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case studies /

There's no stopping Levolux!

Now home to more than 45 international companies, Quinta da Fonte near Lisbon is Portugal’s leading out-of-town business park. The two final buildings by Akeler, the international office and business park developer, together offer over 10,570 m² and are predominantly south facing so required a sunshading system integrated within their façades, one of which is curved.

extreme temperatures and sun conditions

Akeler focuses heavily on environmental engineering so Levolux was brought in early in the design stage to provide a façade solution which would work within the region’s extreme temperatures and sun conditions while maximising the amount of natural light reaching the floor plates.

The bespoke solution developed by Levolux met the challenging brief which required the 600mm aerofoil fins to be unsupported over spans of between 7.5m to 9m while offering high wind and earthquake resistance.

Faceted Blades

With the brise-soleil projecting horizontally from the front of the building by 7.5m it is supported some 12m above the ground on steel columns so that the system forms a colonnade along the front of the building. On the curved façade the blades are faceted to achieve the desired effect.

The fins were made in three extruded parts that clip together and are supported between rectangular hollow sections of steel that are positioned to match the building’s structural grid in order that they can be fitted back to the rain screencladding of glass and local stone. The angle of the louvres is set to achieve screening from the direct sunlight for the majority of the year.

Levolux has the international background support and knowledge

Marcus Boret, construction director, Akeler Developments, comments: “Levolux was chosen because it has the international background support and knowledge of this type of product along with a history of being able to provide more complicated solutions. Levolux came up with a bespoke, cost effective solution to satisfy our conceptual requirements while taking on board the engineering constraints of the local environment. We are pleased with the job and happy with the final product.”

Architect:	Aukett Europe Ltd
Products used:	Aluminium Fins