News

KAWNEER SYSTEMS ARE SITTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY

The manufacturer’s curtain walling, windows and doors all feature at Bayscape.

The full range of architectural glazing systems from Kawneer were specified for a stunning residential development at Cardiff marina because they are tried and tested products.

The Kawneer systems were selected for Phase One of Bayscape Ltd’s £40 million mixed-use development, which has itself been shortlisted for an award, by award-winning Rio architects who have used Kawneer systems on numerous residential and commercial projects over the years.

Kawneer’s AA®100 mullion-drained curtain walling with 50mm sightlines, thermally superior AA®720 tilturn and side-hung casement windows, and AA®545 open-out swing doors have been used throughout the two blocks of luxury apartments - Whitewater House and Waterford House – at Bayscape.

Whitewater House, so named because it also overlooks Cardiff International White Water Centre, was first to complete, offering 56 generously-proportioned one, two and three-bedroom apartments including two penthouses.

But Bayscape offers a total of 115 apartments, with optional private moorings, across seven and eight-storeys of apartments which are joined by an elevated garden podium. The ground floors feature a coffee shop, waterside bar and restaurant, commercial/retail units and marina management facility.

The luxury apartments, which all feature private balconies or terraces, start at £175,000 and range from up to 624ft2 for a one-bed, 990ft2 for two bedrooms and 1,119ft2 for a typical three-bedroom.

Residents benefit from under-croft parking, a concierge service and lift access to all floors. The impressive floor to ceiling double glazing in every apartment ensures they are light and airy and residents can enjoy the stunning views.

Rio director Andrew Baker said: “The brief was for a high-quality and distinctive development and we met that with a bold, well-mannered design.

“We specified Kawneer because of the need for a high-quality and trusted product. Crisp detailing was important in the overall design concept and aluminium was essential for the marine environment.”

The Kawneer systems were installed over five months by a team of up to eight operatives from approved dealer Dudley’s Aluminium for main contractor BECT Building Contractors. Dudley’s, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, also worked with Kawneer and BECT on another Cardiff project – One Canal Parade.

Bayscape was shortlisted for residential development of the year in the 2018 Wales Insider Property Awards.

KAWNEER LAUNCHES A SUPER-ROBUST AND SUPER-THERMAL COMMERCIAL ENTRANCE DOOR

Manufacturer introduces the AA®190 TB door to its portfolio.

An entrance door with class-leading thermal performance that is so robust it is offered with a lifetime guarantee has been launched by Kawneer, the leading UK manufacturer of architectural glazing systems.

Kawneer’s AA®190 TB door features welded corner construction – the strongest aluminium door construction available, with each corner having four separate weld points, each of which has a ‘lifetime guarantee’. Rigorous testing has verified its exceptional strength and durability, making it suitable for use in severe-duty applications as defined in BS 6375-2: 2009.

With regards to weather performance, the system has Class 2 (300 Pa) air permeability, Class 3A (100 Pa) watertightness and Class C2 (800 Pa) wind resistance, results that are based on an open-in double door with butt hinges and rebated threshold.

An all-purpose door for use in high-traffic areas and automatic entrances, it is as suitable for internal as it is external applications, for refurbishment as well as new-build, and for all sectors, particularly education, healthcare, commercial, and leisure and retail. With security hardware it meets Secured by Design criteria.

The door is designed to accept glass units up to 43mm thick, with a maximum leaf weight of 120kg with an overhead closer and a maximum of 200kg using the floor closer, all with leaf sizes up to 1320mm wide and 3000mm high.

As well as its high strength and robust properties, the AA®190 TB door also provides improved thermal performance. A whole-door thermal transmittance of Uw = 1.7 W/m2K can be achieved with a glass centre pane of Ug = 1.0 W/m2K.

The AA®190 TB door is offered with a finger guard pivot stile as standard, providing child-friendly reassurance, safeguarding against injury to fingers that might be accidentally caught between the hinge stile and frame.

Independently tested to PAS 24: 2016 for the enhanced security performance of single and double-leaf external doors, the enhanced security is available for both pivot and butt hung doors which can feature panic hardware.

