Unlocking creativity with Crest

At Crest we believe our products transform buildings into something remarkable. The ongoing project at Goldsmith Street, Norwich showcases how inspirational architecture and good quality building products can complement each other into creating award winning developments.

The city of Norwich held an international RIBA Competition in 2008 to select architects and the right scheme for the site, which Riches Hawley Mikhail won. The architects led by David Mikhail & Annalie Riches have a talented team that live & breathe each project. David Mikhail from Mikhail Riches says “We’re known for unlocking the potential of any site with creativity & strong focus towards a low-energy future, we believe we have created something very special for the new community of Goldsmith Street for example; the existing green links are to be reinforced with a landscape scheme which extends beyond the boundaries. A shared ‘alley’ encouraging small children’s play and communal gathering is accessible from back gardens – a secure place which only key holders (residents) can access”. Mikhail Riches deliver outstanding design & have fun doing it which has been complemented by the commitment from the team at Crest.

Norwich City Council has developed the site itself without a housing association or development partner. With approximately 100 new homes being provided, this represents a significant new investment for the City.

This major development by Norwich City Council of new council-owned energy efficient homes is one of the largest 100% Passivhaus scheme currently under construction. A Passivhaus Scheme is a Low Carbon scheme, where all houses and flats face South and are on target to achieve full ‘Passivhaus’ Certification. We understand this will be the largest Passivhaus social housing scheme in the UK. The design seeks to provide sunny, light filled homes with very low fuel bills of approximately £150 per year.

Our scheme is dense and low rise. We have provided more houses than other schemes, which are mainly flats – thus giving better value from the site. Future maintenance has been minimised by designing flats whereby every flat has a front door onto the street, with its own staircase and lobby at street level – designing out all internal common parts.
Mostly two storeys, houses are given the occasional dormer to provide a fourth bedroom. Most of the principle rooms, face south. Generous kitchen / dining rooms form the heart of each house.

This high density, social housing in Norwich City Centre consists of around 40 houses and 60 flats and is a fantastic project for Crest. Working closely with the architects to supply both brick and roofing materials, the architects chose two brick types: Belgravia Buff Multi and Grosvenor Grey Multi as they wanted to mix the bricks to create a unique bespoke blend which was mixed onsite. To complement the brick work we supplied the H14 interlocking clay pantile finished in black gloss specified by the architects as historically it is found locally. This beautiful high-quality clay roof tile was a perfect match for this special project which echos the scale and street pattern of the local Victorian housing and traditional materials of brick and tile, yet detailed in a simple and contemporary way.

The complex roofing system created some technical challenges for Crest, with a number of bespoke specials being developed for the project. The angles on the pitched roof required a specially engineered clay tile to form the beautiful roofscape with the roll of the tile pattern being read at both the mansard and ridge junctions a challenge set by the architects for Crest to deliver. Crest’s talented team headed by Managing Director Arnold van Huet created a bespoke roofing tile, carefully designed at exactly 70º angle and accurate with millimetre precision enabling the roofing contractors to construct the pitched roofs to the quality the architects aspired to.

Crest have always been keen to work with like-minded businesses this includes their European manufacturing partners. These strong working relationships have been built through a mutual respect and trust over a long period of time and this enables Crest to continually enhance their offering to the benefit of their customers. In addition these close ties have enabled Crest to become a ‘virtual manufacturer’ with the ability to design and develop many products specifically for the UK market in a fast, efficient manner with no compromise on the quality of the materials used.

We believe that our exclusive quality product range and our ability to go above and beyond has helped deliver exactly what the client wants. The Goldsmith Street development is now entering its final stage and tenants are making arrangements to move into these amazing properties.

To find out more about the Crest range of products, you can visit their website at www.crest-bst.co.uk or call them on +44 1430 432667. Visit our Exhibition Stand E20 at the RCI Show on 27-28 March at Ricoh Arena, Coventry.