Build Sustainable Awards 2016

Build 2016 Sustainable Building Awards 6 ohn is leading a modern Renaissance – bringing art back to the finer details of construction and architecture, asking “Why? Why shouldn’t we mix art with functionality? Why can’t we have works of art in the middle of our showers, or alongside our bi-fold patio doors or in urban schemes?”. Where products to date have followed the prescribed production route to market, being led by function and cost, with design only being an afterthought, John is different. He starts at the design end of the spectrum, ensuring the pieces produced truly excel in design and quality, but also fulfil their functional requirements. Lateral Design Studio’s clients care about the environment, and they make it very clear that they want the products to be designed and made in the UK and/or the EU. In addition, they would like all of the products to be made from recycled materials, some of which are 100% recycled, including aluminium, cast iron and stainless steel products. This commitment to quality and sustainable materials has not gone unnoticed. Since 2011, when the company was launched, Lateral’s ethos has won them five awards including House Builder Best External Product of the Year 2016, and now two Sustainable Building Awards in 2016 – European Product of the Year and the Best for Targeted Construction Products. With a remarkable slate of clients, Lateral Design Studio has provided replacement heating registers to Hampton Court Palace, cast iron channel drains, manholes and gully covers to Blackburn Cathedral, and it also counts Grosvenor Britain and Ireland among its clients. Increasing numbers of developers, architects and designers are approaching Lateral too, realising that the unpolished finish of a cheaply-made, unattractive grate or drain cover does little to enhance the impact of even the most exquisitely designed buildings or settings. Founded in 2011, Lateral is the only company in the UK providing designed solutions to replace functional construction products - both inside and outside the home. It’s a family-run company, with John in the driving seat, his daughter in charge of sales, and partner, Anne, in accounts. The uses for its products are endless, from homes to businesses, and landscape projects up and down the country and internationally. Lateral operates under three main brands, creating a range of functional and beautiful products for internal and external use. Its concept is to transform functional components into must have pieces of art; anything that air, water or sound passes through is targeted by John. He aims to create pieces which transcend the typical demarcation boundaries found in the construction process of today. Aqualevel, a new high performance award winning modular drain system created by Lateral Design Studio, offers level access through doors and a range of award winning architectural quality covers. It means homeowners no longer have to use inefficient slot or pebble drains, or unsightly plastic or galvanized steel ladder-style drains which scar their project or design intent. It gives a choice of architectural quality drain covers in a variety of designs and materials including stylish & modern stainless steel, smart & natural Jonite stone composite or classic & sophisticated cast iron. Best for Targeted Construction Products 2016 & European Product of the Year: Aqualevel Drain covers. Functional items, which in the world of modern construction have no aesthetic value. They serve a purpose – they stop our gardens, kitchens, bathrooms, and even our sitting rooms, from becoming paddling or even swimming pools in stormy weather. Drains are a necessary evil, and their covers hide a multitude of sins. John Harte, Managing Director of Lateral Design Studio is daring to challenge the widely- held belief that functional items have no business being attractive. He asks the construction world to cast its mind back to school history lessons, to remember what they taught us about Classical Greek and Roman architecture, with its precision engineering, attention to detail and drive for aesthetic perfection. Or perhaps to the Gothic cathedrals of late-medieval Europe, where even the roof drainage systems consisted of ornately carved gargoyles. J