DOORS, WINDOWS & GLAZING

A bronze façade featuring integrated Rundum Meir garage doors for two new townhouses in central Manchester has been uniquely designed to reflect the architecture of the nearby John Rylands Library, one of the city’s most famous neo-Gothic buildings.

The duo of four storey, high specification private dwellings designed by Snook Architects for regeneration specialist Watch This Space have given new purpose to an unused site nestling between two post-industrial buildings close to Deansgate. Their full height bronze façade delivers a striking external appearance that takes a distinctive visual cue from the library, located opposite.

The houses are designed around an inverted living approach, enabling the architects to maximise the footprint of the site and use the space to its full potential. Above the garages are floors accommodating the bedrooms, with the living, dining and kitchen areas on the upper floors, and a rooftop courtyard/garden completing the arrangement.

Photos © Andrew Haslam Photography (andyhaslam.com)

The aluminium façade of both townhouses features laser cut and acid-etched lacy blind tracery patterns that match those in the windows of the library, a late Victorian neo-Gothic building which opened in 1900 and is now part of the University of Manchester. The lacy pattern extends over the full height of the façade which includes large folding/sliding shutters.

These balance privacy with natural light requirements for residents during the day whilst being eye-catching at night as internal light shines through the laser cut pattern. This design extends into the twin side sliding sectional garage doors manufactured and installed by Rundum Meir, which effectively deliver a sliding façade at street level.

Working closely with architect Neil Dawson, Rundum Meir’s designers were able to replicate the design with total consistency and manufacture in Germany using acid etching across the six aluminium sections. Neil Dawson of Snook Architects said: “Watch This Space approached us to look at how they could transform this city centre site and we immediately saw the potential to take design inspiration from the nearby John Rylands Library. The resulting façade is unique, and through the movement of the shutters and garage doors during daily life it is constantly moving and changing."

“The laser cut pattern means that the building really comes to life at night as the internal light makes the intricate façade design a stunning feature. To be able to match this styling in the garage doors was crucially important and the result reflects the bespoke craftsmanship provided by Rundum Meir.” The twin Rundum Meir sliding garage doors each provide a clear opening of 3.8 m for easy vehicle access from the street.

Hand made using extruded aluminium, the fully automated bespoke garage doors have an automated pedestrian door as well as the side sliding door that demonstrate the design flexibility offered by Rundum Meir, who create every garage door to meet project requirements. www.rundum.co.uk

by Wojciech Brozyna MD of Aluprof UK

Aluprof UK has supported the Building Awards held in London since 2018. The event continues to be the Construction Industry’s premier event and is attended by the main construction companies in the UK to celebrate the best of the UK’s Construction. At the event, the Aluprof team and their guests were delighted to see that three of the prestigious project awards on the evening used Aluprof aluminium systems to complete their facades.

Held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Mayfair on the 1st of November, the event this year was hosted by Jimmy Carr and was attended by more than 1,100 people. Chloe McCulloch, Editorial Director at Building, said: "The judges felt truly uplifted by the quality of the submissions this year, pointing to the resilience of this industry in the face of unprecedented headwinds."

Sponsoring the ‘Building Magazine Project of the Year’, Aluprof UK was delighted to present the award to the Houlton School project in Rugby by the team Urban & Civic, Morgan Sindall Construction and van Heyningen and Haward Architects. The project uses Aluprof’s MB-70 window system which was installed by Dotcom Glazing. The former Rugby Radio Station building was redesigned with further listed buildings on the site to form the new state school delivered by the private sector.

The ‘Refurbishment Project of the Year’ winner was the Bodmin Jail Hotel entered by CField Construction. This project takes a grade two listed derelict and dilapidated 18 th century Cornish Prison which is then converted into a seventy bedroom, boutique four star hotel. Each of the bedrooms has been formed using three former cells and retains many of the building's original features, such as the window bars, stone floors, walls and ceilings, with many further features of the original prison woven into the building fabric.

Aluprof UK supplied their MB Slimline window system used for the cell windows which is a slim sightline aluminium system which looks like a steel window system but incorporates a full thermal break.

