Period-style windows, The Green Man, Eversholt

The brief was the one every period building gives you: better performance without the building looking like it has had modern windows put in. On a pub with an 1835 datestone, getting that wrong is obvious from the street.

We fitted six Residence R9 windows, a three part R9 bay, and five white woodgrain C70 flush casements. All of them are mechanically jointed rather than welded, which is what gives the frame a timber style corner instead of a rounded plastic one, and all carry astragal bars and black monkey tail handles.

The work covered the front and rear elevations, upper and ground floors, on a venue that was still trading. It was commissioned by Simon, the pub's owner, who we had already worked with at Water End Barn, so the programme was agreed rather than negotiated.

For a pub the practical gains matter as much as the look. The new units cut draughts and hold heat, which is the difference between a bar you can seat people in through winter and one where the window tables go unused. Low maintenance frames and modern locking also mean less to deal with on a building that is open seven days a week.