Company-wide design innovation award

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When it comes to company-wide design innovation, many housebuilders are expert at the rhetoric, but our judges felt that few deliver high-quality schemes time after time. Countryside Properties is among that elite and carried off the prize in this Finnforest UK-sponsored category

Winner

Countryside Properties

The list of architects working on Countryside Properties schemes contains plenty of familiar names. The housebuilder is working with Richard Rogers Partnership, Proctor and Matthews and many more, bringing such innovations as contemporary-styled thatched homes to Harlow and concrete structural wall panels to Cambridge. The judges said of the company: “Good design is their leading edge, it is how they have found their niche in the marketplace. They masterplan: they think about houses not just as a set of houses on a plot of land, but as communities. They have a genuine commitment to design, and they think differently. They have got to the point where they are used to working with good design. It is a lead others should be following: the housebuilding industry as a whole has to get used to working with good design.”

Finalists

Bowey Homes

Bowey’s innovation has been concentrated on developing a new line-up of family houses, ranging in size from 950 ft2 to 2750 ft2. The housebuilder worked with architect Gray, Fawdon and Riddle on the concept design for the new range and with HMH Architects for the detailed design and working drawings. The range includes such innovations as GRP dormer windows and flexible living spaces.

Cala Homes South

The entry from Cala Homes’ Southern region focused on the CALA Domus development at Newhall, in Harlow, Essex. The 74-unit scheme by PCKO Architects continues the high design standards being instilled across Newhall by its landowners. The judges thought CALA’s work at Newhall showed tremendous promise and they are looking forward to seeing what the company does in the future.

Gillcrest Homes

Kent-based Gillcrest has embraced the bespoke approach to design and dramatically increased sales rates and prices as a result. This in turn has prompted the company to increase its production from just 20 units in 2000 to 100 units in the current financial year. The company also incorporates environmental innovations into its homes such as rainwater recycling.

St James Homes

St James Homes got a special mention from the judges because of their consideration for the broader local context of their schemes. The company has worked with architect John Thompson and Partners to create masterplans with a sense of community for a number of projects, including The Hamptons in Worcester Park, Surrey.