The ‘Digital Excellence Award’ winner, entered by Sir Robert McAlpine and Mace, was The Forge in south London’s Southwark. Designed by architects Bryden Wood, introducing a raft of digital technology proposals which enabled Landsec to achieve its innovative ambitions for the scheme. The Forge aspires to be the first commercial building constructed and operated in line with the UKGBC’s net zero definition and energy reduction targets. It comprises two new office buildings and a public courtyard.

Located on Sumner Street, The Forge is a Landsec office development located just behind Tate Modern in London and is one of the most innovative construction sites in London, pioneering several new construction methods fit for the decades ahead.

Breaking new ground, the project will be the world’s first large-scale office scheme to be built using a standardised “kit of parts”, in an approach known as ‘platform design for manufacture and assembly’ (P-DfMA), which applies the advances made by the manufacturing industry to construction.

The unitised curtain wall used on the project was designed in close collaboration with Bryden Wood, which allowed Aluprof to develop a highly-efficient facade unit. The full-size units have been rigorously tested in Aluprof’s

Research and Innovation Centre in Ogrodzona where they passed air leakage, impact, wind resistance, and water penetration tests. The units were manufactured in Poland and transported in purpose designed, reusable stillages which were then lifted to the floor plates using a combination of large material hoists and tower cranes for installation by specialist installers NACWL.

A key feature of the stillage design was to protect the units from any stress and impact during transportation and lift. The new bespoke system has been named as MB-SE120 and has a UW value of <1.3 W(m2K).

Aluprof UK are proud to supply facade systems to a wide range of new and refurbished construction projects across Great Britain and Ireland, with Head Offices in Altrincham in the North West and with an architectural specification support office in the Business Design Centre in London, the company has rapidly grown their specification influence in the UK with their high-performance architectural aluminium systems.

Further expansion of the company’s headquarters in Altrincham now provides specifiers with meeting facilities and an extensive showroom of commercial systems to view. Further information is available on the company website at aluprof.co.uk or direct from their UK head office in Altrincham on 0161 941 4005.

Described as Dorchester’s most iconic building, the Brewery – once the source of the much-quaffed Eldridge Pope ales – has been transformed into a high-end residential setting with Crittall windows playing a central role in retaining the heritage aesthetic of this historic structure. For nearly a century and a half the building, with its tall chimney, towered above the Dorset town as a symbol of local industry and prosperity.

Designed by architect WR Crickmay the brick building was completed in 1880. At a staggering 13% the brewery’s Thomas Hardy Ale once featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the strongest commercially brewed beer in the country.

The brewery eventually closed in 2003 and the site remained unused until, in 2007, planning permission was granted for a new public square overlooked by the impressive building, restored to its former glory containing 29 one, two and threebedroom apartments.

LMA Architecture of Bournemouth has retained many of the unique features of the original building including riveted steel beams, cast iron columns and exposed brickwork.

Crittall Corporate W20 steel windows and doors were a natural choice, glazed in small panes to replicate the original configuration of the tall brewery windows. www.crittall-windows.co.uk

It’s no secret that today’s consumer is getting smarter. We’ve all been using ‘smart’ phones for several years and homes are getting smarter and smarter with the likes of video doorbells, heating control systems and leak detection sensors. With security being so high on people’s priority list, surprisingly, adding Smart technology to windows and doors has never really taken off - generally due to it being expensive, ugly and unreliable. That is, until now.

Kubu Smart have developed a range of Smart sensors that monitor the security status of doors and windows in real time and will alert you if there’s anything to worry about. Most contact sensors will tell you if your door or window has been opened or closed, but Kubu is much more sophisticated, being able to report: open,closed, locked, unlocked, partly secure, night vent, and even if it’s under attack. In addition, the Kubu App can send smart notifications when they are needed most, ensuring the homeowner is always secure. The SureSecure geofence feature will notify you if you have inadvertently left your home unlocked when leaving; the timed notification feature can remind you at bedtime (or any other time for that matter) if you’ve forgotten to lock your door; and the family sharing feature allows you to see the security status of your friends and family’s homes - ideal for elderly relatives or sheltered housing.

Designed to be completely concealed (so as not to spoil the aesthetics of the home), Kubu sensors work hand-in-hand with specially designed Avantis hardware - the most respected high security multi-point locking systems available - which are both PAS24 and Secured by Design accredited. By co-designing the hardware and smart security technology together, Kubu has been able to overcome all the issues and obstacles that other systems are yet to solve, in order to create extremely high levels of accuracy. For example, the Kubu window sensor has been developed with patented ‘floating-sensor technology’, which allows the sensor to move with the window over time, helping to avoid many common issues such as sash-drop and thermal movement. This means it will always provide 100% accurate status reports without the need for repeated setup or calibration.

