Why specify that?

a. Because it’s an all-in solution

Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College’s new £6.5m media centre includes a TV studio and a reception area in a new teaching block, as well as a dark room, editing suite, photography room, art room and science laboratory. There’s also a gym and a cafe which are open to the public. In short, it’s a showcase of what a modern teaching environment can be.

Central to the project was the fact that Senior Aluminium Systems was able to supply all windows and curtain wall systems. SCW and SMR curtain walls span the facade of the centre and SPW 600 windows, some with remote operation, are integral throughout the building. All the glazing features green body tint glass.

www.senioraluminium.co.uk

b. Because they reach for the sky

Turning a windowless internal storage area into a pleasant, well-lit working environment is a tall order. But that was the challenge facing Borders General Hospital in Melrose when it was tasked with providing an open plan office with individual offices for the hospital’s human resources staff. Its solution was to call on Solatube, which specified 10 tubular

skylights. ‘Without the systems, this area would have been unusable as offices,’ says estates officer Matt Hall.

The amount of daylight provided by the skylights is such that not only do staff rarely have to turn the lights on in the main office, but the glass fronted offices next to this area are able to ‘borrow’ light from it as well.

www.solatube.com

c. Because it’s a famous architect

The Maggie’s Centre in Kirkcaldy, Fife, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is one of a number of cancer care buildings designed, or planned for the future, by high-profile architects. In nearby Dundee, Frank Gehry has conjured another while throughout the UK, centres designed by the likes of Richard Rogers and Daniel Liebeskind await a start on site. Hadid’s creation in the Fife coastal town, however, was completed last year and has a number of unusual features – not least the triangular skylights which adorn its wraparound envelope (the walls and roof really do blur boundaries). Designed in consultation with the architect, the 21 roof lights each measure 1,000 x 1,000 x 900mm and as well as brightening the interior, complement the shard-like form of Hadid’s scheme.

www.therooflightcompany.co.uk

d. Because it’s a nice finnish

Ever since Alvar Aalto, one of the giants of 20th century design, wowed the world stage with his fresh take on modernism, cool, simple architecture has been popular in Finland.

A new library in the seaport town of Turku, designed by JKMM Architects, builds on that tradition.

The library showcases a triple-glazed feature window, 25 metres by 13 metres, incorporating Pilkington Optiwhite in the outer and middle panes and Pilkington Optitherm SN in the inner pane. Pilkington Planar offered a complete and frameless solution for the project, providing a flush glass surface with fins that hold the weight of the facade in place.

Users of the library now benefit from an uninterrupted view of the Puolala Hill, an area of natural beauty while the low U value and a coating that prevents heat escaping from the library maintains a more comfortable environment in which to study.

www.pilkington.com/planar

e. Because they fit in with the old

A 1950s modernist-style house in Devon has been renovated and extended, using Mumford & Wood’s Contemporary range of windows and doors. Sliding, folding doors occupy the front elevation and open across the full width of the lounge, extending the living area onto the front patio.

The main living area – now enlarged – features large timber windows designed to complement the original windows, which have been renovated. The rooms to the rear of the property are set in two storeys and are linked to the original structure by a solid wooden staircase, itself naturally lit with the help of large glass panels with composite casements.

Made from laminated larch, sourced from sustainable forests, the windows were factory painted from a wide selection of RAL colours.

www.mumfordwood.com