Home| Products| Case Studies| International Projects| FAQ's| Glossary| Design Lines| Datasheets| Literature| Enquiry Form| Contact Us

• Bespoke Solutions
• Shading Louvres
• Aerofoil Fins
• Ventilation Louvres
• Rackarm - Skyvane
• External Blinds
• Internal Blinds
• Room Darkening Blinds
• Curtains and Tracks
• Hospital Cubicle Tracks
• Fabric Walling
• Electronic Controls

Recent Projects

• Q-Park, Liverpool One
• University of Derby
• North West Kent College
• O2 HQ, Slough

International Projects

• RBS Castlerock, US
• Harley Davidson Museum, US
• HALO, Illinois
• Schlumberger, New York

case studies /

A blinding success for Levolux

With large areas of clear south and west facing glazing, sunshading was a key consideration in the design of the group of three new office buildings, known as Waterside Arlington Business Park, Reading.

Solarshading specialist Levolux was approached early in the project after the architects, Fitzroy Robinson, had seen one of the company’s systems, which closely fitted their brief, in use on another major project.

a major statement in terms of the building’s aesthetics

The buildings are sited on a water feature and the architects were keen that there should be floor to ceiling glazing on the elevations facing it to give the occupants the best possible views. The brise-soleil system created by Levolux is made up of a number of elements and not only fulfils the function of cutting solar heat gain and glare but makes a major statement in terms of the building’s aesthetics.

At eaves level the system follows the pitch of the roof to project horizontally beyond the building’s façade by some 1300mm and is supported on steel arms set at 3m centres. Totally bespoke, this element consists of a large extruded and fabricated aluminium nosing which runs right around each building at the end of the arms. Running parallel to this but behind it are six 250mm wide ‘I’ louvres which are fixed at 150mm centres, acting as a sunshade while allowing minimal light through.

access for window cleaning and maintenance

On the southern and western elevations, the roof level arms are connected to vertical steel posts which extend down to the ground. These in turn are joined to horizontal arms at first and second floor levels that support walkway panels to allow access for window cleaning and maintenance.

Sunshading is provided at ground, first and second floor levels by bespoke 600mm wide aluminium perforated louvres that are fixed horizontally between the vertical posts at 45° one above another. These 3m long fabricated fins are constructed using two 90mm tubes to form nosings which are set between aluminium end plates and support perforated sheets. The louvres are employed in varying numbers depending on the degree of solar protection required while the perforations allow some light to filter through thus lightening the building’s interior.

All the aluminium components and the galvanised steel walkway are powder coated while the rest of the steelwork has a painted finish. With the framework of the brise-soleil intentionally made to look robust, a silver grey colour has been chosen and, since it stands around 1.5m proud of the anodised face of the building’s façade, a considerable feeling of depth has been created.

We are very pleased with the end result"

Luke Schuberth, an associate at architects Fitzroy Robinson, comments: “The Levolux fins look neat and simple and we chose them because we liked the fact that they have a large single surface that is very much part of the building’s aesthetic. Levolux understood what we wanted, were helpful and we are very pleased with the end result.”

 

Architect:	Fitzroy Robinson
Products used:	Fabricated Fins