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Author Archives: shaunwood

31 Jan 2018

Berry Bros. & Rudd Bronze doors

Mowat & Company architects were commissioned to design the new flagship store for Berry Bros. & Rudd in Pall Mall.  As London’s longest established wine merchant and with their new store literally around the corner from their historic home, it was important for the materials and finishes to communicate the quality that is synonymous with the Berry Bros.& Rudd brand.
As a consequence, Mowat & Company decided to use the Secco OS2 system, in architectural bronze, as a key feature within the store.  The slim sight lines and excellent thermal performance, made the Secco OS2 system the perfect choice for the three double door sets, to the chilled fine wine cabinet, at the rear of the store.  The use of the OS2 system with thermally efficient plant on glazing bars and matching architectural bronze lock boxes and lever handles adds to experience already enjoyed by Berry Bros. & Rudd customers.

Alex Mowat says “In designing the new store we looked to ways in which products and materials could be both modern and match the tradition of high quality and excellent service of the client’s brand. We selected Secco for quality and Venturi for their service. A great combination! “

18 Jul 2017

Kings College School wins RIBA Regional Award.

A project we supplied back in early 2016 has won a coveted RIBA Regional Award for London.

https://www.ribaj.com/buildings/king-s-college-school-wimbledon-allies-and-morrison-riba-awards-2017-london

The project Designed by Allies & Morrison used our Krone Oak/Aluminium Composite windows and doors in a new T Shaped extension to the existing school.

 

20 Mar 2017

Mayfair Hotel – London

Supplied back in late 2015 the Mayfair Hotel in Stratton St Mayfair, London features the Secco OS2 slim steel system.

The architects, Ettwein Bridges needed a slim heritage steel product but thermally broken to meet modern building requirements. Most of the glazing is fairly straight forward but one screen in particular created a bit of a challenge.

The curved screen had to be ‘flipped round’ due to it being an internally glazed system to allow for glazing and deglazing in case of damage in the future. Although uncommon this can be done with careful design and manufacture to ensure the water tightness is kept.

The system was finished in a special bronze effect polyester powder coat paint to fit in with the local architecture.

10 Mar 2017

Albany St

This residential project at 180 Albany St was supplied in 2016 with our Uniform Composite Inward opening window system. The architect chose a two tone effect with the anodised Aluminium external frames. The opening sash was a different shade of Bronze anodising to the fixed frame of the glazing system. Internally they opted for our brand new (at the time) polypropylene veneer finish which allows cleaning with chemicals not possible on painted timber windows.

The windows feature an inset design and a juliet balcony fixed to the glazing.

The architects are renowned practice DRMM.

22 Feb 2017

Private House – Notting Hill

Venturi UK were approached by 3X Architects to provide a suitable solution for a high end residential project in Notting Hill.  The client’s brief was to have a high quality, elegant design, but high performance and security was essential.  The Secco EBE65 system was selected.

The resulting system provides  high thermal performance (<1.5w/m²K), and WK3 compliant security – As the photograph shows, the glazing offers clean, classic lines and is set off with architectural bronze frames.

03 Feb 2017

Evelyn Grace Academy by Zaha Hadid Architects

The passing of Zaha Hadid not too long ago reminds us of our last project we supplied designed by the studio.

The Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton which won the Sterling Prize used Meinertz plinth radiators around the perimetre of the classrooms.

These robust flat fronted solutions are ideal for a school environment with hidden pipework and a 2mm thick steel wall making them resistant to the hardest of knocks and kicks.

30 Jan 2017

Maggies Centre – Lanarkshire

The Centre was designed by renowned architects Reiach and Hall. The essence of the design is the creation of a matrix of courtyards that result in a porous building, an extension of the landscape that offers moments of visibility and outlook with places of privacy and inlook.

