The Civil Aviation Authority, Swanwick

The Civil Aviation Authority chose Swanwick in Hampshire as the location for its £350 million air traffic control centre.

Colt supplied 1.2 kilometres of Cosmotron rooflights, WCO natural weathered ventilators, Seefire natural ventilators, and blackout blinds, all controlled by a Colt 'One Per Vent' system.

A requirement for over 2000 square metres of high performance louvres resulted in a very demanding specification from the design team. After an extensive selection process, Colt's Universal Louvre system was chosen as the only louvre which fully met the specification.

Known as the Swanwick Centre it is one of the largest and most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the Civil Aviation Authority. The building comprises 5 levels with a floor area of 42,000 square metres and a maximum height restriction of 18.3m.

Whilst the primary objective for the Colt louvre was to provide weathered ventilation to the plant room areas, it also faced exacting aesthetic requirements to fully integrate it with the architectural cladding system supplied by Briggs Amasco, and in other areas with the building brickwork.The louvres were carefully installed to match the shadow lines of the cladding, both horizontally and vertically, and the paint colours applied to the louvres were specially mixed to match the surrounding areas of architectural cladding and brickwork. Colt's Universal Louvre system with its unique combination of rain defence and airflow was installed in the main and ancillary buildings.

A mixture of double and triple bank louvre provides weathered ventilation to plant rooms housing electrical switchgear and air conditioning and ventilation equipment. The installation of Colt louvre was completed in 12 months as part of a co-ordinated civil works programme.

  • Project:
    • The Civil Aviation Authority
  • Location:
    • Swanwick
  • Requirements:
    • 2000 square metres of high performance louvres
  • Client and End User:
    • Civil Aviation Authority
  • Architect:
    • Building Design Partnership
  • Main Contractor:
    • Bovis Construction
  • Colt products: