The Sussex town of Lewes is steeped in history, blood and beer – it was the site of the eponymous battle between Henry III and Simon de Montfort in 1264 and it’s home to the 200-year-old Harveys Brewery.

But clearly, the town is not hide bound by tradition or averse to the odd shock of the new, for alongside its Norman castle and ruined monastery it now has The Nurseries, a small townhouse development by Blue Sonic featuring new generation German-engineered homes.

For locally-based Blue Sonic and its closed-panel timber frame house supplier OSM Homes of Brighton, The Nurseries development represents a double debut. It is the first time Blue Sonic has used off-site construction methods, and it’s also OSM’s first contract.

The first phase involves 24 homes; 18 private dwellings provided by OSM, plus a brick and block building containing six apartments built for Downland Housing Association.

The sight of a crane lifting wall panels into position complete with doors, windows and insulation was an unusual sight for locals, who would not have been used to seeing a house erected within a couple of days.

Local television was keen to capture the building method, with crews setting up a time delay camera on site to show the process.

 

The sight of a crane lifting wall panels into position complete with doors, windows and insulation was an unusual one for locals

Hans Kohl, who runs OSM (which stands for Off-site Manufacturing) with co-director David Craddock, is clearly pleased that their time and effort to bring German construction techniques to the UK is now being rewarded on the ground. 

“Now we are here, we have landed,” said Kohl. “The first one is the most important. People can come here and see a clean site and no waste. This is clean and dry construction where houses are erected and watertight within two days.”

Kohl confessed to being a little anxious about the reaction of traditional building tradesmen (such as bricklayers) on site and whether they feared this type of construction would take away their jobs. But he said their view was very supportive.

The timber wall panels, floor cassettes and roof sections were produced by OSM’s German manufacturing partner Streif and transported by lorry to the site.

A four-man German erection crew then assembled the terraced houses, working from 7am-7pm.

External 200mm deep timber frame walls containing thermal insulation and faced with gypsum fibreboard deliver a U-value of 0.17w/m2K. The use of gypsum fibreboard for internal walls means they can hold a weight of 75 kilos. Electrical ducting and wastewater piping were pre-installed.

Blue Sonic chose Siberian larch cladding for the first and second floors and Schüco aluminium windows. Staircases, roof slates and self-supporting balconies were all sourced locally.

 

The townhouses near completion

Contemporary internal layouts typically feature a garage on the ground floor, lounge and kitchen on the first floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second level and an en-suite master bedroom in the roof space. 

Blue Sonic, run by entrepreneur Andrew Newton, is making full use of the “made in Germany” angle in all its sales literature.

Newton’s background is diverse – for many years he was a director of National Lottery operator Camelot, during which time he also bought properties and refurbished them. He also runs a courier company and equestrian and tennis centres.

“Since I was 19-years-old I’ve been buying run-down properties,” he said, adding that his first foray into construction was in Brighton three years ago, when he built eight houses (Sussex Square Mews) using traditional masonry construction.

“I don’t come into this industry with any preconceived ideas. I looked at the construction industry and thought there must be a better way of doing things. The building process was dirty, laborious and inefficient.”

His quest for more efficient building methods had already led him to two timber frame manufacturers, “but it was not the step change I wanted,” he said. Then he learned about OSM during a summer barbecue when he was introduced to David Craddock.

 

Pre-installed toilet facilities

Two days after meeting Craddock, Newton and his development team visited OSM’s timber systems supplier Streif in Germany. “They all went in and gave it 11 out of 10 – and they were people who were steeped in the construction industry,” said Newton. 

“I’ve taken a huge risk, but as an entrepreneur that’s something I do. It’s proved to be excellent for us, with homes reserving before the launch.”

Only the three show homes at The Nurseries include fixtures and fittings, the rest are shells. This gives people the flexibility to choose the bathroom suites (from Germany), kitchens (William Ball, Lakeside), tiling and floor finishes to wet rooms they want, instead of a standard offering.

The developer’s money is also not tied up in kitchens and bathrooms as these are not installed until after exchange of contracts.

Houses at The Nurseries range from £356,000-500,000 and the next phase of 33 units will be built on an adjacent plot, subject to planning permission.

For OSM the project has proved to be ideal, as it provided a learning experience about using German off-site construction methods for UK developments, as well as a showcase for interested clients. “It’s a fantastic reference site,” said David Craddock. “We don’t need to take people to Germany to see what we can do.”

He said it also showed other developers that its timber construction system suited UK architectural styles. “It’s not Germanic large overhangs,” he said. “These are classic UK-designed buildings.”

Other projects in the pipeline for OSM include a 30-house scheme with Urban Vision in Hastings, plus apartments on the Isle of Wight.