Anchors Away!

A window refurbishment project at a prestigious retail car showroom is just one of the many jobs which has helped Ebbw Vale based fabricator Anchor Windows successfully grow its business over the last couple of years. Local car retailers R Skinner & Sons invited the window company to replace 90 windows, each 2.5m high by 1m wide as part of an overall £1.5million refurbishment project.

Deceuninck fabricator Anchor Windows has itself recently invested £400,000 in new premises and manufacturing facilities to help it cope with the size and frequency of demand illustrated by the Skinner & Sons installation.

'When we were last in the trade press three years ago, I claimed that our growth then was purely through word of mouth - we had never spent a penny on advertising. Nothing has changed today - other than we are doubling our manufacturing capacity,' said Anchor Windows director Gary Bond.

'Deceuninck has been 100 per cent supportive throughout the expansion process. It has worked closely with us in setting up the new factory, advising us on layout, machinery, tooling. When working on jobs such as Skinners car showroom, Deceuninck's technical deparment is always there helping us with calculations for wind resistance and loadings. It is due to this kind of support that has enabled us to grow the business so successfully.'

Tel: 01249 816969
Web: http://www.deceuninck.com

School Celebrates with Sheerframe Installation

Pupils at English Martyrs' R.C Primary School in Newcastle are looking forward to a long hot summer, thanks to the installation of Sheerframe windows as part of the school's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The Sheerframe windows from LB Plastics Ltd. have been installed to replace metal windows put in when the school was built 50 years ago. The old windows had become ill fitting and the majority couldn't be opened, leaving many classrooms uncomfortably hot in summer and too cold in winter. The project had the full support of the pupils and parents alike, who contributed to the £147,000 cost of replacing the windows, by sponsoring a window for £10 each.

All of the schools' 280 windows were replaced with Sheerframe curtain walling frames, featuring double-glazed windows using the Sheerframe 6000 co-extruded profile. Part L compliant Sheerframe PVCu window systems incorporate a four-chamber design and come with co-extruded weather seals to maximise weather performance.

Headmistress Denise Kendall commented, 'The windows have made a huge difference. Not only does the school look better and everyone is more comfortable, but I'm also sure we are going to save on our heating bills. We are all hoping for a long hot summer so we can put our new windows to the test!'

Local contractors McGann Builders made the installation. Owner Andy McGann says, 'The thermal performance of the Sheerframe 6000 System and the fact that the windows are easy to operate made the system ideal for this project. The teachers and pupils can now open the windows in safety and work in comfort.'

Tel: 01773 852311
Email: sheerframe@lbplastics.co.uk
Web: http://www.sheerframe.co.uk

Pilkington Prescribes Healthy Outlook for Heerlen Hospital

Heerlen Hospital, located in southern Holland, has been treated to a major facelift in the form of a massive two-story glass entrance building utilising Pilkington glass and the Pilkington Planar structural glazing system throughout the whole project.

The Pilkington Planar structural glazing system was utilised for the glass walling and Pilkington glass for a number of applications including internal balconies, lifts and even the four ventilation shafts. In addition to completely upgrading the image of the building, the 40 x 30m foyer is one of the biggest Pilkington Planar projects ever undertaken by Pilkington in the Benelux countries.

The E800,000 project has transformed the previously drab and uninspiring 1960s concrete structure, resulting in a far more attractive building from the outside and affording those inside stunning views of the surrounding hills. The main façade uses 500m2 of screen printed Pilkington Planar with striking geometric designs in black and white. The 250m2 roof combines neutral solar control glass with clear laminated in an aluminium framework and laminated fire protection glass has been used for the lift shaft cladding. Even the entrance to the underground garage is via a glass walled tunnel!

Pilkington project manager, Jan Broeren, commented on the project:

'The original building is a rather dull concrete structure, which has been given a new lease of life with this glass frontage. We are very proud to have been associated with such an impressive and successful project.'
Tel: 01744 692000
Email: mailto:contact@pilkington.com
Web: http://www.pilkington.com

Doorway to the Urban Experience

A new kind of museum exploring life in different cities of the world has been built in Manchester and Geze UK, manufacturer of door and window control systems, has been chosen to provide the stunning automatic entrance doors, along with several other swinging and sliding doorsets throughout the building. Main contractors Laing were charged with bringing the architect's vision to life.