A range of multi-point lock options provides security solutions for all applications including panic doors and electronic access control. There is also a range of thresholds including drained low thresholds compliant with the Equality Act 2010.

For ultimate design flexibility the AA®190 TB door is available as single-leaf and double-leaf in open-in, open-out and dual-action swing doors suitable for automatic powered operation. Additionally, the AA®190 TB door can be used with automatic sliding or bi-parting entrance systems.

Naturally, the door is available with its own thermally broken framing system – 451PT, which suites with other Kawneer fenestration solutions.

All door options are available in an extensive range of single or dual-colour finishes.

The AA®190 TB door is extruded and thermal breaks added before painting and in-house fabrication – all in the Kawneer factory at Runcorn.

Kawneer’s new AA®190 TB doors have already been specified by architects Foster + Partners at Central Square in Cardiff, including on BBC Cymru’s HQ.

KAWNEER HELPS TONBRIDGE SCHOOL BUILD ON ITS LITERARY HISTORY

Two new extensions to Tonbridge School’s Smythe Library feature Kawneer glazing systems.

Architectural glazing systems by leading UK manufacturer Kawneer were specified for the most significant external change to the £3.6 million refurbishment of a library at one of Kent’s most prestigious independent boys’ schools.

Kawneer’s AA®100 mullion-drained curtain walling with bespoke fin caps and AA®541 concealed vents along with AA®720 entrance doors feature on a stunning new 13.5m high circulation tower topped by an AA®100 rooflight at the Smythe Library at Tonbridge School.

They were specified by architects BDP to drive a simple natural ventilation strategy and enable high levels of natural light and were installed on the south elevation of the 1962 building for main contractor Buxton Building Contractors by JPJ Installations.

Kawneer’s curtain walling with the bespoke fin caps in front of steel columns also features on a two-storey extension to the north elevation. This faces the school chapel and acts as an extension to the cloister or colonnade which joins the library to the main school.

The school recognised the building, which was designed by Sir William Holford, no longer fulfilled the demands of a 21st Century learning environment and although it is not listed, as many of its buildings are, wanted to build on its history rather than resort to new-build.

The new building also needed to meet rising school numbers - from 500 pupils when the library opened more than half a century ago, to almost 800 now. But providing additional learning and study spaces was a particular challenge given its narrow 8.3m width.

The library itself, a double height space with mezzanine level, occupied only the upper two of four floors, where there were varying floor to ceiling heights, with classrooms on the first floor and storage at ground floor level. Vertical circulation was one particular area requiring improvement.

BDP’s strategy combined extensive internal refurbishment (stripping out all internal walls and corridors) with two new extensions to create a four-level library of 1,130m2 which provided some 40% extra study/learning space.

The contemporary new circulation tower was conceived as a “vertical cloister” containing both a lift and a timber staircase within its 5.6m deep, 7.2m wide space which spans the three central bays of the library’s nine-bay facade. These generous dimensions allow the incorporation of seating benches, and behind the bottom of the staircase, beanbags!

As well as providing much-needed vertical circulation space, the tower was also the opportunity to address ventilation issues as it creates a stack effect, pulling air through the building. The Kawneer vents help this to be drawn out when required.

Like the north lobby, the Kawneer curtain walling incorporates the anodised aluminium fins which create a clear vertical rhythm but here they continue uncapped beyond the parapet line to give the feeling of reaching skyward.

The library was re-opened after a 14-month build by HRH Princess Alexandra.

Photos: Hufton+Crow

KAWNEER SYSTEMS HELP LINE THE PATH TO NEW CARE STANDARDS

Kawneer’s healthcare windows and curtain walling feature at Atherleigh Park.

Windows specifically designed by leading UK manufacturer Kawneer for the healthcare sector are bringing four-fold benefits to a new £40 million mental health hospital.

Kawneer’s AA®3110HW windows maximise ventilation while minimising the risk of self harming. They feature anti-ligature elements such as a wraparound gasket that breaks into harmless pieces when there is an attempt to remove it, together with a drive mechanism for opening the window that cannot be used as a ligature point.

