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.