Urbis is in many ways an architectural expression of its content - the experience of the modern city. It was crucial that every element should work together to crystallise the image and the modern, minimalist lines of Geze door operators fitted in perfectly with the objective - as well as being unobtrusive enough not to upstage or otherwise encroach upon the design. In addition to this, access and reliability are primary issues for a building of this type.

Due to open in June 2002, Urbis is a breathtakingly unique glass building rising high above the city centre. Inside, state of the art interactive displays and exhibits lead visitors through an inspirational joumey exploring life in different cities of the world, focusing especially on Manchester, Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, Singapore, Paris and Tokyo. Set in Cathedral Gardens, a new green space in Manchester's Millennium Quarter, Urbis is visually striking, its shimmering exterior reflecting the surrounding cityscape.

The whole building is contained within a glass skin that comprises 2,200 glazed units, each one individually fashioned to form the sculptured surface of the building. Much of the glazing is semiobscured, allowing a variety of views both into and out of the building. From the inside, the partial vistas of buildings and people create a visual link between the exhibition themes and the life of the city beyond the walls. From the double height foyer at the northern tip of the building, Urbis curves dramatically up to a 6th floor, 35m high vantage point over Manchester's new Exchange Square.

The unusually large entrance doors, weighing in excess of 200kg, are easily operated by Geze's TSA 450 heavy duty sliding door operators. Also installed are a number of Slimdrive SL operators, blending into the facade due to a drive unit height of only 70mm. All door leaves are manufactured from Geze's Slimprofile door system, providing minimal sightlines of only 30-40mm. All door systems are controlled via LED programme switches, which provide all the usual functions of hold open, reduced opening, exit only and fully automatic, along with a complete fault diagnostic system.

lnside the ground floor of Urbis are a public foyer, shop and cafe, along with seminar, education and corporate entertainment spaces. From the foyer, visitors to the exhibitions travel diagonally up by a distinctive glass elevator to the 4th floor and make their way back down through a series of linked permanent exhibitions. The 5th and 6fh floors house a restaurant and bar accessed separately from a dedicated entrance on the ground floor. Both of these levels are clear glazed, affording diners one of Manchester's finest views. In plan, the building's own layout responds to that of the city outside; Urbis' contours follow the line and topography of the existing streets, forming a distinctive welcome arm that invites visitors across Cathedral Gardens to the main entrance.

The construction and development of Urbis is being managed by Manchester City Council Special Projects Team and funded as part of Manchester's Millennium Quarter by the Millennium Commission, the European Regional Development Fund and the Department of Local Government, Transport and the Regions.

Contact Jan Benfield
Tel: 01245 451093.
Web: http://www.geze.com

Janex Completes Phase 3 of £4 million Contract for Falkirk Council

Janex, supplier of Scandinavian windows and doors, has just completed the 3rd phase of a major contract worth nearly £4 million, supplying external Scandinavian Janexdoors and screens to Falkirk Council in central Scotland.

Janex has now supplied in excess of 20,000 doorsets, to replace existing ones, for council houses across the whole of the Falkirk area.

The composite Janex door claims to be four times stronger than a traditional timber door providing unrivalled sound and heat insulation. The door set helps to maintain warmth inside homes due to the thermally efficient construction and with over 95% of the door components being recyclable, it provides an environmentally friendly option.

Silicone weather seal is fitted continuously between the door leaf and frame and as an integral part of the Janexdoor air circulation and water management system.

The doors come with a 10 year warranty on the stability of the leaf, preventing the door from twisting or warping. The high quality construction of the Nordic pine frames and drips, and aluminium threshold, ensure that the Janexdoor doorset is built to last.

The Janexdoor has stainless steel lock specifcation that the company claims exceeds the security criteria laid down by Pas 23 & Pas 24. The construction of the door includes 2 x 0.5mm aluminium sheets which enhance resistance to forced entry. Triple glazed, toughened Pilkington glass is also fitted as standard on the doors for increased security and safety.

