Well, it is a testament to how busy we have been in the New Year that we are in March already, and spring is well on its way, although here on the South Coast first signs of spring arrived in mid January with daffodils out and some welcome sunshine.
First up this year we are working with architects RB Studio to provide the closed panel timber frame structure for a high end residential unit in Fishbourne. This will be project number four with RB Studio Architects using our off site construction system, which will lead to a seamless initial design phase due to the architects understanding of our product.
Mill Pond Cottage, Fishbourne is of contemporary design with the form reflecting the basic layout of the existing dwelling on the site with the selection of external cladding and other external materials being drawn from those used for the existing dwelling, namely brick and timber cladding, which are the main materials used to clad the timber wall panels of the north and south sections of the proposed eco building.
Although not designed to passiv haus standards, an energy efficient design will be achieved as the closed panel timber frame will be based on one of our higher specification timber wall panels, creating a low energy and sustainable building in the place of the existing dwelling. The layout of the proposed closed panel timber frame building is well thought out with the footprint being split into zones with the South wing being designed as a warmer zone incorporating the living rooms which will benefit most from solar gain through the large glazed openings formed in the timber wall panels which are also there to soak up the fantastic views out over Chichester Harbour. There is then a central circulation zone with double height voids at each end leading to the North wing which houses the utility areas and bedrooms.
The proposed glazing at Mill Pond Cottage is to be provided by Velfac, the Velfac 200 windows will sit well with the modern design of the prefabricated house. Here at Streif UK we are not bound to supply our high quality German windows with our closed panel timber frame buildings, we are just as happy to use UK suppliers if the client prefers the aesthetics of windows provided by a different manufacturer. You will still get all the benefits of factory fitting (such as improved air tightness), as we will ship the windows to our factory in Germany where they will be installed into the timber wall panels as normal.
Mill Pond Cottage will be built using off site manufacturing to produce the closed panel timber frame building at our factory in Germany with Streif UK working alongside the UK architect and the Streif GmbH design and production teams ensuring that the design process leads seamlessly through to production of the precision engineered German timber frame house which will then be delivered to site and erected by our site teams to provide a weather tight structure in under a week.
So if you have a bespoke residential project which you need to construct quickly and effectively, our closed panel timber frame system will fit the bill, so please call our offices to discuss how we can help progress your design to create a sustainable building for you.
