Stock Photo - Southside, Radcliffe_on_Trent, Nottingham, 2005 Bedroom. Architect: Rayner Davies. Based in Nottingham, Hunt Habitats are a family run property development company aiming to provide a different approach to homebuilding. Brothers Nick and Andy Hunt took over the ownership of the business in February 2005 from their father, Alan, who had been involved in the construction industry for nearly 30 years. Both Nick and Andy had been working within the business alongside their father for a number of years, successfully developing four projects _ both new build and conversion. Nick explains, Working with Dad enabled us both to gain valuable experience. However, as time went on, Dad felt it was time to hand over to us. We had tended to focus on ´traditional´ new homes, but felt that there was an opportunity to develop in a more contemporary manner. Having seen the success of Truman House, a conversion project in Nottingham city centre, Nick and Andy decided to transfer some of the concepts into their new build homes. The majority of new homes tend to ignore unique design externally, Nick continues. At Truman House the internal specification was a step up from the norm, but we were restricted to working with the existing building. What if we retained the top quality internal fittings, but also introduced a contemporary design to the external element of our houses Rayner Davies Architects, who also worked on Truman House, were commissioned to design 24 houses and apartments in the village of Radcliffe_on_Trent for Hunt Habitats, with the specific brief to create a contemporary scheme offering a break from the norm in terms of new home design. They took influences from design in the Netherlands to incorporate square box_projection bay windows, a crisp white render system and large aluminium_clad windows, all based around a traditional ´avenue´ or ´boulevard´. Now nearing completion, the development has created a great deal of interest from both construction professionals and the public. The scheme is certainly impressive _ a breath of fresh air in terms of new home design. Nick adds, We are extremely proud of what we have created at Southside. The homes offer flexible living accommodation within a contemporary external fatade which is certainly unique. Externally the homes are visually striking, and internally we still offer a high quality of finish which today´s discerning buyer demands. We feel that there should be no compromise in today´s new homes _ we attempt to offer a unique product and philosophy to the market.