Glassolutions brings light to Greenwich peninsula ‘modern village hall’

The mullion-only VS-1 glazing system from Glassolutions, which is said to reduce sightlines and maximise interior brightness, has been installed on the Aperture building, part of a new community hub in south-east London, to create a light, bright, social space with a welcoming ambience.

Commissioned by main contractor Kier Construction to manufacture and install the building’s façade, Glassolutions fitted a glazed building envelope comprising the flagship VS-1 curtain walling system, supplemented with traditional curtain walling.

The VS-1 installation for Aperture includes continuous full high feature fins to minimise the building’s solar gain and enhance thermal and acoustic comfort.

VS-1’s highly engineered simplicity is said to have allowed the installation to meet the brief, delivering both streamlined aesthetics and efficiency benefits. The system allows the façade to be held away from the mullion without the use of obtrusive bolt fixings or transoms. This vertical-only structure means that the glass wall visually ‘floats’, presenting an entirely glazed surface that lets in as much daylight as possible to enhance the building’s visual appeal as well as the comfort of its occupants.

For the areas of the building’s envelope fitted with the VS-1 system, Glassolutions delivered thermal comfort and security with the installation of 10mm SGG Securit heat soak toughened SKN 174 II glass paired with 21.5mm SGG Stadip Securit heat soak toughened inner panes, with a silicon seal creating the units’ 16mm cavity. The system also reportedly accommodated bespoke storey-height anodised insulated cladding panels, with perforated sinusoidal rainscreen, to meet the architectural concept.

For Aperture’s ground and lower floors, resilience and toughness were priorities for the glass specification. Glazing for these areas comprised outer panes of 8mm and 10mm Cool-Lite SKN176 II, heat soak toughened for extra strength and reduced breakability. This was paired with inner panes of 10.8mm SGG Stadip Protect, separated with a 90% filled argon gas cavity fitted with 16mm black warm edge spacers to reduce heat transfer.

For further information, please visit http://glassolutions.co.uk/en-gb/project/aperture-greenwich-london.