Our team in Poole (formerly known as Smith Foster) provided Structural Engineering design for this exclusive residential development of eighteen high quality homes designed in the Arts and Crafts period style, situated close to the village of Churt. The original project was commissioned to specifically reference the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens, Arts and Crafts’ greatest exponent. It was extensively praised for its design by the local planning department and its Planning Committee.

Williams Lester Architects designs reflect the key characteristics of the period; steeply pitched tiled roofs with sweeping gables; tall, richly corbelled red brick chimneys, and first floor windows tucked under generous eaves. All houses are designed as chalet bungalows to maximise the space within and it was considered the only way to effectively achieve this was to model each unit using Revit 3D modelling software to ensure that the architectural setting out was not compromised by the structural requirements. This process was extremely effective, resulting in a very low level of site queries during construction.

The larger units for the project posed some challenges to the design as the initial concept for the smaller units did not scale well would have resulted in a requirement for complicated and heavy steel frame. This was identified early on and we adopted a different approach for these units employing prefabricated trussed rafters saving on steelwork and considerably improved construction time.

Image credit – Williams Lester Architects