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Solar Shading Systems

Projects

Solar Shading Projects

For a wider selection of projects by building type or principal business activity, please click here.

For a selection of projects from around the world, please click here.

Shadoglass - glass louvre
Solar Shading Systems: Shadoglass

Fixed Shadoglass

Tanaka Business School
London

Tanaka Business School, London

When the Imperial College in London asked Foster and Partners to redesign the "black tower" portion of their flagship Tanaka Business School building on Exhibition Road in London, Colt were consulted with regard to the design of a glass louvred veil to conceal the existing concrete structure, whilst allowing daylight penetration to the fenestration behind.

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Muirhead Tower
Birmingham

Muirhead Tower, Birmingham

Colt has won the contract to design, manufacture, supply and install a secondary facade of fixed glass louvres as part of the refurbishment works for Muirhead Tower in Birmingham.

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System 1

VW AutoCity
Germany

VW AutoCity, Germany

When the Volkswagen Audi Group (VAG) embarked on an ambitious project to build a new multi-media Auto City (Autostadt) at their Wolfsburg facility, the company was keen to portray an image that was open and customer-oriented. This led to the specification of a predominately glazed façade. VAG turned to Colt to provide an innovative solar shading system, smoke ventilation and daylighting.

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System 2

Paradise Street
Liverpool

Paradise Street, Liverpool

Colt provided a fixed glass and metal louvre system to the exterior. These items provide the ventilation for the car park, but also have an architectural purpose. With the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Liverpool Mercantile City adjacent to the car park, the combination of robust materials and light architectural elements, such as the louvre screens provided by Colt, makes them fit adequately in this context.

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KeyMed
Southend-on-Sea

KeyMed, Southend-on-Sea

The KeyMed Group of Companies employs 1,300 staff at its headquarters in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and subsidiaries in USA, Ireland and Plymouth, Devon. A subsidiary of the Olympus Corporation, KeyMed is one of the global centres responsible for the development and manufacture of specialised medical and industrial equipment for worldwide distribution.

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BRE BUILDING 16
GARSTON

BRE BUILDING 16, GARSTON

In the spring of 1991, a group of key companies and interested parties, including BRE and Colt, began formulating a performance specification for the Energy Efficient Office of the Future (EOF) project. The project was launched by BRECSU on behalf of the Department of the Environment, the objective was to identify new technologies and refinements in existing practice required to meet energy and environmental targets that will be in place in the early part of the next century.

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Suva Hospital
Switzerland

Suva Hospital, Switzerland

The Suva insurance company has constructed a striking new hospital, in the Swiss Canton of Valais, to the highest possible standards. Of particular importance for the design was that views of the surrounding mountains would be as completely unhindered as possible, whilst summer heat gains would also be kept to a minimum.

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System 3

Daimler Benz
Germany

Daimler Benz, Germany

In the 1920s the Potsdamer Platz was one of the busiest squares in Europe with up to 100,000 people and 20,000 cars using the Square every day. Four fifths of the square was destroyed during the Second World War, and then the division of Germany and the building of the Berlin Wall turned the Potsdamer Platz into a no-man's land. But now the district is thriving again.

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System 5

County Hall
Cork

Cork County Hall

Facades contribute to controlling heat loss and gain. Active, ventilated facades afford high thermal performance and can respond to daily or seasonal changes. A facade that enables natural ventilation will achieve a cool interior. Such facades reduce energy costs.

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Shadovoltaic - PV louvre

Solar Shading Systems: Shadovoltaic

SBL Offices
Linz, Austria

SBL Offices, Linz, Austria

Colt has met the requirements of a low energy design for an office building in Austria which minimises solar heat gain, maximises the use of natural daylight and allows the generation of electricity through the application of photovoltaic technology.

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Digital Equipment Corporation
Switzerland

Digital Equipment Corporation, Switzerland

Colt first introduced the Shadovoltaic Wing concept at the 11th European Photovoltaic Conference in Montreux. Within twelve months Colt had turned this exciting concept into an installed system. Contact was made with Geneva-based architects Lecouturier-Caduff who had been handling the renovation of an office building belonging to the Digital Equipment Corporation in Geneva. The open inner court, with a plan area of 300m², was to be covered with a self-supporting steel and glass pyramid.

