Architect and Builder August/September 2018 | Page 43

glazed and are insulated with mineral wool and nutec backing panels. Solar-E high performance glazing is utilised in the curtain wall system. The vision panels are double-glazed with clear solar coating and a frit pattern which reduces from 90% at the curtain wall head, down to 0% at eye level, on the outer panes. The inner panes are toughened to resist thermal stresses due to proximity of internal blinds and potential cold air from the perimeter cooling system. The vision panels in the shopfront are grey, body tinted and double glazed, which matches the spandrel below. The top of shopfronts also incorporates a compensating channel which allows for expansion and contraction of the aluminium Discovery Sable Park as well as differential vertical deflection between floor slabs, due to the large cantilevers. This distinction in glass type and colour, albeit risky, proved successful in creating distinct volumetric components in the finished product. The ground floor of both office blocks is enclosed by full-height shopfronts. As a scaling device, a perimeter ‘eyebrow’ canopy wraps around the perimeter of the building at 2,800mm above the ground. It was formed in steel and clad in aluminium to match the brise-soleil. The ‘eyebrow’ is suspended from the underside of the first office level and extends around each block, terminating upwards over the entrances to form signage panels at the entrance of the building. 43