Case study: Muller Yard

Muller Yard is the latest addition to Elevate Property Group’s Trent Bridge Quays, a stylish regeneration project on the banks of the River Trent in Nottingham, which includes 44 apartments, 14 townhouses and a commercial property at street level

The Project

Muller Yard is the latest addition to Elevate Property Group’s Trent Bridge Quays, a stylish regeneration project on the banks of the River Trent in Nottingham. Post planning design work by Rickett Architects, Muller Yard is home to 44 apartments and 14 townhouses, together with commercial property at street level. All residences feature VELFAC composite windows, patio doors, and entrance doors, with the system specified for excellent technical performance, product quality and cost-effective pricing.

‘At Muller Yard, our brief was to achieve high quality, spacious open plan living,’ says Andy Summers, Senior Technical Associate at Rickett Architects: ‘In terms of daylight, this meant a robust glazing design with a focus on oversized units in order to enhance and emphasise the sense of space within each apartment.’ The windows and doors also had to satisfy a range of performance targets: ‘We wanted to exceed the requirements of Building Regulations in terms of thermal performance,’ says Andy, but we also had to meet strict acoustic criteria imposed by Nottinghamshire City Council as the site is opposite Notts County Football Club, and close to a main road and industrial units.’

VELFAC triple glazed windows and doors

Having worked with VELFAC on smaller projects, Andy felt that the system would be ‘the perfect fit’ for Muller Yard given the ‘high quality’ and performance of VELFAC products. ‘When planning the build we first met with a VELFAC Business Manager to discuss the product range in more detail, and to gain a better understanding of how VELFAC could meet both our architectural requirements and meet our budget,’ he explains.

‘These initial conversations proved extremely useful as they enabled us to achieve a cost effective solution comprising a range of different door and window designs across the project. This was followed by a full design stage handled by the VELFAC team, which gave us the opportunity to review each window opening to ensure it was detailed robustly with regard to weather proofing, and to minimise air leakage pathways.’

Every apartment at Muller Yard enjoys a large feature VELFAC window screen together with smaller punchhole units and a stylish VELFAC patio door leading to a balcony or terrace. The distinctive slim composite frames maintain uniform sightlines across every facade and feature a light grey finish on the external aluminium sash, with inner timber frames finished in the same shade. ‘At Muller Yard, the finish was determined by the wider Trent Bridge Quays development,’ explains Andy, ‘and so we were keen to enhance the harmony between the two developments by maintaining the same colour palette. However, it was also useful to know that VELFAC could supply windows with a different internal and external finish if required.’

Environmental conscious choice

Sustainability was another factor guiding product choice: ‘In any project we have to consider our environmental responsibilities,’ says Andy: ‘VELFAC has a strong environmental ethos and is committed to reducing the impact of its products and production methods, with evidence online of the initiatives put in place to achieve this. This ethos fitted neatly with the aspiration of our client - Elevate Property Group - to deliver more sustainable developments.’