20 Jan 2017

New Solutions coming in 2017 from Secco

At the recent BAU 2017 buildings exhibition in Munich, Germany, Secco Sistemi unveiled two new solutions to add to their already extensive catalogue of high performing glazed solutions.

The first is a new version of the already popular OS2 system, OS2 75. This new solution is a deeper OS2 allowing for triple glazed units to be used for the first time. The increased depth also allows for tilt and turn mechanisms to be used which was not possible in the previous OS2 solution. This now makes it possible to reach a U Value target of 1.1w/m2k.

Also on display for the first time was a new BiFold door in the OS2 75 profile. With a possible height of 2.9m and with 1m wide leafs this elegant solution has the slimmest frame profiles on the market for a biFold door as only 62mm. Being triple glazed makes it possible to reach a U Value target of 1.0w/m2k in a slim tall STEEL or BRONZE BiFold door for the first time.

Finally, Secco also showed a new blackened steel finish made from using a stainless steel raw material and an acid treatment to give this dark architectural finish.

10 Jan 2017

Philipp Plein – New Bond St

Househam Henderson Architects were commissioned to design this retail outlet for Philipp Plein for their New Bond Street store. In keeping with the exclusive nature of the Philipp Plein brand, the architect wanted to use the high quality EBE 65 painted steel shop front system from Secco Sistemi. The use of steel sections ensured that the glazed area was maximised facilitating the best view of the merchandise within

19 Oct 2016

NEW Mottisfont Visitor Centre

The New Mottisfont visitor Centre in the Hampshire countryside was designed by London Architects Burd Haward.

The design needed to be sympathetic to the surroundings and so the architects opted for Corten steel for the cladding and facade glazing.

The welcome centre was built in response to a rapid increase in visitors over the last few years to this national Trust property.

It contains a Visitor Reception, shop, plant sales area and toilets, as well as places to meet people and plan a visit.

The new building which opened in January 2016, won a prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) South Award 2016.

08 Oct 2016

St Michaels St – Oxford

Riarch Architects – Oxford, were commissioned to refurbish a city centre office in Oxford which had a dated Crittall façade that provided very little thermal performance or sound insulation from the busy street below.

The concept was to give the building a replacement façade with a thermally slim broken steel product offering building regulation compliant performance with elegant lines and features.

The resulting works have transformed the office into a sharp contemporary looking building, befitting of the location in Oxfords historic city centre.

The Bronze windows and doors were fabricated and installed by approved fabricator Wellington Glazing

20 Aug 2016

Edington Priory – Wiltshire

With its roots dating back to 14th century (rebuilt in 1600s), Edington Priory sits in a small village on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

Following the recent purchase of the building and grounds, Ashley Associates undertook the challenge of designing a contemporary extension for the American client.

With the remit of designing a modern building that would blend with the ancient and using products and materials that would not look out of place with the past Ashley Design provided a result that has delivers on all fronts.

Secco OS2 Windows and doors have been used to add to the ethos of the building.

The Bronze windows and doors were fabricated and installed by approved fabricator Wellington Glazing

15 Aug 2016

Kings College School

The project by Allies and Morrison comprises of OAK Composite double glazed windows and doors from our Krone CoTo system.

 

Krone supplied approximately 100 windows and doors in their revolutionary Double glazed CoTo system with a painted aluminium finish outside and an oiled Oak finish internally.

08 Aug 2016

Eglon House

Eglon House is a modern house and office space tucked away in a discreet mews in Londons Primrose Hill.

Designed by Architects Chassay & Last "Eglon House is conceived as architectural homage to Pierre Chareau's iconic Maison de Verre in Paris".

This house uses glass blocks in front of the bronze Secco glazing for privacy whilst allowing light. The slim framed bronze windows are inward opening behind the blocks, to allow for cleaning, outward opening or fixed elsewhere.

The doors show the need for a lockbox in this system due to the elegant slim frames not having space to fit the lock mechanism.

