Design And Location A Top Priority For West Midlands Developer
Posted 29 November 2023 by
Keith OsborneSpitfire Homes – a multiple winner of prestigious WhatHouse? Awards – is dedicated to building sustainable communities which are uncompromising on design.
Whether it’s creating a chic contemporary townhouse or a characterful country home, all properties share the same Spitfire signature; a design-led approach that ensures residences are both beautiful and practical in equal parts.
Adrian Clift, head of design for Spitfire Homes, discusses his approach to designing some of the most desirable communities across the Midlands.
Jephson from Spitfire Homes
Drawing inspiration from the surrounding vernacular
“At Spitfire, we take great pride in the places where we build and we prioritise visiting the location at the earliest opportunity to get a feel for what makes it unique and special. Once we get the postcode for the new site, we go to the local area to understand the heritage, existing assets and ecological constraints that need to be considered. From a designer’s perspective, looking at the style of the existing architecture helps to paint a picture of how site layouts should evolve within a new development. Not only does this create a collection that integrates into its natural surroundings, it also showcases our attention to detail that’s synonymous with the Spitfire brand. This is what makes customers want to call our properties home.”
Passion for placemaking
“Our residences are woven into the fabric of the local area. We create street scenes that are well connected, with carefully designed social pockets that allow residents to enjoy the space they’re in. Integrating our developments into the local surroundings, we retain existing tree features and hedgerows as well as focusing on the landscape fabric, parkland and play spaces to create areas that people are proud of.
“A prime example of this will be at our new 120-acre neighbourhood located on the western edge of Daventry, which already has outline planning permission for up to 1,100 new homes in partnership with Crest Nicholson. The wider scheme will incorporate 50 acres of public open space along with plans to deliver a new primary school, nursery and community centre, alongside food and retail units. Offering an attractively landscaped environment for community enjoyment, plans also include over 300 new trees, three children’s play areas for the local neighbourhood to enjoy and nearly 3,000 metres of pathways and cycleways connecting the development to the town centre and surrounding countryside. This focus on placemaking is what sets us apart from the rest.”
Adrian Clift of Spitfire Homes
Committed to quality and uncompromising on design
“Our design-led approach instils a distinct DNA in every house we create. Whether it's a two-bedroom terraced property or a five-bedroom detached home from our 'Bespoke Collection', the same passion and quality is incorporated into every aspect of a Spitfire home.
“We take inspiration for many of our homes from Georgian architecture. The use of symmetry not only adds to the aesthetic appeal but also enhances the functionality of the spaces within the home. A distinctive feature of Georgian architecture is its emphasis on free-flowing natural light – large, well-proportioned windows are a characteristic across our house type range.
“Our internal layouts are created with today’s modern lifestyles in mind, ensuring the requirements of our customers are at the forefront of the design, right from the initial concept. Whether it’s a designated home office, an open-plan kitchen and family living area, or a dining room which can be transformed into a playroom, snug, or media room – our layouts are designed to meet a variety of needs.
“Each property also showcases a selection of premium brands, materials, and quality finishes. The Spitfire Signature specification includes individually designed kitchens, stylish and contemporary sanitaryware and a selection of sustainable, future-proofing technologies, that ensure each home is as practical as it is beautiful.”
Beaufort from Spitfire Homes
We are Spitfire Homes, we’re not like other housebuilders
“Delivering sustainable communities is at the core of what we do at Spitfire. We have a commitment to supporting the communities we operate in, reducing our carbon emissions throughout the construction process by working in partnership with our supply chain and delivering sustainable and efficient properties that are fit for the future.
“We’ve included air source heat pumps on sites dating back to 2015 and in 2021, we made the decision to roll them out as standard. We also include underfloor heating in our specification, have installed car charging points as standard to every home, and are currently trialling wider sustainability features such as solar PV, batteries, infrared heating and smart homes in our portfolio. These features ensure that every Spitfire home is future-proofed, and our flexible layouts are suitable for the requirements of modern lifestyles not just today, but for years to come. The culmination of this results in a clear sense of purpose; creating sustainable communities that are designed to inspire.”
Find out more about current Spitfire Homes developments.