Client: Poole High School, Dorset
Type of works: supply of SunGuard High Selective, Super Neutral 70/41.
For many years high performance solar control glass was mainly associated with high rise tower blocks and large commercial buildings. The traditional reflective aesthetic of solar control glass was often the key attribute in providing the finished aesthetic appearance and signature of large, mainly glazed constructions. Whilst also providing the required performance to help control the environment inside the building.
However, times are changing and the performance capabilities and aesthetic finishes of high performance glasses now far exceed the expectations the firm had just five years ago, no longer do customers have to rely on tints and highly reflective glass to achieve solar control, today Guardian Industries can achieve exceptional performance with a much greater level of neutrality. With every improvement we make to our SunGuard products, we find we are able to create high performance coatings which not only have exceptional performance in terms of solar control & low U values, they also now have ever improving levels of high selectivity, allowing optimum visible light ransmission, in turn providing a superbly neutral aesthetic appearance.
The firm is now perfecting the ability to go completely against the natural grain of solar control products and produce glasses which can offer complete control in almost any environment whilst maintaining low energy consumption and a good natural aesthetic appearance. With the ever improving advancements in their SunGuard glass ranges, they are effectively opening the door to new markets, as they are able to provide high performance glass which suits all buildings and developments, giving architects & specifiers the ability to choose glass products to suit all the projects they are working on, whether it’s a tower block in Dubai like the Burj Khalifa or a small residential house looking to help reduce energy costs.
A perfect example of smart architectural design is Poole High School in Dorset, which was designed and specified by Martin Hooper at MCA Lawray Architectural practice (formerly Lawray Partnership). Martin worked closely with Poole County Council to ensure his design met the demanding need for functionality and desired aesthetic of the building, as well as the strict performance requirements of the ‘Secure by design’ standard and BREEAM.
By using the SunGuard High Selective - Super Neutral 70/41, Martin was able to achieve a good neutral appearance from the glazing on the building with high levels of light transmission reducing the need for artificial lighting during daylight hours. Martins choice of glass also offers an optimum level of thermal insulation with U values as low as 1.1 reducing the demand on space heating, and solar control ensuring low levels of solar gain at just 41%, greatly limiting discomfort to pupils at Poole High School, preventing overheating behind the large glazed area’s specified.
The glazing for the building was fabricated by Dual Seal, who in conjunction with Guardian ensured exceptional lead times on all glazing, this proved invaluable when a large pane was accidentally broken near completion and a replacement was supplied in days rather than weeks as quoted by some of the competition.
Dual Seal produced units to the highest standard using toughened clear glass on the inner leaf for safety inside the building, and laminated SunGuard High Selective - Super Neutral 70/41 on the outer leaf as specified to meet the requirements of the “Secure by design” standard. This glazing specification provided the complete package of solar control, thermal insulation, high light transmission, safety and security with the added advantage of lower energy consumption through reduced running costs.