04 Aug 2016

Tate Modern 2 Finned tubes by Meinertz

Back in July of 2009 we were contacted by Max Fordham Consulting Engineers to help with the design of the finned tubes on the new Tate Modern designed by Herzog & De Meuron.

They were looking for a special solution to use at a very low temperature so a high output was essential and due to the special design of the building they only had a small space to fit the heating element into. Working with HDM we helped them fit the required number of tubes into the space and developed with them a special bracket to support 4 tubes in a small space.

After a number of delays and a lot of samples and paint finish discussions the final solution was chosen, manufactured and supplied through Mercury Engineering.

There are various solutions of singles, doubles and even quadruples all installed into a reveal in the bare concrete facade. 

The new Tate Modern extension opened in June 2016.

03 Aug 2016

Grand Designs Roundhouse up For Sale!

Clad in Siberian Larch under a green roof, the ’round house’ spirals out around a central courtyard.

There is a large multi aspect reception room/kitchen featuring full height triple glazed Danish timber windows.

This room has the ability to bring the outside in, by virtue of 4 sets of Danish triple glazed bifold doors each opening onto the circular courtyard.

The master bedroom offers full height glazing with views over open fields and the double doors open out onto a deck.

30 Oct 2015

Wimpole St – Angled Glass to glass corners

When we first started speaking about this project with architects CSK in Windsor we were informed it was very special. Not only is the design special but also the fact that this is the first building in close to 100years that has been allowed to change the whole facade, on this street.

The design of the building featured numerous Glass to Glass corners

 Chronological Monochrome Archive 90's

It also Featured a special illuminated Glass Pilaster in between all the windows on the facade

Chronological Monochrome Archive 90's
 

Added to which some special Head details made from bespoke aluminium pressings

Chronological Monochrome Archive 90's

27 Aug 2015

Kings College School

Delivery has now finished for the windows on a ‘New Classroom’ at Kings College School in Wimbledon.

The project by Allies and Morrison comprises of OAK Composite double glazed windows and doors from our Krone system.

The rendered image below courtesy of Moka Studio shows the new classroom complex set within the grounds of the school.

Allies and Morrison Architects, King's College School

12 Mar 2015

Roundhouse Grand Designs Project – new images #fb #in

When Peter Berkin first contacted us about supplying a couple of folding doors to his house we had no idea it was going to be such an interesting project and journey.
The initial meeting around the kitchen table was informal and fact finding on both sides. Peter and Chard explained they were building a new house in their large garden and that the build would be filmed and featured on Grand Designs.

It was quickly realised we had so much more to offer than a couple of bifold doors and working with Peter’s architect we came up with a compliant spec for the rest of the glazing also.

The circular design of the building is quite unique and the main entrance and 3 extremely large picture windows are the first sign of the spectacular building you are about to see.
DLR
The central courtyard which is the most impressive, features at its centre, 4 sets of triple glazed bifold doors with angled fixed triple glazed elements above, as the building spirals upwards. The design of the brackets to support these windows was, in itself, quite a challenge.
DLR
The glazing featured is a triple glazed Scandinavian pine system, powder coated to the exact RAL colour required by the client and featuring both fixed and opening elements. Most of the opening elements are tilt and turn for excellent ventilation and easy cleaning but on the end of the building are some extremely large windows needing special design intent.
DLR
Here the wind load has to be dealt with by the frames and so a steel plate was introduced between the frames to cope with the static wind load. There is also a set of inward opening double doors to take maximum advantage of the view over open fields (we won’t mention the housing estate that sprung up!).

This was both a challenging and rewarding project to supply, as the finished building is beyond our expectations and the clients were, after Chard’s initial hard fought negotiation which would have been at home on a large contract in central London, great to work with and understanding of the things that do happen inevitably on a building site (one of the picture windows arrived with a cracked glass).

