The
award-winning York Handmade Brick Company has played a pivotal role in the
creation of the magnificent new Art and Design Building at Pocklington School.
York
Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, supplied 31,000 bricks for the
exterior of the new £2.5 million
building, together with 4300 terracotta tiles for the interior floor.
The
contract is worth £78,000 for York Handmade, one of the leading independent
brickmakers in the UK.
David
Armitage, chairman of York Handmade, commented: “It was a tremendous honour to
be asked to provide our bricks and tiles for such a prestigious project. Pocklington
School has a long and proud artistic heritage and this stunning new building
reflects this.
“Our increasingly
popular linear Maxima Galtres bricks have been used on the building’s exterior,
complementing the contemporary design and fitting in with the local architecture
and landscape. Meanwhile our brand-new, architect-designed Onda terracotta tiles
have been used on 210 sq ft of internal flooring. We are very proud indeed of
the result.
“We were commissioned
by York architect Simon Mitchell, who has used our products on several projects
before and knows our company well. The Onda tiles were based on our range of
terracotta floor tiles, but the special shape was made to his bespoke design.
“The design of the
tiles is based on a 330mm diameter circle with two sides inverted to create an
interlocking ‘wave’ type pattern, all in the natural looking material of York
Handmade terracotta made from our own local Vale of York clay,” explained Mr
Armitage.
Simon Mitchell
commented: “I am exceptionally pleased with the contribution made by York
Handmade to Pocklington School’s new Art and Design Building. The exterior
looks amazing, with the handmade bricks effortlessly combining a sense of
heritage with a cutting edge look, while the Onda tiles are exactly as I
envisaged. I have long had the dream of creating these wave-like tiles and York
Handmade has helped me realise that dream.
“It is a joy working
with a company like York Handmade. They are focussed and flexible,
understanding exactly what a customer needs, and skilled enough to provide
exactly what is wanted. They have helped to create a magnificent building,
which should inspire everyone who works within it.”
The original 1969 Art
and Design Centre, a single-storey structure out of keeping with the rest of
the school, has been removed to make way for the new building, which will be
completed by November.
George Houlton of Hull
are the main contractors on the project.