Kubu also provides many lifestyle benefits including smart home integrations, air quality monitoring and even weather warnings to remind you to shut those windows before it rains. By seamlessly integrating with the Internetof-Things, Kubu is able to interact with many other smart devices within the home: get status alerts through your smart speaker; automatically turn off the heating if your windows have been opened; turn off the lights when the front door is locked; or switch on a camera if the window is being attacked.

The scenarios are endless. Not only is Kubu extremely Smart, it is cost effective too. The manufacturer of the windows and doors makes their products ‘work with Kubu’ by simply fitting locks that are compatible with the Kubu technology, which are then fitted as normal by the installer or property developer. For no extra work, and no extra cost you can provide a differentiator when designing a property and can help your developers offer something different.

For the price of a “Smart Lock” for just one door, the homeowner can then upgrade the entire property with Kubu sensors, creating a full perimeter security system that can help to improve the home's green credentials too. If you would like to find out more about Kubu and how it can add value to your next project, visit: getkubu.com/trade or email: sales@kubu-home.com.

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All windows secure

Leading riser door and access panel solution supplier, Profab Access, has proven its first-class credentials once again as part of the recent completion of a major specification at Cardiff’s new 5-star Parkgate hotel. Located next to the Welsh Capital’s famous Principality Stadium, the Parkgate hotel has been designed to provide a luxurious experience for rugby fans, in addition to city dwellers visiting the country all year round.

Widely coined as Cardiff’s most lavish new location, the hotel includes 170 guest bedrooms and suites, a signature restaurant and bar, a traditional tea lounge and a rooftop spa overlooking the city skyline. As part of the prestigious build, a unique collaboration between the Welsh Rugby Union, property developer, Rightacres, and The Celtic Collection, the hotel required an extensive riser door specification, with safety, high performance and aesthetic appeal key considerations.

In total, 310 Profab Access VEGA 1500 Fire Rated Riser Doors were specified for installation by Hazelwood Carpentry throughout every part of the building, including communal areas and the hotel’s vast range of luxury guest rooms and suites. The VEGA 1500 Series Riser Doors offer the highest standards of fire safety, extensively tested by Efectis in France and Ireland to provide a bidirectionally fire tested product that is available in both single and double door configurations.

This means the riser door sets are fire tested from both sides to 60 minutes, providing the specifiers, contractors and hotel guests residing within the building with confidence the critical fire integrity products offer the highest standard and most up to date evidence for fire safety performance. The range also features a slimline, neat construction, whilst its proven technology ensures permanent, safe access to mechanical and electrical services housed within the riser core.

This provides first class functionality and safety, without compromising the overall interior concept. The steel riser doors also streamlined the installation process, as the quick release pivot hinge and light weight enabled easy handling, allowing Hazelwood Carpentry to complete the job quickly and optimise overall project efficiencies.

In the event of a fire, the VEGA 1500 Series Riser Door sets will maintain the frame and integrity for up to 60 minutes, preventing the spread of fire throughout the property for this period of time. The riser doors are 31dB acoustic rated, smoke sealed and airtight to Part L, whilst also featuring intumescent smoke seals that enable occupants to safely exit the building. By specifying bidirectionally fire tested VEGA 1500 Series Riser Doors, the development is actively future proofed as the comprehensive testing certification provides a complete and transparent audit trail of due diligence that evidences the products are not only fit for purpose but meet the duty of care required to ensure legal compliance.

Profab Access’ diverse portfolio of riser doors and access panels are supported by a wide range of BIM Level 2 and CAD files to aid the specification process and streamline the initial design stages. Manufactured at Profab Access’ Atherstone headquarters in accordance with ISO 9001, the 1500 Series Riser Doors can be specified and installed in a range of configurations to meet each project’s measurements and requirements. www.profabaccess.com

Working with Mount Anvil, a swimming pool area in a Grade II Listed home has been restored to its former grandeur, with the assistance of Selectaglaze sealed units and curved on plan secondary glazing. Kidderpore Hall sits looking over North London, in what was referred to as the Childs Hill neighborhood of Hampstead; once a relatively rural area. It has been beautifully reimagined through extensive refurbishment and brought back to a livable state as a single family home.

