Before Image. Photograph supplied by Scott Fraser Estate Agents.
The Project
A striking family home in one of the Oxford's most sought after Conservation Areas has enjoyed a face-lift with a new aluminium window and door installation by Andy Glass Windows.
One of a cluster of properties, referred to by locals by various nicknames including the Castle Houses, the Elephant House or the Pigsty (as they were built on the site of old pigsties).
During Installation image.
The ABK architect designed individual property retains many of the original design features but to take full advantage of the open aspect and views across countryside new aluminium windows and doors have been installed. Featuring advanced technology – combining the structural integrity of aluminium with a thermally enhancing polyamide, keeping the home insulated from the elements.
The Product
Sapa Windows Crown aluminium system was chosen for the renovation. These can be made to replicate your existing windows or configured with a new arrangement of fixed and opening windows to create an individual look that is just perfect for any home.
Homeowners with Listed properties, or houses that fall inside Conservation Areas and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, will often find their local planning authority is happy to approve the use of Crown windows and doors due to the super-slim frame design.
Crown windows and doors use ‘True Dual-Colour’ technology affording a palette of over 400 colours for the inside and outside, to blend or contrast with your home as you wish.
The finish is a high performance, non-fading, hard and durable coating that is baked onto the frames. Being low maintenance, it needs only an occasional wipe down to stay looking as good as new.
The Install
As an individually designed home the installation process started by checking the construction
of the property. One window was removed and a test uPVC window installed as a temporary measure, enabling us to guarantee we could survey and have the new aluminium windows manufactured to the correct specifications, thus ensuring the final installation process would run smoothly.
Following two weeks working on the property, in conjunction other trades, all 9 windows and 3 doors have been replaced to provide strength and security behind distinctive style.
The new windows now allow 50% more light to flood into the property, giving the internal space an airy feeling and "Bringing the outside in".
Images from the project
The Architects
The property was designed in 1968 by the controversial and ground-breaking firm of architects Ahrends, Burton and Koralek, (now ABK Architects) a British architectural practice. The design, which some describe as brutalist or brutalism architecture was popular between 1951 to 1975. The term originates from the French word for "raw", as Le Corbusier described his choice of material béton brut, meaning raw concrete in French. It's a simple minimalist design can also be seen locally in Egrove Park in Kennington, Oxford, which was opened in 1969 as the Oxford Centre for Management Studies then later named Green Templeton College, and in the additions to Keble College, Oxford on Blackhall Road (1972–80).