Shropshire architectural designers among best in the West Midlands after award win

A Shropshire firm of architectural services is among the best in the country after winning a major award for an innovative development of three new homes near Oswestry.

Ke-design, based in Shrewsbury, has been named as the regional winner in the Best Small New House Development category of the LABC (Local Authority Building Control) Building Excellence Awards - a significant accolade in the construction industry.

The firm will now go to the overall final in January where its work designing three highly energy-efficient homes in Coopers Lane, Porth-Y-Waen, Oswestry, could result in a national award.

Craig Marston, managing director of Ke-design, said the project was a “designer’s dream” with a site which enjoyed spectacular views but also presented a challenge.

He said: “It’s a designer’s dream when the client puts 100% faith in your design ability with a brief of ‘design what you think’s best’. We were grateful to be given the opportunity to bring our vision into reality with this development.

“Although the site is in a fantastic setting, the slope posed an interesting design challenge which we decided to turn into a strength rather than a constraint.

“The house designs embrace the site’s slope with split level floor plans. Each dwelling has a glazed double-height entrance at upper ground level, before a feature staircase goes down half a level to the open plan living space.

“The whole aim was to make the most of the stunning views and bring as much natural light into each home as possible, and we were delighted with the end result.

“It is always a proud achievement to see any project go from paper to a physical build, and to be recognised by the construction industry with this award is extra special.

“Being able to go to London to be judged alongside some of the finest designs in the country will be a real privilege.”

Mr Marston said he hoped the award would encourage other developers to have faith in more creative designs.

“A sustainable home doesn’t have to be a grand design one-off,” he said. “This project is proof that speculative house builders don’t have to follow the same mould, and if you entrust the designer you can make a difference.

“In this case, the client not only put faith in our design ability, but also our construction knowledge as they were not experienced in timber frame construction.

“Timber frame construction gives a highly-insulated airtight building envelope, which along with solar panels, underfloor heating and mechanical ventilation heat recovery, provides exceptional energy efficiency and low energy bills.

“It would be great to think this project can set an example to other house builders that good design can be implemented, and that there is a demand for it.

“Two of these homes were sold off-plan and we know from speaking to the residents how much they love them as family homes and really value the energy efficiency.

“If any developers are considering bringing this kind of innovative design to their next project, we would be delighted to talk to them about working together.”

The LABC Building Excellence Awards are the largest business to business awards in the building control sector, recognising quality and a commitment to driving up standards across the construction industry.

The LABC network covers all local authority building control teams in England and Wales.

For more information about Ke-design, visit www.ke-design.co.uk