Orbit Housing’s Fordham House in Stratford-upon-Avon is reportedly aiming to ‘raise the bar’ for rented accommodation.
The 82-apartment block has been designed to provide enhanced protection against noise, as well as a superior maintenance and repair strategy.
Much of the budget for these ‘above-and-beyond’ features has come from the specification of Modus PVC-U windows from Eurocell in place of the aluminium frames originally specified. “We saved a significant amount without compromising on the specification or the design,” said Orbit’s commercial director, Adam Cooper. “And from a planner’s point of view, they look identical.”
The Modus windows, supplied and installed by Unique Window Systems, are tilt-and-turn so that they can be cleaned internally.
With many tenants expected to come from expanding local hospitals, acoustic improvements were said to be high on the menu of potential value-enhancing features. Orbit has beefed up the acoustic barriers between floors and has also added fitted blinds within the reveals of the windows to provide an additional noise cushion for shift workers who need to sleep during the day.
“We did not need to increase the specification for the windows: the existing specification from Eurocell provided the level of acoustic protection that we needed,” said Cooper.
With a 12-year guarantee, the Modus system is available in a range of colours and finishes, and is capable of a ‘U’ value of 1.2 W/m² using 4/20/4 mm sealed double-glazed units.