DLR

17 Feb 2015

Dun Laoghaire Library – Dublin

The Dun Laoghaire Library Project in Dublin is quite an impressive structure by Cork based architects Carr, Cotter & Naessens Architects.

DLR

The building makes a natural connection between the town and the Harbour. Clad in Granite the huge window frames have terrific views out over the sea. The ground floor windows feature Architectural Bronze frames, ideally suited to the marine environment and were manufactured locally by Gunn Lennon Fabrications (an approved Secco Sistemi fabricator).

DLR
DLR

The four-storey structure was built into the existing slope creating two ground floor areas and a pair of quieter upper levels, designed to offer a mixture of both social and intimate spaces.

DLR

 

The triple glazed lift and slide doors have a very high performance, Class 8A for Watertightness and up to 43dB for acoustic performance. The flush cill with integrated water drainage makes access easy for all.

17 Feb 2015

Curved Oak Glazing

For this private residence in Scotland there was only one choice as far as the client was concerned, Oak.
Torrin

The house which is a mixture of old stonework and new timber clad needed something to blend into the very natural setting that would be long lasting and well insulating

Torrin

There are quite a number of bespoke elements on this project. From Angled glazing to large sliding doors, a special timber screen by the main entrance door and of course, the curved glazing.

Torrin

14 Jan 2015

Keynesham Town Hall – the Finished project

Following our post a few months ago we can now reveal the finished project we have supplied at Keynesham Town Hall.

The project designed by Aedas, consists of 3 buildings clad in Brass with Aluminium framed Danish windows from Krone.

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Our challenge was to supply very large elements which incorporated an acoustic louvre panel all fitted in our factory in Denmark.

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Another area of the building needed some very tall glazing which could deal with the wind load without the need for secondary steelwork behind.This was achieved by inserting a pre-designed steel plate between the frames to give the necessary stability under pressure.

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14 Jan 2015

A Room with a View – Meinertz Convec

One of our latest completed projects in London has a highly desirable view of some of London’s iconic structures.

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Completed in 2014 the project utilises the ultra slim Convec trench heater from Meinertz. The units 59 mm size made this view possible according to James Forster of Thornley & Lumb.

The Meinertz slim trench heater, Convec, allowed us to fit perimeter heating into a very tight floor void. Any other unit would have needed a plinth, which would have had serious knock on effects to the Ballustrades and this iconic view.
Connecting to our whole house control system makes this the perfect accompaniment to our underfloor heating for dealing with the cold down draughts from the full height glazing.

12 Nov 2014

SECCO SISTEMI OS2 : slim frames and cutting- edge performances

The OS2 door and window system has been designed to interpret the spirit of National Heritage buildings and monuments. It recalls the slim frames of the traditional iron windows but can also perfectly fit in with more contemporary projects. In fact the thermal break OS2 system by Secco Sistemi has been studied to meet a specific requirement faced by architects involved in the restoration projects of National Heritage buildings and monuments. For the sake of stylistic coherence and often as an answer to a precise request from the Authorities for the Architectural Heritage, the new frames have to visually recall the traditional iron frames and their slim profiles. OS2 comes as the perfect answer to this aesthetic need and does allow to combine thin profiles and cutting-edge performances.
The story of OS2 begins in Venice The whole story begins with the restoration project of a 13th century palace located in the Dorsoduro area in Venice. The central section of the two wings windows had to be extremely thin to visually recall the original wooden windows. As a consequence, the Research and Development department of the Venetian company has designed a new system with minimal visible sections similar to those of the traditional iron windows: 47 mm for the lateral opening section and 62 mm for the central opening section. Thus the OS2 system does reproduce the shape of the traditional windows but it includes the most advanced technology. In fact the OS2 thermal break profiles offer the high standards of thermal insulation to meet the requirements of sustainable architecture. A flexible system to stimulate creativity To meet all the needs arising from the great diversity of projects and satisfy all the requests from the market, the OS2 range has been enlarged and has evolved. Today the range is provided in four different materials: - painted galvanized steel - stainless steel - brass (copper alloy OT67) - corten steel It encompasses 37 different profiles and three sub-systems to allow the maximum designing freedom. The designer can choose the best solution for the facade using flush or non-flush windows and visible or invisible openings. Furthermore all aspects have been cared for in the minimum details. OS2 profiles are so thin that Secco Sistemi has redesigned a complete range of dedicated accessories that includes glazing beads, handles, hinges and hardware. For exemple, only for the internal part of the frame, there is a choice of three different shapes for the glazing beads that may be: - square - grooved - triangular
OS2 and Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice For the restoration of the monumental complex of the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, the architect Tobia Scarpa had to comply with very specific requirements. The frames had to have the minimum visual impact and to recall the old wooden Venetian windows but they also had to guarantee very high thermal, acoustic and mechanical performances. The architect has chosen the OS2 frames in burnished brass studied and produced in cooperation with Secco Sistemi Research and Development Laboratory. The final result is functional, efficient and in complete harmony with the architectural context even in the smallest details.
17 Sep 2014

