Glassex 2006 - Conservatory
Design Competition
ENTRIES UP BY
A THIRD AS CONSERVATORY DESIGN COMPETITION REACHES
NEW HEIGHTS
It is just its third year, but
the Glassex Conservatory Design Competition 2006
has attracted a further huge
rise in the number of entrants and also seen a marked
increase in the overall standard of entries to a level
that judges agreed was “quite remarkable in just
one year.”
The Glassex Conservatory Design Competition, in association
with Ultraframe, was created as part of Glassex 2004.
Its aim was to recognise, reward and promote excellence
in conservatory design, manufacture and installation,
at a time when the industry was showing remarkable
growth and conservatories were becoming established
as a must have for homeowners, as well as an increasingly
desirable solution for commercial and public sector
landlords.
The 2006 awards have been judged
in four categories: Small Conventional, Large Conventional,
Innovative
Design and Large Span (portal), with the addition of
an overall ‘Supreme Winner’ who will receive
a prize of £5,000-worth of state of the art specialist
conservatory IT equipment from sponsor Ultraframe.
Glassex Conservatory Design Competition Results -
in association with Ultraframe:
Small Conventional Section
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The Gold Award in small conventional section went
to Heritage Conservatories for this conservatory
Gold: Heritage
Conservatories - www.heritageconservatories.com
Silver: Cowie & Roberts - www.cowieandroberts.com
Bronze: P&P Glass - www.pandpglass.co.uk
Ultraframe Merit Award: Listers /Steve Adams
Large Conventional Section 
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The Gold Award in Large conventional
section went to Franklin Conservatories for this entry
Gold: Franklin
Conservatories - www.franklinwindows.co.uk
Silver: Franklin Conservatories - www.franklinwindows.co.uk
Bronze: 1st Replacement Windows
Ultraframe Merit Award:
MC Glass Large Span Section
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The Gold Award in Large Span section went to Leekes
for this entry
Gold: Leekes - www.leekes.co.uk
Silver: Lifestyle Conservatories - www.lifestyleconservatories.com
Bronze: K2 Architectural Systems - www.k2conservatories.co.uk/site/architectural
Ultraframe
Merit Award: Lifestyle Conservatories - www.lifestyleconservatories.com Innovative Design Section
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The
Gold Award in Innovative Design section went to Town & Country
for this entry
Gold: Town & Country - www.townandcountryus.com
Silver: Frost Conservatories - www.frostconservatories.co.uk
Bronze: TradePlas - www.tradeplas.com
Ultraframe Merit Award: Artisan -
www.artisanconservatories.co.uk Judging panel member Gary Richards, one of the industry’s
most experienced conservatory manufacturers and installers,
said: “The variety of designs surpasses even
last year. I am very impressed to see the level of
aesthetic and structural design across all entries.
There was no standardisation in design, each entry
was unique in its style and features.”
Andrew Thomson, Design
and Development Director at Ultraframe concurred: “There
is a great deal of variety and an incredibly high
standard
across the
board, with industry wide representation. I am delighted
to see the ways in which conservatories have been used
to enhance homes and how the flexibility of the conservatory
systems has allowed creative expression."
The key purpose of the competition is to encourage
professional conservatory designers, manufacturers
and installers to pursue excellence in every aspect
of their business, and to prove that innovation is
possible using both conventional conservatory styles
and systems, as well as bespoke methods. Ultimately
of course, it is the public and professional specifiers
who will be the judge of the industry.
Barry Dunlop, whose
company eBuilders runs the ConservatoriesOnline homeowner
advice website
said: “I was very encouraged
by the level of entries and the time and effort taken
with each. Innovation, both in design and use of conservatories
was a key theme in this year’s competition. I
am highly impressed to see how conservatory design
has moved on to overcome design problems and become
so solution orientated.”
Another consumer-focused
judge Jason Orme, Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine and its newly
launched sister title Move or Improve was impressed
with the boldness of some entries: “There have
been some outstanding entries in each category and
where installation companies have been brave with their
imagination they have been most successful with their
designs. It is very encouraging to see the many interesting
ways that conservatory designs can be employed to maximize
the use and enjoyment of the home.”
Colin Poole has worked
extensively in the conservatory business in the UK
and United States, where larger,
portal-style conservatories are popular. He said: “The
overall standard of conservatory design is getting
higher and this year and it is very interesting to
see the rise of the larger span conservatories. The
use of portal frames combined with creativity and imagination
has made the design and structure of the entrants very
pleasing to judge.”
And architect Chris Cooper also
enthused about the standard of entries: “Design
standards continue to improve with exemplars such
as these stimulating
both the aspirations of customers and the response
from the trade.”
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