Bridgeford, a contemporary and innovative new build home in Easingwold near York, is proving to be an ideal showcase for VELFAC aluminium / timber windows.
The three-storey house features generous VELFAC glazing on both front and rear facades, bringing natural light into the interior while emphasising glorious countryside views. The house also makes the most of VELFAC design versatility, sustainable manufacture, low energy performance, and low maintenance construction.
Matthew Groom, Partner at Brierley Groom Architects, specified a wide range of VELFAC units at Bridgeford, including punch-hole windows, a front-facing oriole installation, and a large bi-folding patio door. Impressive, full height curtain walling front and rear (incorporating a VELFAC front door) combine to bring natural light into the stairwell, giving the home ‘transparency through the building, allowing views through to the extensive garden beyond,’ says Matthew. Glazed screens, combining fixed and opening units, front the rear-facing living room and master bedroom, with the screen design echoed in glazing bars specified for windows across the build. Shaped VELFAC windows are also installed within the eaves of both the double garage and rear facade, making the top floor ‘a very rewarding position to have a home office’, says Matthew.
Design versatility also extends to frame finish. Clear lacquered internal timber frames emphasise the natural wood construction, while external aluminium is finished in a grey polyester powder coating to complement Matthew’s ‘simple palette of materials’, which includes white rendered walls, a natural blue slate roof, and zinc cladding around the larger window screens.
As well as making a significant aesthetic contribution, the VELFAC system supports the sustainable, low maintenance philosophy underpinning Bridgeford’s construction. Matthew said ‘We installed a mix of double and triple glazed VELFAC units to help conserve heat generated by an air source heat pump,’ he adds: ‘The composite VELFAC frame design delivers great energy performance and increased thermal values, while the durable frame construction – with an estimated lifetime of forty years or more – also makes VELFAC a very low maintenance solution’.