All Janex products comply with security requirements set by the police 'Secured by Design' initiative. Compliance with these requirements ensures the ability of Janex windows and doors to resist forced entry.

Alex Brown, managing director of Janex said:
'Janex supplies traditional Scandinavian products that are ideal for replacement projects or for new build developments. We can deliver a high volume of windows and doors to local authorities and social landlords throughout the UK, guaranteeing a quality product with genuine certification.'

The Janexdoor is available in various finishes and designs to complement any home. While providing long life, security and efficient performance, the Janexdoor product is low maintenance and high energy efficient with security features designed for private housebuilders, developers, local authorities and housing associations.

Tel: 01324 878700

Kawneer and Glamalco Complete £4 Million Three Building Curtain Wall Contract for Prudential Development

Kawneer and Glamalco have completed a £4 million contract to install complex curtain walling and structural silicone glazing to three prestigious office buildings on Prudential's new, state-of-the-art GreenPark business park in Reading.

Nicholas Hare Architects (http://www.nicholashare.co.uk) of London designed the three buildings as part of a design and build contract managed by HBG Southern Construction Ltd. The buildings, which are located at 200, 250 and 300 Longwater Avenue, have been let to Cisco Systems, the world leader in networking for the Internet.

Glamalco and Kawneer were awarded the initial curtain walling contract for 200 and 250 Longwater Avenue after the originally appointed sub contractor went into liquidation.
The concept design for these two, three-storey buildings featured elegant bands of frameless glazing and aluminium panels. This particular aesthetic was achieved in the completed buildings by Glamalco's use of Kawneer's 1204 SSG structural silicone glazing.

Kawneer's 1204 SSG, as used on the GreenPark project, is a semi-unitised curtain
walling system, in that it combines the cost effectiveness of a traditional grid stick system with the speed of erection and prefabrication quality of a unitised system. Both the aluminium panels and the structurally bonded glazing panels were factory fabricated under quality controlled conditions and then delivered to site, where they were toggle-fixed into the mullion and transom grid stick structure. The frameless glazing and aluminium panels have 20mm shadow lines around them.

Work on the third building started shortly after the completion of 200 and 250 Longwater Avenue with virtually the same construction team. 300 Longwater Avenue is a four-storey structure, which maintains the same basic curtain walling concept as the other two buildings. However, it features a full height, fUlly glazed entrance foyer, located on the south east elevation and extemally supported by a series of dramatic fin like structural steel columns.

Nicholas Hare Architects explain how the steel support came to be placed on the outside, 'With such a large glazed entrance hall, a major concern was how to provide adequate solar shading to the space so that it doesn't become too hot. We resolved the design by placing a stainless steel mesh on the outside ofthe glass, and that then led to the proposal to place the steel structure outside the glazing line.'

Kawneer's project specific 1612 curtain walling, which has the structural integrity to accommodate significant amounts of live load deflection, was used on the main entrance in a particularly original application - it was installed with the structural support outside the glazing line.

Alan Quartly, sales director of Glamalco, explains: 'The architect wanted the glass wall to be supported from the outside, so the curtain walling is fixed in the reverse. The application ofthe curtain walling was not a problem; it was the actual fixing that was highly complicated and involved a lot of detailed development work with the structural engineer, project architect and Kawneer. In the event, we adapted the basic principles for the fixing of brise soleil to a curtain wall in a normal application. The brackets come through the nose ofthe curtainwall and are fixed into the flange ofthe curtainwall from the outside steel fins. The support comes from the structural steel columns which also house the stainless steel brise soleil mesh.'

An added complication for Glamalco and Kawneer came in the form of the two end walls ofthe main entrance, which are structurally glazed. Alan Quartly explains, 'The end mullion of the 1612 curtain walling was used to house the end panes of glass ofthe structural glazing. So we had to accommodate all the movement factors arising from the structural glazing and its secondary steel support.'