At Atherleigh Park hospital in Leigh, Wigan, the windows were installed alongside Kawneer’s AA®100 zone-drained curtain walling and AA®543 tilturn and AA®541 top-hung casement windows by Polar (NE) Ltd.

The AA®3110HW window used at Atherleigh Park was enhanced by Polar for use in this project – a medium-secure mental health facility. The fabricator designed special extrusions (which Kawneer have now developed from Polar’s designs), a reduced ligature drive mechanism for opening the window and a unique removable security mesh.

Built by Kier Construction on the former Leigh East Amateur Rugby League ground, the 3.9-hectare site provides high-quality inpatient services for adults with mental health problems and patients with dementia and memory loss conditions. Specifically, it provides 100% single-bed with en-suite occupancy comprising 40 adult acute beds over two wards and the eight-bed PICU complete with public access entrance building and ancillary accommodation.

The two-storey building is constructed of steel and timber panel SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) and SFS (Steel Framing Systems), with all the wards and services for inpatients and Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) on the ground floor and staff accommodation on the first floor. Externally, cedar and red brick cladding is complemented by large areas of full-height glazing while internally the colour scheme is bright and fresh.

For regular Kawneer specifiers AFL Architects, key drivers for the project were to design a building that acted as a catalyst to help implement a new clinical care pathway for North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, improved the patient experience and staff effectiveness, and de-stigmatised mental health.

Providing a healthy environment for patients was one of the main priorities of the project. The hospital's facilities include a sports hall, gym, outdoor courtyards, therapy rooms, landscaped gardens, a nature trail and a cafe for patients, visitors, staff and the general public.

AFL associate Neil Milling said that as the site was in a residential area the plans required early presentations and regular updates with local residents.

“The Kawneer systems provide security and aesthetics and maximise daylight and ventilation for the service users,” he said. “Aluminium’s sustainability played a small part. Robustness and costings played a larger part.”

He added: “Our integrated design ensured bespoke products allowed the design to be implemented through construction.”

North West Boroughs Healthcare’s project manager Paul Jackson won a design champion award at the Design in Mental Health Awards 2017 for his part in the project.

Polar also developed an anti-climb window for this project.

For a virtual tour of Atherleigh Park, go to: http://www.nwbh.nhs.uk/atherleigh-park.

Photo: Infinite 3D Photography

KAWNEER POWERS UP FOR SCOTTISH POWER

Glazing systems manufacturer designs a bespoke curtain wall for utility’s new HQ.

The largest single-occupier development in Glasgow for around 25 years has made use of a bespoke curtain wall system by leading UK manufacturer Kawneer.

The architectural aluminium supplier’s system features left and right-handed mullions and split transoms to cater for the high movement in the 14-storey new flagship headquarters for Scottish Power.

The 20,000m2 building, on a formerly vacant site on the corner of St Vincent Street and India Street that was once the base of the old Strathclyde Regional Council, accommodates almost 1,900 Scottish Power staff and replaces its former HQ in the city’s South Side and offices in Falkirk.

Other elements by Kawneer include AA®720 doors which were developed to meet the latest European requirements for thermal performance, and second-floor and sixth-floor internal rooflights.

The Kawneer elements on the £72 million building were installed between vertical concrete panels by approved Edinburgh-based façade specialists Charles Henshaw & Sons who worked closely with Page Park Architects to address the particular challenges of this project.

It had quickly become apparent that a standard SSG (Structurally Silicone Glazed) curtain wall system was not going to meet the exacting criteria. Considerable live load movement was inherent in the building design, and in some places concrete slabs would deflect by +/- 12mm which was too great a margin for standard SSG to accommodate.

Kawneer’s technical team therefore devised the bespoke capped solution based on the manufacturer’s AA®110 curtain wall with 65mm sightlines as opposed to the AA®100 system with 50mm sightlines.

A gap between the specially-designed transoms fully accommodates the +/- 12mm deflection characteristic of the concrete floor slabs. This expansion joint is used on every two floors, with a straightforward butt joint deployed on each intermediate floor. Additionally, a large 40mm glazing rebate in the mullions allows the glazing to rack in the frame, allowing for sideways movement.

