76 EXTERNAL ENVELOPE
help make a building look wider, or vertically along the mullions to give a structure a greater sense of height. For large glazed facades where a flush finish is preferred, a capless curtain walling system is ideal. Also referred to as ‘silicone sealed,’ this type of system can create a ‘frameless’ look, as there are as no face caps to interrupt the exterior view.
Drainage design
Further flexibility is available in terms of drainage solutions, with a choice of mullion and zone drained curtain-walling systems. Mullion drained systems are becoming increasingly popular as they can be quicker to install on site and they offer more flexibility for integration with sloped glazing systems. However, the type of drainage used will depend greatly on the specific requirements of a project and consideration will need to be given to the way the curtain walling integrates with other systems, such as cladding, in terms of the design of the membranes, seals and drainage paths. With this in mind, it’s always advisable to seek advice from the systems manufacturer prior to work commencing on site.
Thermal targets
Many fenestration systems on today’s market can help achieve ultra low-U values, but the real test of a product is how it will contribute to the overall thermal performance of a building. For example, careful planning at the design stage is required to ensure that the quest to achieve low U-values doesn’t lead to overheating problems. As it’s more expensive to cool a building using air conditioning than to heat it, it is important that the right balance is found between thermal performance, solar gain and light transmittance. Cold spots and condensation caused by thermal bridging should also be avoided. Again, this is where collaboration with the systems manufacture can help, particularly as there is often a considerable difference in the thermal performance requirements of both residential and commercial schemes, and it is therefore important that system variations can be offered to meet the requirements of either building type.
Andrew Cooper is national specification manager at Senior Architectural Systems
LAMILUX BRINGS DAYLIGHT INTO THE BUILDING
• Flat atrium glass roofs suitable for pitches as shallow as 3° • Large spanning system with fl exible shaping • Thermally separated structure for maximum energy effi ciency
• Watertight tested on the slope to 1950 Pascals
LAMILUX U.K. LIMITED Tel.: 01284 749051 |
mail@lamilux.co.uk |
www.LAMILUX.co.uk
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF APRIL/MAY 2020
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