CS LOUVRES ARE A CLASS APART AT NEW UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
The University of Northampton’s stunning new £330 million Waterside Campus is set to be a template for sustainability having been built to low carbon, BREEAM Excellent-rated construction standards. Central to the natural ventilation strategy, Construction Specialties’ (CS) architectural louvres will provide excellent airflow and long-lasting protection from wind-driven rain.
As part of the Energy Centre’s natural ventilation strategy, CS’ RSH-5700 rain defence louvres fitted with bird screens were installed at the ground floor level of the South and East elevations forming an air intake area and at the upper mezzanine level of the West elevation which serves as an air exhaust area. The LA-600C acoustic louvres were specified to be fitted behind RSH-5700 louvres in both locations to help achieve noise emission limits stipulated in BREEAM and local planning authority requirements.
Fabricated and delivered to site as modules for efficient installation, RSH-5700 louves were powder coated in RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey, in keeping with the colour of surrounding cladding.
CS louvres were also specified for the campus’s Learning Hub. Fitted to two opposite sides of the building’s 5th floor rooftop plant room, they provide air intake and exhaust functions. On this building, the preference was for a louvre model with vertical blade orientation that blended with the overall building design. RSV-5700 rain defence louvres powdercoated in RAL 9018 Papyrus White, complete with bird guards or blanked off with single skin blanking panels in non-active areas, were installed flush with the polycarbonate walling system.
Solution
Featuring a complex, extruded aluminium blade profile with multiple draining channels, RSH-5700 and its vertical blade version RSV-5700 are high-performance louvre systems designed to provide maximum defence against water penetration whilst maintaining good airflow characteristics. Both systems have been third party tested to EN 13030 standard and achieved Class A rain defence up to 3.0m/s and Class A up to 3.5m/s respectively.
With a class 3 ‘good’ airflow rating, the two louvre models allow the passage of air, whilst providing the area beyond the boiler and plant equipment on both the Energy Centre and Learning Hub with highly efficient protection from rain penetration.
For further project information visit: https://www.c-sgroup.co.uk/blog/northampton-university-campus-northampton-uk/