Oxfordshire Limited Edition – July 2019

74 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|June 2019

ithasaprettygoodchance.“It’sasuper-

contemporaryfloatingglassstructurethat

we’rebuildingontheedgeoftheriver,”

explainsBen.“We’vehadtodesigniton

stilts–itlookslikethebuildingisfloating.It’s

goingtobeamazing.”

WithstudiosinThame,Hamptonand

theCotswolds,HollandGreenworkswith

localtradesmenandplanningofficials,

withthemajorityofitsbigprojectsfalling

outsideLondon.“Thegrowthofthebusiness

hassurprisedusinthatit’sbeeninthe

OxfordshireandCotswoldsareas,”saysBen.

“We’redoingsomerestorationprojects

withsomeamazingstatelyhomes,andthe

floatinghouseisamulti-million-poundhouse

inOxfordshire.Iwasbornandraisedin

Oxfordshireandwe’vekeptthecompany

verylocal.We’reluckynowthatwe’reina

positionwhereit’sestablished.It’sniceto

beabletoworkwithlocaljoiners,designers

andbuilders,andbuildrelationships

aroundtheregion.”

Aswellasarchitecture,HollandGreen

specialisesininteriors.Anewadditionto

theportfolioislandscapedesign.“We’ve

growntohavinganinteriordesignbusiness

and,asofveryrecently,wehavealandscape

gardenside,”saysBen.“We’requiteunique

inthatpeoplecancometousandatthe

sametime,wecandotheinteriordesign

andthelandscapegardening,allunderone

roof.Itjustmakesthingssomuchmore

fluidandclientsreallylikethefactthat

it’saonestopshop.”

BenandStephenmaybeinchargebut,

accordingtoBen,it’sverymuchateam

effort.“Wehaveagreatteamnow,”hesays.

“StephenandIoftenjokethatwehavea

teamoffarmorequalified,amazingpeople

aroundus.We’vedevelopedareallynice-

sizedarchitecturalteamnow,andreally

high-calibre.Ithinkwe’vegotthebestteam

intheareaforwhatwedo.It’sveryimportant

toStephenandmyselfthatwehaveahappy

workingenvironmentandthat’ssomething

thatwe’vebeenstrivingtodeliver.I’mas

proudofthatastheworkwedeliveron-site.”

AUSPforclientsisthat,withtheaidof

technology,theycanfullyexperiencetheir

plan.“Allofourdesignworkisdoneinthree

dimensions,”Benexplains.“Onthecomputer

webuildavirtualversionofthehouseto

scale.Youcanreallyunderstandwhatthat

lookslikein 3 D.Wehavethese 3 Dgoggles

whichpeoplecanplugtheirphoneintoand

walkaroundthehouselikeit’savideogame.

Itreallyhelpsclientsunderstandthespace.

Theycanmakedesigndecisionsinawaythat

theycouldn’twithclassic 2 Dplans.”

Andit’snotjustclientswhobenefit.

“Becauseweworkonsomeverycomplicated

projectswecanworkthedetailsoutinthe

modelbecausewehavetobeabletobuildit,”

saysBen.“Thatmeanswesolveproblemsin

themodelasopposedtoon-site.It’sbetter

tofindthatsomethingdoesn’tworkina 3 D

modelsoitcanberesolvedbeforeyouget

on-site.Yougetafarbetterresult,theclient

hasafarbetterexperienceandthebuilders

understandit.It’sthesameforplanners,

particularlyifyou’redoingsomethingreally

contentious.Withthefloatinghouse,itreally

helpedthemunderstandwhatweweretalking

aboutandtookawayalotoftheirfear.”

Withamoveimminent–theThamestudio

isrelocatingtoaconvertedchurch–Benis

excitedaboutthefuture.Hestillcan’tshake

hisdisbelief.“Allthingsweneverdreamedof

whenwesetupasatwo-manbandwithbig

planseightyearsago,”hesays.L

HollandGreen,ThameStudio–Belmont

House, 13 UpperHighStreet,Thame

OX 93 ER,

( 01844 ) 390381 ;

HamptonStudio–TheBoathouse, 5 - 9

ThamesStreet,HamptonTW 122 EW,

02080996112 ;

CotswoldsStudio– 105 - 107 BathRoad,

Montpelier,CheltenhamGL 537 LE,

( 01242 ) 650730 ;

hollandgreen.co.uk

‘We’reluckynowthatwe’reinapositionwhere

it’sestablished.It’snicetobeabletoworkwith

localjoiners,designersandbuilders,andbuild

relationshipsaroundtheregion’

HOMES INTERIORS