click images to see a slideshow

Maybury House is typical of many small blocks of flats throughout the UK and Torfaen Council were the not very proud owner of a cold and unattractive building with impractical access issues. In 2005 consultants were appointed to identify solutions to the problems of the 5 storey block and ensure the building met the Welsh Housing Quality Standard. Amongst the client's main objectives was the desire to improve the appearance of the building and its environmental impact, so Gebrik was chosen to be used around the ground floor, with an insulated render system above.

The use of Gebrik allowed the architect to include a domestic brick finish at low levels in contact with the tenants, whilst providing a more robust and durable finish for the client around the exposed ground floor area. It was used in the window jambs and public access areas, such as door openings, to ensure that the long-term maintenance of the building could be kept to a minimum, thereby reducing lifetime costs when compared to less durable insulated finishes. Of benefit to the main contractor was the ability to drop the scaffold early by applying the render first, which also eliminated the risk of the render coatings washing onto the brickwork below.

Upon completion, Torfaen Council said "We wanted to create a landmark and identity, a talking point. We wanted people to want to live here. We think that this has been achieved."

Please click on any of the images on the right to see a slideshow showing aspects of the Maybury House development and a pdf detailing the whole development can be viewed/downloaded from the ‘Resource’ area on the far right.

• Client: Torfaen Council
• Main Contractor: Anthony A. Davies
• Cladding Contractor: Anthony A. Davies