Louvre Glazing for light and ventilation
Banbridge Health and Care Centre, built for the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, now provides spacious and bright accommodation for patients and staff that maintains a close connection to the surrounding landscaping. A key objective of the development was to provide a stimulating environment with good natural light, visual links to landscaped gardens, natural ventilation and also meet the need for low energy use.
These factors were crucial in the complex achieving RIBA recognition with both national and regional awards in 2016. Fieger louvre windows are a key element in the design, introducing fresh air with an almost uninterrupted view to outside without any compromise on energy efficiency.
Damien Day, associate at Kennedy FitzGerald Architects observed, “Fieger glazed louvres efficiently achieved natural ventilation levels via vertical panels whilst complying with window opening restriction requirements. Window vent fenestration was restricted to this vertical panel, maximising the amount of adjacent fenestration-free glazed viewing panels. Building users who are standing or seated therefore have uninterrupted views of planting and landscape, in keeping with the architectural vision for the project.”
The technical performance of the Fieger louvre windows is exceptional. A total of 94 units are double glazed to achieve a U value of 2.1 to 2.3 W/m²K together with an independently certified air infiltration rate of 0.4 m³/hour/m², so that heat is conserved during winter months. Saint-Gobain’s Cool-Lite SKN165 glazing is used in the louvre ventilators and external walling, delivering a 65 per cent reduction in solar heat gain for greater comfort.
Electrical actuation of the louvres, by compact D&H linear motors, built unobtrusively into the side frames, is operated under the control of the building management system for automated ventilation setting. Motors have anti-trap protection to reverse movement if resistance is sensed on closure. The aluminium framed louvre units are incorporated within the curtain wall structure and have a matching finish.
The site benefits from proximity to a memorial garden to those who perished in the workhouse, that has new and mature planting. This is augmented by extensive landscaping of the site to create a natural calming backdrop. A green roof has been installed on the lower tier to soften the visual impact.
On the upper tier, easily accessible from the town, are the community treatment centre and Trust offices. Adult daycare is located on the lower, more secluded, tier. The dual-level format, creates a natural separation between daycare and clinical areas, but allows both zones to be well connected via legible horizontal and vertical circulation spaces. All facilities can therefore be shared by patients and staff. The complex serves the needs of the town of Banbridge and the wider community of 48,000 people in County Down.
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