Pilkington Activ™ Blue Fulfils Special Needs

The new school, replacing the 1950s original, has been built by Tomlinson Building Limited to the most exacting contemporary construction standards to offer not just a place for pupils to learn but a sensory environment for students with special needs.Innovation and sustainability featured heavily in the specification of the materials and systems used in this project, including four large rooflights using Pilkington Activ™ Blue self-cleaning glass. 

Derby City Council was responsible for the design of the building and as Kevin Holmes from the council’s design department explains, the blueprint of the school enabled them to use the latest products and materials in order to offer a modern, technologically advanced solution taking into consideration both the aesthetics and practicality of the building.



“We chose Pilkington Activ™ Blue self-cleaning glass for the roofing, because the whole ethos of the design was to create a stimulating environment for the pupils, many of whom have profound learning difficulties,” he comments. “The role of the built environment has long been considered a major contribution to the procedure of learning and the use of the glass enables maximum levels of daylight in the corridors whilst at the same time, offering solar control.  The solar control glass helps to reduce the heat build up by significantly reducing the amount of solar gain through the glazing.  Additionally, the self-cleaning properties eliminate the costs and risks associated with frequent manual cleaning.” 



The rooflights were manufactured by Vitral using the Vitral VRS stainless steel system with the Pilkington Activ™ Blue self-cleaning glass installed into the panels. Approved installer, Cover Structure fitted the rooflights into place. In total the new rooflights utilized 90 square metres of Pilkington Activ™ Blue self-cleaning glass, making this one of the largest projects Vitral UK have undertaken with Pilkington Activ™.



Pilkington Activ™ is the world’s first dual action, self-cleaning glass. It’s essentially conventional glass, except for a unique dual action coating.  It works in two ways; first it uses daylight to break down organic dirt, such as bird droppings, then it uses rain to wash the dirt away. Pilkington Activ™ also dries faster, leaving the glass cleaner and with reduced streaks. Pilkington Activ™ Blue has the ability to be processed and manufactured into sealed units quickly and with minimal special handling and installation requirements. With its attractive blue tint, it adds aesthetic appeal to any building and combines this visual impression with solar control and good light transmission.