Meet the Team: Architectural Department

Clarendon Homes has evolved and expanded greatly since being formed over 20 years ago. Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing you to some of our office departments, to give an insight into the company from the staff’s perspective, exploring our team culture, favourite developments and more! This week we introduce our Architectural team…

The Team

Holly, Architect

Holly has been with us since August 2020 and during that time has completed her final degree to become a qualified Architect.

Chris, Architectural Technician

Chris has been at Clarendon for 3.5 years, starting initially on his own in 2018 and now has two colleagues in the Architectural department working alongside him.

Phillip, Technical Co-ordinator

Phil joined us late 2019 and at his previous job actually worked alongside Chris (he must really like him!). Since joining us Phil has had a little boy.

What is your favourite thing about working at Clarendon Homes?

Holly: Seeing designs and drawings progress into real life homes.

Chris: The staff/office atmosphere, it’s a great working environment with a real team feeling.

Phil: Clarendon Homes has a good ethos and working environment and has retained a family run company feeling despite the team growing. I enjoy being part of that growth and seeing the company go from strength to strength whilst developing larger and more complex sites.

Which is your favourite past development of ours and why?

Holly: School House in Thurnham due to the style and execution of traditional design.

Chris: Ivy Court in Tovil due to its unique challenges and being the first project Clarendon has done with a Housing Association involved.

Phil: The Ivy Court development has so far been my favourite. It’s a project which has had many new challenges and has been a learning curve to myself and the company.

Which development are you looking forward to in the near future, and why?

Holly: Langton Gardens as working with individuals to design their dream home is an aspect of the job I really enjoy.

Chris: The upcoming Allington development. It will be a nice development to be involved with which will bring new challenges due to it’s size.

Phil: The upcoming development in Allington will be the largest and most complex development Clarendon Homes has done. There will be new exciting challenges and working relationships to be encountered and I’m looking forward to setting the bar high and pushing my capabilities.

What has changed in the time you have been here?

Holly: Going into two national lockdowns and I have qualified as an Architect while working at Clarendon and therefore taken on more responsibility.

Chris: New members of staff and an ever expanding business taking on new challenges.

Phil: The company is growing in size both in terms of the number of staff and the scale of sites currently being developed. Change is an inevitable part of this growth and I feel being part of the company at this moment in time is exciting and fulfilling.

How has the company improved in the time you have been here?

Holly: Due to the pandemic we have utilised video calls to effectively communicate with colleagues working outside of the office, as well as for external meetings.

Chris: We have a new internal folder structure to make everyone work more efficiently, and this has also created more of a consistent and cohesive feeling between the different departments in the office.

Phil: New staff have recently been taken on, bringing new ideas and experience which I can see has already improved the companys efficiency.

How has the company adapted to working during the pandemic? How have you found it?

Holly: Creating a COVID secure working environment has been really important to the company and this is evident from our office procedures. I feel much safer in the office than in many other public settings.

Chris: Clarendon Homes has put its staff first and foremost throughout the current pandemic and I have never felt unsafe in the working environment.

Phil: Clarendon Homes has put the welfare of its staff at the foremost of importance and has followed government guidelines every step of the way. Site and office have changed the way we work in that working from home, lateral flow testing and safe distance working has started to become the norm.

Describe/sum up Clarendon in 3 words

Holly: Flexible, Family, Friendly

Chris: Quality, Bespoke, Teamwork

Phil: Challenging, Fulfilling, Quality

What do you think makes people choose to buy a Clarendon property?

Holly: Flexibility to amend the specification to suit customer needs.

Chris: The high quality fittings and finishes of the overall product sets the company apart.

Phil: Clarendon properties aren’t the standard homes a lot of house builders are mass producing today. Our homes are unique and fitted with high quality fixtures and fittings making them stand out.

What would you say is a key selling point of Clarendon properties?

Holly: Adaptability of design and service.

Chris: Site locations and property designs and layouts along with the latest smart technologies.

Phil: The ability for customers to choose aspects of their new home when purchasing off plan.

What’s your favourite memory since working for Clarendon?

Holly: Gareth selecting his own name for Secret Santa and not telling anyone until the day before the gift exchange!

Chris: Clarendon’s 20th anniversary celebration showing how far the company has come over the years.

Phil: The 20th Anniversary summer boat party along the River Thames in London. It was really enjoyable and it was great to bond socially with other staff.

If you want to learn more about Clarendon and how we have grown, visit ‘The Clarendon Story’.