OUR DESIGN IS ALL IN THE DETAIL
When it comes to the design process of a new development, how do we decide on the style of house that is going to be built? Well, we always seek professional advice from our long term partners at HB Architects whose expertise always allow us to visualise the project coming to life. Taking on board their suggestions with regards to planning, building regulations, design layout, materials to be used etc we work together incorporating our own ideas and features to be able to create outstanding homes time and again. We take into consideration the natural surroundings of the land, the area it lies within, the history of the land and so forth and try to choose a pleasing aesthetic that is in-keeping and complimentary to the surroundings.
An example of this is our previous Draycote Reach project, set on the perimeter of Draycote Water Reservoir. It was home to a cluster of 1970s pre-fabricated homes for Severn Trent employees whom own Draycote water, which eventually were left derelict. We envisaged a cluster of rural buildings with the character of a vernacular farmstead, all houses were named after birds in a nod to the nature reserve on their doorstep. The very best materials were selected for these spacious homes. Notably the structural oak frames and trusses add wonderful character and internal features and is complimented by an old farmhouse facing brick with polychromatic features that can be seen on historical buildings within Rugby.
Poly-chrome brickwork is a style of architectural brickwork which emerged in the 1860’s as a feature of Gothic revival architecture, wherein bricks of different colours (typically brown, cream and red) were used in patterned combination to highlight architectural features. Nineteenth century English architects such as George Edmund Street and William Butterfield, working in a time of nostalgia for the medieval era, designed many Gothic Revival Churches and School buildings, often incorporating polychromy.
One famous school in particular is Rugby School, originally founded in the 16th Century it was in 1872 when William Butterfield, the high church architect of Keble College, Oxford designed Rugby Schools impressive buildings as we see it today, including the outstanding main chapel; Butterfields Chapel and the Macready theatre. Taking inspiration from these famous listed buildings on our doorstep we incorporated this design into our brickwork to pay our respect to Rugbys’ Architectural Heritage.
