Take a Closer Look: IQ Glass' minimal windows® Showroom

IQ Glass receives over 250 visitors to their showroom each month. Every visitor comes there with the sole purpose of learning more about architectural glazing and the applications possible on their project.

As you enter the Courtyard at Sky House one of the first things you will see is the minimal windows® show box. This standalone building is the show space for IQ Glass' most popular window/door system; the minimal windows®.

More than just a sliding door; the minimal windows® system is a moving glass façade system with ultra slim sightlines of just 21mm. The beauty of this slim sliding door is not just in its minimal framing, but also in its versatility, enabling architects and specifiers to tailor the system to their project.

At the Courtyard showroom, we try to showcase the most popular configurations and options. Take a look below for some of the minimal windows® solutions you can see at the showroom in Amersham:

Watch this video on YouTube.

minimal windows® Sliding Doors

Two walls of the showroom are made entirely from minimal windows® sliders. The shortest wall showcases a two-track sliding configuration and the other shows a three track. These two opening types are the most popular configuration of minimal windows® and help clients understand the differences between the two options.

minimal windows® Opening Corner

The two and three track minimal windows® are installed with an opening 90-degree corner. The minimal windows® system can be designed with opening corners from 65 to 177 degrees, but a right-angle opening is by far the most popular.

One advantage the minimal windows® system has over some other slim sliders is that you can have uneven elevations meeting at a corner (for instance a two-track and a three track). The showroom captures a real-life example of how that connection works at both the head and base frame.

minimal windows® Pocket Door

At the rear of the minimal windows® show space, you can see a single-track pocket door. The large sliding door slots back into a hidden pocket within the wall. minimal windows® can be designed as pocket doors from 1 to 4 tracks deep.

This is another advantage of the minimal windows® system; some sliding systems that offer pocket doors can only do this from two tracks to four (if you want a single slider you need to use a two-track system, have space for two tracks within the wall and then just block one of those up).

With the minimal windows® system, you can have a single-track slider that slots effortlessly back into the wall whilst maintaining all the minimal detailing of the sliding system. Lots of visitors mistake this door with a frameless window.

minimal windows® as a Window

When clients want to exactly match their opening windows to their sliding doors, we can use the minimal windows® system as a sliding window to do this. By using the same profiles for the windows as the doors architects can create a more cohesive glazing design.

At the showroom, you will be able to see a two-pane minimal window® shown as a smaller sliding window. In the configuration shown both panes are sliding and showcase two different locking options; the manual thrust lever lock or the manual internal key lock. Both locks maintain the slim profiles and offer the same level of security, they are just operated via a different means.

minimal windows® Base Options

Another great feature of the minimal windows® system is the integrated drainage base. Normally you wouldn’t be able to investigate this as it is always hidden below the floor finishes. At the showroom, we have various hand samples of the different base options to show you what happens below the floor.

The minimal windows® installed in the box showcases the drainage base paired with an external French drain. IQ Glass' hand samples also showcase alternative options with integrated external drainage channels.

The Vitra Pivot

Inside the Sky House building, you will also be able to see the large Vitra Pivot solution. This is a pivot opening solution made from the same profiles as the minimal windows® slider. These large pivot windows can be used for feature openings where large singular elements of opening glass are wanted.

The system installed at the showroom is very large and includes the D pull handle in two finishes, the thrust lever handle locking and the hold open, self-close mechanism.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Frame Finish Options

The minimal windows® installations in the Courtyard are powder coated in everyone’s favourite version of grey; RAL 7016, anthracite grey. In addition, IQ Glass has take-away samples of the most popular powder-coated colours and a full wall showing all the RAL colour options available.

As the minimal windows® system can be powder coated in any RAL colour you have a lot of design flexibility.

Interested in Sliding Doors?

Download IQ Glass' FREE sliding doors eBook: Choosing and Specifying Sliding Doors. It offers some general advice for specifying sliding doors as well as giving you a rundown of all the sliding door systems available for your project (with a cost guide at the back).