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PROJECT REPORT: RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
“We have very few sales extras available, as we include these in the home as standard, like underfloor heating and oak floor finishing” Gavin Calthrop, director, Stonewood Homes
would sit well within the local vernacular. The exteriors offer the same finishes of stone, red brick and premium quality roughcast render as houses seen throughout Great Somerford, combining to provide “a sympathetic street scene that makes the development feel part of the village,” says Smart.
One particular inspiration that Smart cites is the village’s former pub, The Masons Arms – now a private home – which opened in 1841. He says: “Echoes of its stone frontage and late Georgian/early Victorian style are seen throughout the development,” which may provide some nostalgic overtones for residents.
Another key driver for ensuring the development “blended seamlessly” with the village was that it would in effect be a “new entrance” to the north of the village. This was also a further reason why it was key for the homes to blend with the neighbouring farm, including “making a feature of the listed farm buildings,” Smart adds.
Light & space This being the builder’s first development in the area, the team went with a traditional construction method, with a range of brick, stone and roughcast render, focusing on high-quality craftsmanship. Calthrop adds that Stonewood paid close attention to detail on the quality of finish. According to Smart, the key driver in this process was to have a “simple build,” that used high-quality materials and design, with a focus on light and space.
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He says it was an “essential” element to have a view from the front of the houses through to the rear living/dining space and onto the garden “so that you could see right into the heart of the house,” he says. “This is a design aspect that is essential to all the homes – the corridor of light through their centre is something that welcomes you as you enter.” To maximise daylighting, the team incorporated skylights where possible, and additional full-height windows at the entrances – with natural light increased by the combination of higher than standard new build ceilings (2.7 metres compared to 2.4 metres on the ground floor and 2.6 rather than 2.4 upstairs), and larger than average windows. In the larger homes, the rooflights overlook spacious landings that are big enough to be workspaces. The design team calls this ‘stolen space,’ creating an extra room without compromising the size of any other rooms around it.
The rest of the layout focuses on the kitchen being the homes’ “heart” – a shared kitchen/living area “perfect for flexible family living.” Calthrop adds: “The combination of space along with the amount of green space in the development make these homes a fantastic choice for families.”
Sustainability
This attention to detail continued through the development’s approach to ecology and sustainability, though Calthrop says that – given the nature of working within the
ADF AUGUST 2022
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