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Optima
Creates Privacy Glass Wall for New Sheffield Nightclub
In
just one week specialist glazing contractor, Optima
Architectural Glass, (OAG) designed and installed an 11 sqm
'intelligent' Priva-lite privacy glass screen for a VIP lounge area inside
the £1.5 million newly-refurbished Sheffield nightclub - Gatecrasher
One, which opened last month.
With a simple flick of a switch, the glass separating the VIP suite from
the rest of the club, changes from clear to opaque providing guests with
a private area in the 1,600 capacity nightclub. The exclusive VIP suite,
allows clubbers to escape and chill out during the 'crasher' experience.
When the glass turns opaque, the privacy wall can be transformed in to
a two-sided full-height display screen, allowing video footage of images
and graphics to be projected onto the glass wall. The video footage can
be viewed from both sides of the glass, creating a unique visual experience
for all club-goers.
The wall is made from Priva-lite glass, which is manufactured by Saint-Gobain.
It was specified to create part of a lavish interior designed by Matt
Rawlinson from Birmingham-based design firm - RAW.
Designer Matt Rawlinson comments: 'Gatecrasher One's new interior creates
a unique social space bringing together fresh materials and new technology
such as Optima's Priva-lite glass installation. This groundbreaking design
will be the forerunner and blueprint of clubbing for the future.'
The Priva-lite screen is made from laminated glass with a liquid crystal
interlayer film connected to an electrical transformer. When the power
is switched off the liquid crystals are randomly scattered giving the
glass an opaque appearance. Switching the electrical current back on realigns
the crystals, creating a transparent appearance.
As well as creating cool, clubbing environments, Priva-lite glass can
be used for a variety of other applications, including partitioning, shop
fronts, façades, high security anti-bandit glass, bespoke displays,
and fish tanks. High resolution images can also be projected onto the
glass for use in exhibitions, tv studios or meeting rooms.
The intelligent Priva-lite screen offers a stylish alternative to curtains,
blinds or standard partitioning. Single or double glazed panels can be
curved, silk-screen printed or sand-blasted.
Optima Architectural Glass, part of the HLS Construction Group, is a specialist
glazing contractor based in High Wycombe with more than ten years experience
in the design, management and installation of glass. It provides an extensive
range of services and products for all architectural glass applications.
Tel: 01494 492 693
Web: http://www.optimaglass.com
New
Lease of Life for Exmouth School
This
primary school in a South Devon holiday resort has been given a new lease
of life with Profile 22 windows.
Exmouth-based Profile 22 fabricator, MPS Windows replaced 13 steel classroom
and gymnasium windows with white PVCu and Trespa panels at nearby Marpool
School.
The contract is among a number of school installations completed in recent
months by MPS Windows, a respected window and door fabricator in the area.
‘Profile 22 is a highly specified system and a top choice among hundreds
of Local Authority and Social Housing specifiers throughout the UK, including
the Exeter and Devon local authorities. It is designed and tested to meet
all relevant British Standards and Building Regulations.’ says the
company.
The configuration of Profile 22's PVCu frames gives increased strength
and energy efficiency and the company offers specialist advice right from
design to installation.
Tel: 01952 290910
Hotel
Guests Sleep Securely Thanks to Caldwell Hardware
Guests
at the Holiday Inn, Basingstoke will have the benefit of top-of-the-range
window hardware from Caldwell to help
ensure an undisturbed night‚s sleep.
For the 200 aluminium/PVC windows, fabricated and installed by Tudor Windows,
Birmingham for Intercontinental Hotels, Caldwell supplied approximately
600 folding openers. As the windows were large, three folding openers
and a tandem bar were fitted on each window. Caldwell recommends that
this configuration is used on windows over 800 mm wide to ensure they
are easily operated.
Caldwell's folding openers are ideal as they allow the safe opening of
windows with none of the hazards of an over-extended aperture. They also
prevent illegal access from the outside.
Because of their strength, durability and ease of operation, folding openers
are also specified extensively for schools, hospitals, offices, residential
homes and sheltered accommodation.
Tudor Windows and Caldwell have also provided windows and architectural
hardware for a Holiday Inn at Gatwick Airport which is still under construction.
Tel: 02476 437900
Email: mailto:sales@caldwell.co.uk
Web: http://www.caldwell.co.uk
Optima
Partitioning Completes £840,000 Award-Winning Installation for Corinthian
Television
Optima
Partitioning Systems
has completed a number of elliptical edit suite pods and curved glass
offices on three floors of Corinthian Television's programme production
studios in Chiswick Park, London.
