Glassolutions brings together comfort and sustainability at Winnersh Triangle offices

Spanning 85 acres in the heart of the Thames Valley, the Winnersh Triangle business park provides business and industrial space for a diverse variety of enterprises, and is home to over 50 businesses, including Virgin Media, Bang & Olufsen, and Intel.

GLASSOLUTIONS was contracted to manufacture and install 3400m2 of curtain-wall façade for a new multi-occupancy office block at the Winnersh Triangle site.

Sustainability and efficiency are at the core of the Winnersh Triangle’s ethos, so this needed to be factored into the planning process: solar control glass was desired, and the client’s requirements for air tightness were particularly exacting.

To adhere to Winnersh Triangle’s exacting sustainability specifications, GLASSOLUTIONS employed a variety of different elements to maximise the efficiency of the building’s envelope. Schueco FW60+ and FW60+ SG curtain walling systems were installed: with a thermal rating of 1.5w/m2k, these were the ideal choice to aid internal climate control. 6mm SGG COOL-LITE SKN174 panes were used for the outer glazing, paired with a 16mm argon warm edge spacer bar to reduce thermal bridging.

Additionally, a distinctive and complex brise soleil, designed by EPR Architects, was engineered and installed by GLASSOLUTIONS to manage the solar gain of the facade, the loads of which were carried entirely by the curtain wall system.

Working with main contractor Wates and London based EPR Architects, work progressed swiftly and the installation was completed in November 2015. The brief outlined at the beginning of the project was met and surpassed: the exceptional solar control properties of the building’s glazing specification have been extremely effective at reducing glare, controlling heat transmission, and minimising the need for air conditioning inside the building.

Paul Rose, Commercial Manager at GLASSOLUTIONS, said: “GLASSOLUTIONS’ installation at Winnersh Triangle has been highly successful. With Wates and EPR, we’ve helped create an office space which will be comfortable for its occupants and kinder to the environment, as well as being less expensive to heat and cool. The Winnersh Triangle business park places a strong focus on creating sustainable, energy-efficient accommodation for its tenants - it’s great to be involved in a project which will make a positive impact in so many ways.”

GLASSOLUTIONS’ glazing installation has provided more than solar control for the Winnersh Triangle building’s sustainability credentials: the glazing installation recently achieved an Air Tightness Rating of 2.1m3/hr/m2, exceeding the very tight requirement of 3m3/hr/m2. This has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response from the contractors and architects involved: Wates Project Manager Darren Grinham described the project as an “excellent delivery”, adding that “the air test results are very good, and one we should all be very proud of.”