One of the areas of the house which needed particular attention was a new pool and spa area in the basement. The original single glazed sash windows did little to provide heat retention. Selectaglaze secondary glazing was chosen to assist in upgrading the thermal insulation in this Grade II Listed building. To ensure maximum U-values were gained in this exposed corner of the building, 24mm double sealed secondary glazed units were required with obscure glass to provide privacy. Six window and one door were treated with Series 41 side hung casements, glazed with 4-16-4 gas filled sealed units. However, to match the sightlines of the bay window framing the jacuzzi, curved on plan units were specified. www.selectaglaze.co.uk

Two former furniture factory buildings in East London have been transformed into high-end apartments with the help of Crittall windows. Long Street in the Hackney conservation area was a key component in Shoreditch’s industrial heritage.

The four-storey structural steel-framed blocks were built in Long Street in 1959 with plenty of natural daylight and generously sized lifts for transporting uncut sheets of plywood to the upper floors. The two blocks now form part of a luxury residential development, Long and Waterson. Architects Fletcher Priest have taken their design cue from the industrial lineage of the area, retaining original external brickwork and window settings and adding two rooftop penthouse levels creating a total of 71 apartments.

Crittall Corporate W20 and MW40 systems were specified, in fixed and opening format together with Crittall cold form tubular doors that meet the RC3 burglary resistance security standard; a choice that preserves both the original appearance and the industrial heritage of the area. www.crittall-windows.co.uk

As part of a significant re-development project, Derwent Practice has improved patient access from the carpark by installing a smart new TORMAX automatic bi-parting entrance system. Giving clear and easy access to all users, the sliding doors are fully compliant with current legislation. Powered by the in-house designed Win Drive 2201 operator, a long and reliable working life can be expected thanks to the sophisticated design of the motor which benefits from almost wear-less operation. As with all TORMAX operators, the Win Drive is tested to significantly more than current industry requirements of one million cycles and can be found installed in busy locations throughout the world.

A significant local service, Derwent Practice is the only GP practice in Malton, North Yorkshire. As well as the newly positioned automatic entrance, patients also now benefit from the addition of new consulting rooms, extending the clinics and services that can be offered. “With heating bills set to rise even further, an automatic entrance is a sound financial investment,” comments Simon Roberts, MD for TORMAX. “Not only do our door drives feature low-energy operation but an automatic entrance can itself significantly help reduce heat loss from a building.

“Sophisticated movement sensors combine with straight-forward, two-key programming to allow the opening and closing speed, hold open time and opening width all to be altered to match how busy the access point is at any time of the day, as well as to reflect the outside weather conditions. “Used efficiently, the new entrance for the Derwent Practice will significantly improve the ambient temperature in the reception area, as well as helping to cut energy bills.” www.tormax.co.uk

Health and beauty retailer Boots UK is well known for offering beauty products to enhance the stylish good looks of its customers, so the entrance to their brand new store in Kensington High Street in London, just had to step up to the mark. The busy store needed an entrance to complement its glass and bronze-anodised façade and GEZE UK had just the answer – the UFO NT. The UFO NT is an underfloor operator that is completely hidden from view, so perfect when installed with glass doors.

Extremely quiet in operation and complying with the demands of the Equality Act and BS EN 8300 ensuring access for all, the UFO NT can be used on any type of doors – glass, metal or wood, and can operate doors with leaf widths up to 1250mm on external doors and 1600mm on internal doors and up to 125kg in weight. GEZE UK worked with façade solutions specialists Colorminium to design and install double doors with two UFO NT automatic operators to the store entrance.

The Boots store is part of a mixed use building on the corner of High Street and Wrights Lane, the 1970’s building was remodelled and extended, to completely transform it and includes office space, a new retail arcade and connection to the London Underground. Said Andy Iredale, GEZE UK’s national sales manager for automatics and window technology: ‘The UFO NT was the perfect solution for this busy store, the operator is concealed beneath the floor giving designers the freedom to create aesthetically pleasing entrances yet still provide automatic access’. www.geze.co.uk