In 1992 Fairhursts changed from a Partnership to a Private Limited Company and became The Fairhursts Design Group.

In 2008 FDG took over Cruickshank and Seward Architects, another longstanding Manchester practice with considerable catalogue of projects. Fairhursts expanded their empire overseas further with the opening of an associated office in UAE and partnership arrangement with an architectural practice in China.
Projects within the scientific and research sectors continued to boom, with more investment in sustainable design, culminating in our multi - award winning Centre for Sustainable Chemistry at Nottingham University.