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 /

Levolux provides aesthetically striking fins

Telehouse Europe is the UK’s first co-location provider and sustainable power supplies are essential to the continuous operation of its computer servers. On its Docklands site, generator backup is housed in a building made aesthetically striking by the use of Levolux aerofoil fins which architecturally screen the functional and potentially unsightly exterior blockwork walls.

Conceived by YRM Architects and Planners, the building serves to support the Telehouse campus and has the capacity to house additional equipment in the future. Openings may have to be cut in the walls to install it so the louvres not only serve to soften the effect of the structure but hide any necessary reinstatement of the blockwork.

Fins screen the walls from pedestrians looking up from below.

Levolux 350mm aerofoil fins were employed horizontally but have effectively been installed upside down so, instead of performing their normal function of stopping the sun hitting glass, they screen the walls from pedestrians looking up from below.

Creating a bank 14m high, the fins run 24m across the length of the building with their 350mm width providing the necessary rigidity for them to be supported only at 4m intervals. The fins themselves are set at an angle of 32° to provide a balance between screening and transparency and are fully demountable should access to the walls be necessary.

To provide access for maintenance, the fins are supported proud of the wall and, in the space between, Levolux installed walkways and ladders together with a latchway system. A key architectural requirement was for the extreme ends of each fin to be mitred to allow a 1.5m return at the corners of the building. To achieve this they were cut at a compound angle which accommodates both the 32° tilt of the fin and the 90° corner, welded together again, cleaned off and then all the fins were powder-coated.

"Levolux... were able to match our performance requirements."

Leo Chester, external envelope architect, YRM Architects and Planners, comments: “Levolux has a pretty good pedigree of products and could provide the profile and mitred junction required, which was fairly unique. The installation is good, their product was able to achieve the necessary spans and they were able to match our performance requirements.”

 

Architect:	YRM Architects
Products used:	Aluminium Fins