Working
with architects Gensler and main contractor Ibex, Optima helped design
and construct the pods using toughened 6mm and 10mm double glazed windows
surrounded by a curved drywall structure. For the offices, the unusual
shape and minimalist look was achieved using Optima's 117 silicone-jointed,
single glazing system. More than forty pivoting glass doors were set within
a microflush aluminium framing system enhancing the overall design and
providing exceptional acoustic properties.
Mike Silverman, CEO from Corinthian Television said, 'As one of the leading
television facilities companies in the UK we were looking for a highly
creative interior design for our editing suites and meeting rooms. Optima's
glass partitioning fulfils these requirements and offers excellent soundproofing
thanks to the acoustic properties of the glass.'
Award winning project
At this year's Association of Interior Specialists (AIS) Contractors Awards,
Optima Partitioning was presented with the 'Partitioning Category Gold
Award' for the company's innovative and technically challenging work at
Corinthian Television.
The judges commented: 'This project demonstrated Optima's determination
to achieve the highest possible standards and its ability to design and
construct the most imaginative of client requirements. This particular
project was highly creative and obviously involved intricate design and
experimentation to culminate in such a high class futuristic conclusion.'
Optima Partitioning
Optima Partitioning Systems, part of the HLS Construction Group, is a
manufacturer and installer of architectural partitioning in the UK, specialising
in silicone jointed glass, drywall, joinery and relocatable systems.
Gensler's innovative interior design also awarded Corinthian Television
a place in the 2003 Times & Gestetner Digital Office Collection of
the most forward-thinking companies in Britain.
Web: http://www.optimasystems.com
Award
Winning Hotel Clad with Hansen Glass
Glasgow’s
new Radisson SAS Hotel was the Grand Prix winner in this year’s Scottish
Design Awards, while making expressive use of single glazed and doubled
glazed, coloured glass panels from HansenGlass
in presenting a striking and modern appearance to the citizens of Scotland’s
second city.
As a specialist manufacturer of high performance glazing, HansenGlass
supplied its Ceramalite™ panels in White, Grey and Red to Charles
Henshaw and Sons, for installation in the cladding contractor’s Kawneer
500 series aluminium curtain walling.
Charles Henshaw & Sons was working for HBG Construction while Gordon
Murray and Alan Dunlop Architects was the design practice responsible
for the Radisson’s award winning appearance and form of the four
star hotel.
A spokesperson for Charles Henshaw, Jim Walker comments: 'We went to HansenGlass
as a regular supplier who’s performance and quality we know we can
rely on'
The Polar White colour of Ceramalite™ has been supplied for all of
the 120 pairs of tilt & turn and fixed light windows that are installed
within the courtyard walls to the guest bedrooms. These are masked internally
with hinged wooden panels.
Single glazed Ceramalite™ units in Grey then feature as spandrel
panels covering insulation installed across the floor to ceiling zones.
These also utilise glass to glass silicone jointing for the vertical interfaces.
Then Red double glazed Ceramalite™ spandrel panels are employed in
a random pattern between the first and sixth floor. The top floor is then
completed with Grey Ceramalite™ spandrels.
In addition, HansenGlass also supplied some 2000 square metres of its
ThermoCool™. insulating glass units, installed within the main elevations
of curtain walling.
Web:
http://www.hansengroup.net
Quantal
Conservatory Transforms Ayr Patio
Entertaining
has taken on a new dimension for a Scottish couple since a conservatory
with a Quantal roof transformed their
redundant patio into a lavish lounge complete with bar.
Ayr-based Caledonian Windows, a long-standing Quantal fabricator, provided
the full conservatory package from brick walls to quality ceramic tile
flooring for Tom Paton and his wife Irene at their south Ayr home.
Measuring an impressive 9.5 metres by 4.1 metres, the conservatory roof
incorporates self-cleaning glass for easier maintenance. Two ceiling fans
and full blinds help to keep the south-facing conservatory cool in summer.
Tom Middleton, Managing Director of Caledonian Windows, comments: ‘The
patio was hardly used, so the couple are delighted with a new conservatory
providing valuable extra space for entertaining.’
Caledonian Windows has been installing the Quantal system for some years
and enjoys comprehensive business support through the approved Quantal
Fabricator Network.
