Clearview National February 2018 - Issue 195 | Page 60

ALUMINIUMEXTRA
Quality
Glazing for
Education
Centre
» » THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY
sustainable education facility in Flintshire,
intended to support courses for students in
the 16-19 age group, has made extensive use
of glazing solutions from the range by Sapa
Building System, including doors, windows
and curtain walling.
The Post 16 Education Centre at Connah’s
Quay has been constructed at a cost of
£13.75 million as a joint development
by Coleg Cambria and Flintshire County
Council. Ainsley Gommon Architects
were first appointed by Coleg Cambria in
2013 and worked closely with the college’s
commissioning team to define their initial
requirements and client aspirations. Wynne
Construction was the main contractor for the
project: taking responsibility for the design
work after the planning stage and appointing
Westmore Architectural Ltd as the specialist
sub-contractor for the fenestration.
Westmore Architectural subsequently
undertook the design, fabrication and
installation of the Sapa systems: its package
encompassing both manually opened windows
and electric window actuators as well as
multiple sets of automatic sliding doors and
a swing door for compliance with approved
Document M.
The state-of-the-art facilities, hosting a
broadened choice of curriculum, will provide
learning experience for 700 students in a
centralised location between Coleg Cambria’s
Deeside Campus, and Connah’s Quay High
School. The building includes specialist
performing arts facilities and general teaching
classrooms, as well as social and private study
spaces.
Importantly, the centre has been designed
and built to exceed BREEAM Excellent
standards: including promoting the use of
natural daylighting and ventilation.
The building’s layout accordingly creates
a mix of carefully orientated, open-plan and
smaller spaces where the sunlight is transmitted
60 » F EB 2018 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
through a mix of Sapa’s Elegance 52 ST curtain
walling, and the manufacturer’s very successful
Dualframe 75 Si windows, as well as its ST11
commercial doors. High standards of security
and rugged performance, including achieving
PAS 24 performance requirement for the doors
and windows, were emphasised throughout.
Commenting on the selection of the
Sapa systems, Wynne Construction’s Design
Manager, Andy Garner, said: “Following
our appointment as the main contractor
for this prestigious project our architects
Lovelock Mitchell took it forward through
detailed design with Mike Molyneux, Sapa
Project Consultant, and Lovelock Mitchell.
As part of this process we identified Sapa’s
Elegance curtain wall as well as other window
and door options in the range as providing
the best performance and value available
amongst manufacturers of aluminium systems.
Additionally, Sapa’s high quality and varied
product range provided a high level of design
flexibility.”
Elegance 52 ST curtain walling is an
externally capped, thermally broken curtain
wall system that offers many design options
through the use of different mullions and
cover caps. Several special locations such as
90° angle mullions or variable angles have
been designed with a minimal use of material;
resulting in slim sightlines.
Also, stylish in design while offering
multiple opening configurations, Sapa’s
Dualframe 75 Si range is proving very
popular in sectors such as social housing,
as well as education. Not only does the
uniquely designed polyamide break help it
offer U-values down to 0.9 W/m2 K, but
Dualframe was the first aluminium system
to achieve an A++ Window Energy Rating.
Then, in line with the spec’ for the new Post
16 centre, PAS 24 has been achieved on every
style including tilt-before-turn and pivot.
Further enhancing the security of the
fenestration for the BREEAM Excellent
building, Sapa’s Stormframe ST Thermally
Broken Door features a polyamide thermal
break which, as well as offering the option for
dual colours to be used, also means the door
can achieve low U-values. Single or double
doors can be rebated or centrally pivoted with
the option of a built-in anti-finger trap stile.
Also, crucial to the education environment,
a drained low-profile threshold and bottom
rail adaptor ensure that disability access
under BS8300 and Part M of the Building
Regulations is fully accommodated across the
wide range of options available.
The Post 16 centre at Connah’s Quay offers
a beacon for the educational aspirations of
students and staff alike while setting the
highest possible standards in terms of build
quality, energy efficiency and sustainability.
Sapa Building Systems and Westmore
Architectural are proud to have contributed to
the achievement of these goals.
www.sapabuildingsystems.co.uk