Client: ILVA
Contractor: Simons Construction
Architect: Wilson Mason and Partners
Type of works: supply of 63mm Comfortscreen motorized roller blinds for internal solar shading.

This project was the first of two ILVA sites that Hunter Douglas Luxaflex Projects Division provided the internal solar shading for over June and July 2006. The other site was located in Gateshead, which was practically identical in terms of quantity and specification.

The remit was to supply a heavy-duty motorised roller-blind system, to provide adequate shading to the area directly adjacent to the main glazed elevation at first-floor level. However, it was also a requirement that the blinds actually control the natural daylight without plunging the area into darkness. Therefore through close liaison with the architect and client, it was agreed to use Panama 8880 White, a PVC screening fabric with a 4% OF (Openness Factor). This product was selected to give the desired solar reduction, alongside enhancing the aesthetics of the elevation, with both a contemporary and unobtrusive feel to it.

The operational control of the roller blinds was also to be incorporated within the building’s BMS (building management system) so that they could be operated from a central source. On this occasion, Hunter Douglas Luxaflex Projects Division was not required to provide the actual control equipment, though it was involved in an advisory capacity with the electrical subcontractors, to ensure it had all the technical information it needed to carry out the wiring. 

The installation, while being straightforward in itself, required two forms of access equipment to be able to reach the fixing surface at various stages of the project’s programme. Both scissor lifts and mobile cantilever scaffold towers were required to overcome the overhang from the first-floor slab.