Sapa Building Systems, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient aluminium building system solutions, has launched a brand new family of curtain walling products that they claim will push the boundaries of sustainability.
NRGY62 is the first product in their NRGY range which has been designed as a complete façade solution for architecturally led projects and it offers a high level of thermal performance.
The 62mm width of the aluminium profile is in keeping with Sapa’s other curtain walling systems which include 52mm and 72mm options. It also allows for greater live load movement, whilst maintaining the glass edge coverage in accordance with safety standard BS 6180. This means that the 15mm minimum that is required within the system to act as a barrier instead of a handrail (when combined with the glass), is maintained.
Lee Parker, curtain walling product manager at Sapa Building Systems, says: “This is a point of difference to other 60mm curtain walling systems which, when you take into account manufacturing tolerances, often only leave a 3mm gap between the glass and the frame, giving very little room for manoeuvre under building load before the glass comes into contact with the frame.”
This aluminium fenestration system also benefits from a unique transom connection method using smart pins. These are a quicker and more cost effective way of supporting glass weights up to 680 kilogrammes in comparison to other similar systems. With a noticeable shift in trend towards larger glazed units which more typically use triple glazing to withstand external wind loads and internal barrier loads, these transom connections are set to become the norm in the future.
Sapa believes their NRGY62 system has strong environmental credentials and flexibility for integrating with other products. Its thermal performance meets stringent Passivhaus requirements which give considerable leeway for any future strengthening of the England and Wales Building Regulations.