This tailored solution was fully performance tested at the VINCI technology centre to meet the CWCT (Centre for Window and Cladding Technology) standard for Systemised Building Envelopes Test Sequence B.

Colin Glover of Page Park Architects, who had not used Kawneer systems before, said the manufacturer was recommended by Henshaw and the Kawneer systems were used for the glazing and roof.

“Their part in the project is significant as the curtain wall makes up 50% of the facade,” he said. “They were specified for their performance capabilities as it was the only system that could work with the deflection characteristics of the superstructure.”

He added that the sustainability of the Kawneer system’s aluminium composition had played an “important” part in its use.

Scottish Power, which owns the land, agreed a 25-year lease with Scots based developer Dawn Developments.

Announcing the new headquarters in 2012, Ignacio Galan, chairman of Scottish Power and Iberdrola, who merged with the utility giant in 2007, said: “Our plans in the UK in the coming years require an office complex that is fit for purpose to deliver and manage these investments.”

Photo: Andrew Lee

KAWNEER GLAZING SYSTEMS HELP SET A UNIVERSITY BENCHMARK

New hub building in Europe’s first science park features Kawneer’s aluminium systems.

Architectural aluminium glazing systems by Kawneer have helped a new hub building set a benchmark for the design of future developments in Europe’s first science park.

Kawneer’s AA®100 SSG (Structurally Silicone Glazed) curtain walling, with AA®720 doors and open-in side-hung vents, form the main structure to the two main facades of the £20 million John Bradfield Centre at the 151-acre Cambridge Science Park, owned by Trinity College Cambridge.

Its sinuous crescent-shaped form designed to BREEAM “Excellent” by architects Aukett Swanke was inspired by its lakeside setting and uses Kawneer’s curtain walling (with 50mm sightlines and 300mm feature caps), windows and doors on the main rear façade, where visitors enter the site, and on the main façade.

A triple-height atria feature is arranged on an axis from the main entrance and is highlighted as an accent feature on the convex lakeside façade. These were installed over 10 months by JPJ Installations for main contractor SDC

This atrium maximises internal connectivity. The main entrance is animated by a social hub, including café, breakout areas and meeting rooms, as well as spaces for team working, giving a dynamic open working environment that encourages collaboration and creative thinking. Upper floors are configured as open or cellular spaces to suit tenant businesses.

The John Bradfield Centre plot, on land previously occupied by an older, two-storey building constructed on the park, is configured in an arc shape formed by the curve of the science park’s inner loop road and the central lake at its heart. The plot is bounded to the north and south by older, low-density, two-storey developments which will likewise be recycled in due course.

The main entrance is positioned eccentrically on the inner concave facade and is approached via a generous pedestrian avenue. The primary core areas, escape stairs and risers are positioned within the inner, concave zone of the floorplate, leaving the outer zone free for flexible office configurations, all enjoying superb views over the lakeside setting.

The northern and southern facades are almost completely clad. The core areas are expressed on the concave facade, while in contrast the western elevation is completely glazed to maximise natural daylight penetration and lake views. Deep projecting mullions are employed on this facade to shield the solar path. These are coloured yellow and provide a fresh uplifting quality, softened by the perimeter landscape.

Named after the biologist, entrepreneur and former senior bursar who founded Cambridge Science Park, the John Bradfield Centre received £4.5 million of Government funding by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as part of its pledge to invest in the UK’s Life Science industry.

Conceived as a key building at the heart of the scheme, the facility functions as a vibrant centre for research and development and offers incubator space for early-stage businesses. It has become the natural meeting point for those active in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in Cambridge.

External materials express the sinuous form of the 55,600ft2 building using simple full-height vertical aluminium cladding, complemented by the Kawneer windows that run from floor to ceiling.

Aukett Swanke architect Nayan Dhamdachia said: “The Kawneer systems met the overall vision that was set out during the early design stages in regards to the overall concept, thickness of profiles and sightlines. They integrate with openable panels and striking yellow fins. The glazed elements enhance the well-being of the building, bringing as much light as possible deep into the floorplates.”

He added: “SDC delivered an exceptionally high-quality scheme at competitive value. The base build employed high-quality materials throughout the main external façade treatment and external works.”