The BBA approved Quantal system features a polyester powder-coated aluminium
external finish and is internally clad with PVCu for thermal efficiency.
Tel: 01626 836 403
Web: http:// www.quantal.co.uk
Marshall-Tufflex
Colours for Ireland
When
Tony Smith, Project Manager for Kelly Builders, needed blue, red and grey
foiled window and door profile for the renovation of St. Raphael’s
home for the handicapped in Celbridge, Co. Kildare, he went to fabricators
Wright Window Systems Ltd. because
Leo Wrights has long been a stockist of Marshall-Tufflex
profile.
Marshall-Tufflex is a specialist in manufacturing through-colour, woodgrain
and coloured foil window and door profile. Along with the company's white
systems, these profiles are produced to meet the requirements of Part
L of the Building Regulations in England and Wales and Part J in Scotland.
Marshall-Tufflex Strata systems are elegant and slim window and door profiles
that allow more light into the room and less heat out.
Tony Smith says 'The architects specification for St. Raphael’s was
to brighten up the buildings for the benefit of the children. This has
been achieved, with the help of Marshall-Tufflex, and I’m very pleased
with the end result.'
Web: http://www.marshall-tufflex.com
A
Mini Succes for SAS
A
Senior Aluminium Systems glazing package,
comprising of ground floor treatments, patent glazing and doors, creates
the striking façade of the new build Mini showroom in Hull fabricated
by Peak Aluminium Systems Ltd.
Powder coated in matt grey, Senior Flush Glaze (SFG) sections were used
to help create the adjoining Mini showroom to the existing BMW showroom.
The SFG was specified for architectural style as well as ease and design.
As part of the impressive visual façade, one set of customer entrance
doors and one set of vehicle access swing doors were incorporated into
the SFG. Single glazed, the door systems were fitted with closers, locks
and flush bolts and featured single brush pile.
The showroom also used SAS’ patent glazing to create the sloping
clear glass rooflight. Providing a weathertight roof down to a pitch of
15Æ, SAS patent glazing systems are designed to accommodate various glazing
options from 6mm to 24mm.
Senior Aluminium Systems supplies Britain’s commercial fabricators
from its head office in Denaby and two regional service centres in Newport
and Livingston.
Timber
Takes Pride of Place in Walthamstow
Some
220 terraced houses in Walthamstow, hovering just on the edge of London’s
East End, are rapidly becoming something of a showpiece for all that’s
good in timber windows.
Under
a refurbishment scheme which is bringing new life to the Victorian properties,
Waltham Forest Borough Council has opted for replacement timber windows
throughout, maintaining the 19th Century style whilst combining it with
21st Century quality and comfort for the tenants.
Leucha Road, the site of the properties that were taken over by the Council
in the 1960s, is a conservation area, supported by English Heritage. As
such, timber windows are essential to maintain the particular character
and environment of the area.
Ambass-A-Door Windows & Doors Ltd, a Member of the British Woodworking
Federation’s Timber Window Accreditation Scheme, won the contract
to supply complete sets of sliding sash and casement windows for the properties.
The contract was confirmed following a successful pilot scheme involving
the production of new windows for six properties. The Norwich-based company
has a long history of quality timber window production, supplying its
custom designed products for old and new properties alike.
‘With Leucha Road being a refurbishment contract on older properties,
we had to make to 1001 different sizes!,’ said David Lomax of Ambass-A-Door,
‘but that’s also part of the beauty of wood. We’re not
stuck with inflexible templates, we can tweak a design on the computer
to make a perfect fit, so that each window arrives on site packaged for
an individual house.’
As a prominent member of the quality-driven scheme, which is rigorously
policed by the British Woodworking Federation, Ambass-A-Door has to maintain
standards of production and performance that meet – and frequently
exceed – British Standards and Building Regulations.
‘The tenants love the new windows and realise they are not being
short-changed in any way by having timber - quite the reverse, in fact,’
said David Lomax. ‘There are single glazed sliding sash at the front
and double-glazed casements to the rear. The casements are all security
tested and comfortably meet the standards laid down in Part L of the Building
Regulations.
‘I think that being members of the BWF’s Timber Window Accreditation
Scheme has made a big difference as well. The Council knows it’s
getting long-life, low maintenance, quality windows that are guaranteed
– along with the white paint finish and all the accessories and hardware.
All the windows carry the Scheme labels, which give full traceability
in the unlikely event of component failure.
