Supporting sustainable building
PART OF THE WORLDWIDE SAPA GROUP AND
ONE OF EUROPE'S LEADING SUPPLIERS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AND
ENERGY-EFFICIENT ALUMINIUM BUILDING SYSTEMS, SAPA BUILDING
Sapa offers architects and specifiers
a wide range of innovative aluminium systems for curtain walling, doors,
windows and specialist applications. In the last year it has moved to imposing
new premises in Tewkesbury , Gloucestershire,
bringing together operations from three locations into one new facility. The
move has underlined Sapa's commitment to the future and helped cement the
company's perception within the design community.
Looking to the bright future that Sapa Building Systems' new premises and improved product offering will facilitate, Sapa's commercial director, Jon Palethorpe says: "Over the past couple of years we've attracted new customers and specifiers, growing both our fabricator network and our market share, and we believe that trend will continue.
”Our newer product ranges are
beginning to penetrate, as evolutions of the Dualframe range of window and door
systems with enhanced thermal performance and our new unitised curtain wall
system, are brought to market. Another of our strengths is that we are very
well balanced across the various market sectors, selling into education and
commercial projects as well as health care and affordable housing sectors."
Bringing benefits to buildings
There are many benefits to using aluminium; its light weight means it's easier to handle which can reduce the environmental impact and cost of transport; it's very strong and corrosion resistant; its durability provides architects with endless design possibilities; and its innovative design from Sapa Building Systems offers high insulation with low maintenance and almost 100% recyclability. Therefore, with environmental policies continuing to drive demand for sustainable and recycled building materials, it's perhaps unsurprising that the use of aluminium in architecture and construction is growing in popularity.
Sapa's range of aluminium curtain
walling systems, doors, windows and facades takes advantage of these
characteristics to provide architects and specifiers with the most effective
visual and technical solutions for today's buildings. In fact, environmental
performance and energy efficiency play a key role in the development of its new
products.
For example, Sapa's new Dualframe Si
range utilises thermal break technology which achieves exceptional thermal
performance.
Sapa has also just launched its largest high performance, thermally insulated sliding door system. The Contort 160 is a sliding door with a large glass surface and minimal sightline, designed for high end spaces it can also provide total insulation, helping to reduce building's energy consumption.
Due to advances in the thermal
efficiency of its products, Sapa's systems have been specified for use in
several BREEAM rated buildings around the world.
Sapa Building Systems in action
The Welsh Assembly Government office
in Llandudno Junction, North Wales was designed to meet the BREEAM Excellent rating
required by the Welsh Assembly for all publicly procured buildings in Wales
Demonstrating best practice and
innovation in office environments, it is the first central government building
in the UK
Safety and security
The £20 million development mixes traditional,
locally sourced materials with sustainable technology and architects
Austin-Smith: Lord were faced with the challenge of reconciling this mix of
materials with the building's modern form.
Following an earlier design by
concept architects, the glazing needed a radical redesign to make it
blast-resistant to meet government security requirements. The original design
of flush, frameless glazing could not be made blast-resistant. Instead, Austin-Smith:
Lord adopted the Powerframe system by Sapa Building Systems, which is approved
under the international standard IS016933.
Sapa Building Systems was one of the
few companies able to supply a blast resistant glazing system robust enough to
meet the stringent security standards required. The glass is laminated with
polyvinyl butyl membrane, which safely retains the glass splinters caused by a
blast and is firmly clamped in position by aluminium frames supported by steel
sub-frames.
The glazing effectively acts as a
crumple zone in an explosion which can deflect up to 300mm to reduce the blast pressure
and load on the rest of the building.
Environmental performance
While security was a key factor in
the design of the Welsh Assembly building, it was also crucial that Sapa's
Powerframe system performed from an energy efficiency point of view. As part of
achieving the BREEAM Excellent rating, the system was required to meet the
standards set out in Part L of the Building Regulations. This in itself is
quite difficult to do as characteristically systems that are blast resistant
include a high metal mass and are usually installed in large sections. In this
instance, the mullion sizes were ten times heavier than a conventional system.
Despite this, the Powerframe system is able to perform a dual function;
offering the highest level of protection in addition to good thermal
performance.
As one of the largest and most
exposed office buildings in North Wales and
only 40 metres from the shoreline, its position also presented challenges with
weathering. The Powerframe system with robust design and weathering details
provided architects, Austin-Smith: Lord and the main contractor Pochin
Construction with both a technical and environmentally sound solution that also
contributed substantially to the BREEAM Excellent rating.
Sapa Building Systems Ltd
Artical taken from: Specification Magazine March 2012
