The voice of concrete products - British Precast

BRITISH PRECAST BEST PRACTICE AWARDS 2008
(Photos: Bradstone.)
Bradstone – South Lodge Hotel, Horsham:
Traditional walling for prestigious hotel
South Lodge Hotel, which dates back to
1883, is a luxury 4-star country house
hotel. Featuring 89 exquisitely
furnished rooms and set in 93 acres of
parkland, the hotel is situated in the
idyllic South Downs in Sussex.
CONCRETE report
When a large extension to the historic hotel was
required, a key requirement in the specification and
design was the existing aesthetics and architectural style of
the hotel and its surroundings. This had to be taken into
careful consideration by project architect, Peter Smart, due
to the hotel’s neo-Jacobean style.
The project
The architect specified Bradstone’s ‘traditional walling’
range based on its ability to create one seamless development.
“Our aim was to blend together the new extension
with the existing building, while retaining the intended visual
appearance and harmony of the original house,”
explains Peter Smart.
Bradstone supplies reconstructed stone and architectural
masonry solutions to the house-building industry. The
walling range comes in a number of finishes and shades,
sizes and components.
“The traditional walling range has a squared and lightly
dressed finish, which is created by moulds, cast directly
from hand-dressed natural stone masters and has long been
specified as an alternative to natural stone in many regions,”
explains Ian Wright, head of marketing for the building
products division at Aggregate Industries, which includes
the Bradstone brand.
“The Southwold shade selected for this project has been
specifically blended using colouring pigments to reproduce
faithfully the original naturally weathered stone
appearance of the stone used on the hotel.”
As an alternative to natural stone, the reconstructed
stone walling block is aesthetically pleasing and sympathetic
to its natural surroundings, as well as being a strong,
durable and very cost-effective solution. It is produced at a
fraction of the cost of natural stone and produces less
waste.
As well as reconstructed stone walling, Bradstone’s
complete service solution meant it also supplied purposemade
cast stone architectural dressings for the window
surrounds, door surrounds and corbels for the extensions.
These were cast in the Ashton Buff shade and recreated not
only the appearance of the original neo-Jacobean style but
also reflected the workmanship and finish of a first-class
hotel.
“The innovative use of these precast architectural features
allowed the faithful recreation of the old patterns of
the surrounds, at a fraction of the cost and time that would
have been needed had traditional stone masonry methods
been employed,” comments Colin Baker, project director
of contractor Longley.
Sustainability
Sustainability was another key requirement in the tender
process for the specification of structural products at South
Lodge Hotel, with Bradstone’s range meeting and exceeding
these requirements.
Project
Award:
Masonry
Category
Joint Winner
“The innovative
use of these
precast
architectural
features allowed
the faithful
recreation of the
old patterns of
the surrounds, at
a fraction of the
cost and time.”
Figures 1–2 far left and
below: South Lodge
Hotel, Horsham.
Figure 3 left: Internal
walls at South Lodge.
Reproduced f ro m CONCRETE December 2008/January 2009 © The Concrete So c i e t y, 2008 27