‘Not only that, but with the windows delivered to site and every
one fully factory finished, the installers can take out the old and put
in the new within a normal working day. Hence, inconvenience to the tenants
is kept to an absolute minimum.’
Sandringham Conservation windows have been used throughout in the front
elevations. All are made with weatherseals and they feature the modern
version of traditional cords and weights, giving smooth sliding action
and draught-free closure. Meanwhile, Ambass-A-Door’s Surlingham 56
casements are being installed in all the rear elevations. These are all
double-glazed 24mm sealed units and fully security tested.
All the cills are in hardwood, mouldings are traditional lamb’s tongue
throughout and glazing has been carried out using internal beading, giving
a putty line appearance from the outside.
Web: http://www.ambassadoor.co.uk
Pilkington
Pyrostop glass from Pilkington Processing and
Merchanting UK has been used to give high performance fire
resistance and aesthetic appeal to the construction of Swindon's new £100
million Private Finance Initiative hospital. The entire project was developed
for the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust by The Hospital Company of whom
Carillion are a stakeholder.
Work
on the massive 32 acre site development began in October 1999. The new
hospital building itself is an L-shaped structure with a dramatic curved
quadrant forming the main entrance. Once completed, the building will
provide over 55,000 sq. m of floor space.
Construction and the specification of building materials embraces the
best in environmental practice and sustainable development, involving
the incorporation of energy efficient features. For the glazed screen
in the atrium of the building, Baydale Architectural Systems Ltd supplied
over 100sq m of Pilkington Pyrostop specialist fire resistant glass, which
provided the twin benefits of fire protection and visual appeal.
Being a clear multi-laminate material, Pilkington Pyrostop allows the
maximum ingress of light, creating the impression of light and space in
the main entrance foyer. Part of the Pilkington fire resistant range,
Pilkington Pyrostop has been specifically formulated to offer up to 120
hours fire integrity (the ability to keep back flames, smoke and hot gases)
and fire insulation (the restriction of the temperature rise on the non
fire side), enabling safe and fast evacuation procedures to be carried
out successfully if necessary in the case of fire outbreak.
Pilkington specialises in the manufacture of specialist glass, which combines
a high level of fire protection with impact resistant qualities, essential
for use in a hospital environment where traffic, including trolleys and
large equipment is heavy and constant.
Pilkington Processing and Merchanting UK is the specialist business of
Pilkington UK merchanting bulk glass and processed bespoke products for
the industry, and is renowned for the assurance it offers in terms of
the quality of the end product and throughout all stages of the manufacturing
process.
Web: http://www.pilkington.com
Thanks
to the design of a new extension, created and installed by Roger
Bucknall Joinery, based in East Halton, diners at the Ellios
Restaurant in Barton on Humber can now eat al fresco - all year round!
The
design challenge was to effectively protect the existing restaurant garden
from the British climate, whilst utilising the natural setting to provide
additional dining space.
Two major considerations had to be taken into account: How to complete
the roof structure without alteration to the existing garden walls, or
surrounding cottages and how to provide efficient ventilation without
exposing customers to the elements.
With nearly 40 years of experience creating bespoke designs, Roger Bucknall
was able to fulfill all objectives by applying the principles of a conservatory
roof and incorporating the use of the Compass roof vent.
The result is an impressive structure that uses ten roof vents, all controlled
through one automatic unit. Customers are able to dine in a comfortable
atmosphere, thanks to an integrated thermostat, which opens the vents
automatically when the desired, pre-set temperature is exceeded, whilst
an external sensor detects changes in the weather, closing the vents if
it starts to rain.
Roger chose timber rafters to enhance the character and ambience of the
dining area, with white aluminium cappings on the external face to blend
with the cottages at either end of the garden.
The Compass Roof Vent provides an aesthetically pleasing design, which
can be supplied in a vast array of finishes to blend in with the roof
structure, whilst its lightweight, thermally broken aluminium sections,
combat heat loss, condensation and the elements, through the use of EPDM
glazing gaskets and a double Q-Lon™ weatherseal between the lid and
base of the vent for optimum sealing. This combines with a built in weather
bar and baffle drainage system, to ensure optimum efficiency and severe
weather rating, making it an ideal choice for Ellios restaurant.
Graham Felton, Managing Director of Compass Building Products commented,
‘The vent has been used in a number of unusual applications recently
and we are currently developing a number of product innovations that have
been inspired by customers like Roger.’
Tel: 01254 879178