Along the south elevation of the building, a series of extruded aluminium aerofoil sections at each floor level provide solar shading. In its development work and installation, Kawneer and Glamalco had to allow for brackets, which carry half of the support loadings for the brise soleil walkways, to come out of the curtain wall.

At the outset of the contract for 200 and 250 Longwater Avenue, stringent air, water
and dynamic tests were carried out on the 1204 SSG curtain walling at Taywood Engineering's Cladding Technology Centre. The integrity of the system was again independently tested once the brise soleil bracket was added for use on 300 Longwater Avenue.

The aluminium elements ofthe first two buildings have a light grey polyester powder paint finish, while 300 Longwater Avenue has a darker grey finish. The glazing on all three buildings incorporates Suncool HP neutral double glazed units to the south, east and west elevations, and Planatherm clear double glazed units to the north elevations.

Tel: 01928 502500
Email: mailto:enquiries@eu.kawneer.com
Website: http://www.kawneereurope.com

Tremco Sealant Technology for Major Middle East Projects

Tremco's Proglaze II and SGT 920 tapes were selected for the four-sided structural glazing on the prestigious Al lttihad Tower in Shajah, where HRH Sheikh Quasimi was the client.
Tremco's Dymonic polyurethane sealant and Spectrem 2 silicone sealant were also employed to help realise the designs of Ajyed Consultants.

The same selection of sealants helped Al Abbar Aluminium complete the curtain walling on the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai, where four-sided structural glazing offers a panoramic outlook for many of the public rooms. The contract for HRH Sheikh Nahyan by DCC Arabtec JV also included architectural aluminium glazing systems for which Tremco supplied EPDM linear and frame gaskets.

Another project to be completed recently is the Bin Suqat Shopping Centre at Rashidiya in Dubai where Proglaze II, Spectrem 2, SGT 920 Tape, Tremsil 500 and Dymonic were all employed in executing the imposing elevations which feature both stainless steel and aluminium cladding.

Tel: 01753 691696
Web: http://www.tremcoeurope.com

Ahoy There! Profile22 at the RNLI

The weatherproofing qualities of Profile 22 windows were chosen by the RNLI for their new lifeboat station at Thurso on the far northern Scottish coast.

Alba Windows, an Inverness-based Profile 22 fabricator, manufactured the ten casement windows which included a round feature window. Two full-time staff, a coxwain and mechanic, are based at the lifeboat station - which is situated closer to Norway than London.

To cope with the severe coastal weather conditions, Alba Windows incorporated extra drainage and 6mm instead of 4mm glass in the units. The windows were installed by contractors DM Geddes and Sons from Caithness.

Alba's Managing Director, David Dowling, explained: 'The job presented several challenges, not least designing the round feature window to ensure it not only looked good, but was fully weatherproof too.

'We believe these must be the most northerly mainland Profile 22 windows of their type - and a lifeboat station is certainly a first for us.'

Contact: Kathy Wilkinson
Tel: 01242 243444
Web: http://www.profile22.co.uk

Colourful Facelift for Cosham Housing Estate

Composite panels manufactured by Laminated Supplies, part of the Hallmark Group, have brightened up a Hampshire housing estate as part of an extensive refurbishment project that included windows and doors manufactured and installed by Professional Windows of Wiltshire.

The 2-year project on behalf of Portsmouth County Council, now nearing completion, involved the replacement of doors and windows in 20 blocks of low-rise flats and maisonettes within Hawthorn Crescent in Cosham, the tallest of which are four storeys high.

The panels, 3mm Trespa composite sections consisting of two skins bonded on an insulated core, were used to cover brickwork below each of the windows. However, seizing the opportunity to inject a little colour to the area Portsmouth Council chose green, terracotta, beige or mushroom panels from the wide range available. Laminated Supplies also provided 6mm Trespa panels for fascias on each of the buildings.

Keith Brocks, Senior Property Surveyor for Portsmouth County Council commented 'The project has gone very well; our tenants are very happy with the refurbishment work completed by Professional Windows and like the coloured Laminated Supplies panels which give a unique look to the area'.

Tel: 01482 781111
Email: mailto:info@hallmark-panels.com
Web: http://www.hallmark-panels.com

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