The Spilka Opus hinge was used in the NorDan timber fully reversible windows in a £4.5m affordable housing project in Shetland in the very far north of Scotland.

This high quality hinge was developed by the R&D team at Spilka Industri in Aalesund, Norway. Reversible windows began with the original Spilka Classic hinge in 1959, since that time Spilka have made over 35 million hinges and are leading suppliers of these window hardware systems.

Co-operation with NorDan saw the development of the Opus hinge, especially useful for aluminium-clad reversible windows, and this is now widely used throughout the building industry. The espagnolette mechanism enables safe cleaning of the window above one storey in a building, and includes child safety locks for secure ventilation, with enhanced security features for Secure by Design requirements.

You could be forgiven for thinking that you were in Norway at this project in Shetland – with its distinct colour palette designed by local architect’s firm Richard Gibson Architects of Shetland. “It gives a cheerful vibrancy from within and outside the scheme, especially during the dark winter months endured so far north in Scotland,” says architect Adrian Wishart, a director at Richard Gibson.

The project earned a special mention in the RIAS Best Building Awards and all windows are from NorDan’s sustainable NTech 1.2 Standard Range.

Says Frank Fay, UK Sales Director at Spilka – “we have a long and strong working relationship with NorDan who provide their high quality timber windows for the UK market. Their N Tech range of windows complete with the durability of Spilka Opus hinges will ensure excellent weather and thermal performance and will provide high performance with low maintenance through their life cycle. Our hinges are developed and manufactured in a country where we understand the vagaries of the challenging Scottish climate in Shetland.”

Top hung fully reversible windows are most prominent in buildings in Scandinavia and the UK but they can be found as far away as Japan, Australia, Canada, and most of northern Europe.

Spilka makes reversible window hardware for many of the major high performance timber window manufacturers. The range includes hinges for top and side hung fully reversible windows, accessories including locking systems, aluminium trickle vents and solutions for timber sliding patio doors.