BILCO special zinc-clad Roof Access Hatches and Smoke Vents chosen for the Zaha Hadid designed Glasgow Transport Museum, Scotland.

Designed by the internationally-renowned architect Zaha Hadid, the stunning building features a roof design that has caused much discussion. There are two schools of thought as to the inspiration for the unusual design: one being that it is intended to mimic the Glasgow skyline, and the other that it is based on the “squidgy S” shape of a napkin dropped by the architect whilst she was eating at a Glasgow restaurant! The fact that she took a photograph of the napkin before picking it up suggests there may be some truth in the latter view.

The roof specification included Smoke Vents and Roof Access to blend with the roof finish. BILCO supplied modified units with zinc cladding to achieve the desired look. To enable safe roof maintenance, a modified E-50T Hatch was supplied and installed to the 46 degree sloping roof enabling maintenance staff to gain easy, safe access to roof equipment.

The need for NSHEVs (smoke ventilators) as part of the building design led to 2 single leaf BILCO Vents being specified (zinc-clad). Control equipment for the vents was also supplied including smoke detectors that trigger the vents to open to the “fire open” position of 140 degrees within 60 seconds allowing smoke, heat and noxious gases to be vented from the building to aid in the safe evacuation of any people within the building in the event of a fire.