A stunning £6 million new build country residence with impressive environmental credentials

Great Oaks is a significant, new build, Georgian style mansion deep in the Berkshire countryside. The main building provides luxurious accommodation, with an array of ensuite bedrooms and reception rooms, plus extensive underground parking. Wings to the East and West include an estate office, indoor swimming pool and two storey staff accommodation.

Built to last, the building required both modern and traditional construction skills and is formed from load bearing masonry on top of a reinforced concrete basement. The external elevations incorporate extensive use of re-constituted stone for the window details, porticos and parapet copings.

Internal finishes are of the highest quality, with decorative plasterwork, oak staircases, oak panelling and hardwood joinery throughout. Other features include a lift, state of the art M&E fittings, three kitchens, a spectacular conservatory with a breakfast room leading out to south facing terrace.

The building also has impressive environmental credentials with design aspirations to comply with level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes including 50m²of roof level photo voltaic panels, ground source heat pumps and partial LPG heating. In addition Beard created a lake and wetland habitat and 10 acres of woodland planting complete the scheme.

Challenges & Solutions

Achieving sustainable targets for the project were crucial. Beard was careful to protect ancient woodland and quick to find cost effective solutions to exceed minimum requirements, achieving 100% on site recycling of all demolition waste and successfully re-using all excavation materials including sub-soils for landscaping.

Attention to detail, quality and value were essential throughout the scheme. Straight forward dealings at all times, proactive planning and careful management of specialist subcontractors ensured smooth progress.

"Beard developed a strong working partnership with us and proved a responsible and responsive contractor throughout the project. They were straight forward to deal with and proactive and efficient in managing the contract, helping us to meet our design goals for an impressive, high quality, country residence.”
Nick Corder, Senior Architect, David Parker Architects