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Ministry for Renewables and Geology
Güstrow, Germany

Ministry for Renewables and Geology, Güstrow, Germany

The Ministry for Renewables and Geology in Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, wished to integrate the different technologies of solar shading and photovoltaic energy production, whilst making a statement about its green credentials.

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Justice Ministry
Berlin

Justice Ministry, Berlin

The Bundesministerium der Justiz (BMJ) is situated right in the centre of Berlin, adjacent to the Gendermenmarktes, one of the most attractive squares of the city. The Justice Ministry measures 117m x 77m and is spread over four separate buildings.

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PV home

PV home

PV Shutter (1.9 MB)

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Shadometal - Solar C
Solar Shading Systems: Solar C

Addison Wesley Longman
Harlow

Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow

Addison Wesley Longman Limited is an international publishing company located in Harlow. In the late 1980s it decided that its existing accommodation was inadequate and was hindering its potential development. It embarked on a feasibility study in 1988 to review possible solutions and C D Partnership was appointed to help carry out the study. The initial design brief was minimal and staff were consulted about the specification for new offices.

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Ionica
Cambridge

Ionica, Cambridge

The new 4,000 square metre headquarters of the telecommunications company Ionica was designed by Cambridge based architects R H Partnership, and completed by Wates Construction. The building is located in the City's St Johns Innovation Park which is owned by the college of the same name. Colt Louvre was chosen to provide plant protection and solar shading.

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Shadometal - Solarfin
Solar Shading Systems: Solarfin

Met Office
Exeter

Met Office, Exeter

Colt worked closely with the architect Broadway Malyan, and with Costain-Skanska in developing the Colt solarfin system to provide shading and meet with the aesthetic requirements. We also provided the structural steel supports for the shading system.

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Cambourne Business Park
Cambridge

Cambourne Business Park, Cambridge

Designed by architect Aukett Europe, Colt worked closely with Contractor Alfred McAlpine on Building 2020 of this business park, which is part of a new complex which is situated outside Cambridge.

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Railtrack
Saltley

Railtrack, Saltley

Architect Bennetts Associates, working with design engineer Parsons Brinckerhoff, have designed the new West Coast Rail Traffic Control Centre in Birmingham, which controls all train signalling and operations between London Euston and Crewe.

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Tate Britain
London

Tate Britain, Gallery of British Art, London

Colt provided a Braat roof glazing system for both the new and the refurbished galleries to increase levels of natural light. Colt also provided structural glazing for the roof of the new building, suspended from a roof-mounted steel construction, and solar shading through the installation of hollow section aluminium fins.

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Combination Projects

Malvern Hills Science Park
Worcestershire

Malvern Hills Science Park, Worcestershire

Malvern Hills Science Park, located in picturesque rural Worcestershire, is the unlikely home to Qinetiq, a leading international defence and security technology company and supplier of defence research to the UK Government. The Park is also home to cutting-edge building technologies that are winning awards for their efficiency, including an ingenious, sun-flower inspired shading system, which tracks the sun, without the need for electro-mechanical controls.

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Canon Headquarters
Reigate

Canon Headquarters, Reigate

The headquarters of Canon UK incorporate the extensive use of glazing, daylighting, louvre and solar shading equipment manufactured and installed by Colt.

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Natural History Museum
London

Natural History Museum, London

The stunning south facade spans some 35m by 25m, and incorporates a glazed outer wall, with automatic glass vents at high level to allow natural ventilation of the cavity, manufactured from Thermospan toughened structural glass panels, hung from large bespoke castings.

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Bespoke Solar Shading Systems
Solar Shading: Bespoke Systems

Infineon
Munich-Neubiberg

Infineon, Munich-Neubiberg

Folding shutter system (2.9 MB)

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Schwenninger BKK
Germany

Schwenninger BKK, Germany

Tubular solar shading (1.3 MB)

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UTZ Offices
Germany

UTZ Offices, Germany

The desire to create low energy buildings is an increasingly important aspect in many of today's construction projects. Helping to meet this objective, Colt designed, manufactured and installed a comprehensive solar shading system, which includes the use of photovoltaic technology, at UTZ Berlin, an Innovation Centre for Environmental Technology.

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Provisions Market
Norwich

Provisions Market, Norwich

Colt was contracted to provide a system of motorised polycarbonate canopies to open in fair weather and close in inclement weather, complete with a Colt ICS 4-Link control system.

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Solar Shading Systems