Modus PVC-U windows from Eurocell helps Orbit Housing’s Fordham House in Stratford-upon-Avon to raise the bar for rented accommodation.

Designed for key workers in the town, the 82-apartment block will provide enhanced protection against noise, a superior maintenance and repair strategy and additional facilities such as secure internal bike storage rooms.

Constructed from dense concrete blocks with hollowcore flooring, the three- and four-storey building is clad in a mixture of curtain walling and green wall – sections of planted walls which will be automatically fed and irrigated. The Modus windows are tilt-and-turn so that they can be cleaned internally, avoiding the potential hazard and traffic issues of accessing them from the elevations by the two busy roads.

BBA-certified to function satisfactorily for more than 35 years, the Modus range achieves a U-value of 1.2 W/m² using 4/20/4 mm using sealed double-glazed units. This effective thermal performance is due to the 75mm six-chamber profile system used in the Modus that also enables the range to achieve a U-value of 0.7 by installing triple-glazed units.

This led to Modus becoming one of the very first systems to achieve the BFRC Window Energy Rating (WER) of A++. This is only awarded to windows with an energy index value equal to or greater than +20; and Modus A++ designs include casement, reversible and tilt and turn.

Consisting of 50% post-consumer recycled PVC-U as standard, Modus has a smaller carbon footprint than products made or recycled outside of the UK. Eurocell achieves this by employing dual material extrusion technology (DMET) that layers post-consumer recycled and ‘virgin’ material simultaneously, so the recycled material is concentrated in the central core of the profiles where it cannot be seen once the door or window is installed.