Venturi UK supplies Grand Designs ‘ROUNDHOUSE’

Tonights (17-9-14) episode of Grand Designs featured the 'Roundhouse" in Milton Keynes where venturi UK supplied all the windows and doors back in August 2013. The house, an eco friendly, green roofed, triple glazed building is made from a timber frame around a central courtyard. Our windows, which have an average U Value of approx 0.8w/m2K, are made of Powder coated Scandinavian Pine with 3 layer argon filled glass. For more details use the contact us link
18 Jul 2014

Union St Cafe – After Dark

Why not go along to the Union St Cafe for a spot of dinner and take a look at the Secco OS2 windows whilst you are there.

Supplied by our approved fabricator Wellington Glazing, the Matt black powder coated OS2 are a thermally broken alternative to an old non thermally broken steel window. The frames can also come in Stainless steel, Corten steel and Bronze.

09 Jul 2014

Secco factory visit for Biennale 2014

Venturi UK are proud to host representatives of some of the UK’s most prestigious architects for a tour of the Secco Sistemi factory and a private visit to the st marks basilica during the Biennale 2014 by Rem Koolhaas.

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Representatives from Foster & Partners, Herzog & De Meuron, KPF, ESA, Wilkinson Eyre, Stanton Williams and Gumuchdjian were given a guided tour of the showroom, production facility and Secco Lab, by Mauro Grossi of Secco Sistemi, to give further insight into how the Bronze and steel window and door systems are made.

Next stop is a tour of Venice and a private visit to the St Marks Basilica

22 May 2014

Secco article in Detail Architectural magazine

Short article on Secco Sistemi written after Ecobuild
18 Apr 2014

Before and After

Wellington Glazing, a Secco approved fabricator have recently taken on the task of replacing these old single glazed metal windows with modern thermally broken OS2 from Secco Sistemi.

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The OS2 is a slim thermally broken alternative to the traditional single glazed metal windows of the past. OS2 can be supplied painted or in Stainless Steel, Corten Steel or even Architectural Bronze and in heights up to 2.7m opening windows.

14 Apr 2014

First Look – NEW Keynsham Town Hall

Here is the first look ( at our photos anyway) of the new KTH project by Aedas Architects in Keynsham near Bristol.

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Venturi UK worked closely with the architect and design team for a glazing solution for this environmentally conscious building.
We supplied approximately 2000sq m of prefab glazing panels, a large number of which included acoustic louvres fitted in the factory.

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Finally a very tall area of glazing with no secondary steel structure was needed requiring structural steel plates between the adjoining frames.

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The project was built by Wilmott Dixon and supplied over a 6 month period late 2013 and early 2014.

The Wilmott Dixon project director in charge of the site said “Krone windows were the suppliers of windows for the Keynsham Project, and the service and quality of their product has been exceptional”