Charminster Self-build

In 2015, Roger Stretton, an architect and one of the founders

of the practice Berman Guedes Stretton, and Martin Smith

collaborated to bring to fruition their shared enthusiasm for

contemporary, cutting edge, environmentally-friendly residential

design.

On an attractive, mature garden site near Dorchester in Dorset,

two 2,100 sq ft detached, two-storey houses were designed

around south facing courtyards with a one-and-a-half storey

height living room.

When designing the properties, environmentally responsible

materials, products and processes were at the forefront of

the specification. To this end, incorporating renewable and

innovative technologies, such as air-source heat pumps and heat

recovery ventilation systems enable the buildings to be highly

energy efficient.

Having previously used Allgood products, Roger recognised

the brand for its quality and reliability, and consequently

specified Allgood’s Alite lever handles and Allgood doorsets

for the project. He explains, “The new houses have a modern,

minimalist design, so it was essential that the ironmongery and

doors complemented this approach, Allgood’s stainless steel Alite

handles and bespoke finished doors met these requirements.”

To complement the interior architecture of the buildings, Allgood

supplied doorsets incorporating fully fabricated and finished

flush doors with rebated frames to create a perimeter shadow

gap. An important design feature was a clear line of vision

through each house along the main axis of the plan. To achieve

this, four special, full-height glazed doors with glazed side panels

were supplied. In addition, two 30 minute fire resisting doors

were also specified to the plant-rooms.

Arriving on site, factory painted and with hinges and locks

already fitted, the Allgood doorsets provide valuable savings in

time, cost and waste as well as a higher quality finish.