EH Smith, the supplier of the building block Porotherm, has been collaborating on a project with Ben Pentreath, one of the UK's foremost architectural and interior designers, to supply blocks for the restoration of a Grade II-listed country house.
Mr Pentreath, whose work has included designing a large number of buildings at The Prince of Wales' Urban Extension to Dorchester, chose Porotherm - known for its speed of construction and sustainability benefits - during a major reconstruction at Fawley House, a substantial former rectory near Henley, Oxfordshire, and has sung the praises of the walling system.
He said: “I was attracted to the material for its simple robust qualities. As a designer of traditional buildings it is a great pleasure to work with a solid walling material that offers clear environmental benefits.
"Porotherm has gone up cleanly and quickly. The contractor and I are considering Porotherm for other projects and I am sure I will be working with the blocks many times in the future."
Porotherm is a precision engineered modern clay block walling system that is growing rapidly in the UK market because of its fast and dry construction combined with high strength and thermal efficiency.
EH Smith supplied 2000m2 of block work for the Fawley House project. It included the 425mm version of the block for the external walls of the house and the 100mm/140mm/190mm versions for the internal walls.
Jeremy Rich, Porotherm project manager at EH Smith, said: "We are delighted that Ben thinks so highly of Porotherm and it just goes to show that it is not just a product for newbuilds and larger construction jobs, but something as high end as Fawley House.
"With fabric efficiency and renewable energy being such a large part of building control regulations these days, more and more builders, architects and designers are seeing the major benefits of using it."
