Senior Architectural Systems’ high performance SPW600 aluminium window system and SCW+ curtain wall system have been installed to stunning effect on Marlborough Road Primary School in Salford.
The Victorian school, which was built in 1898 and constructed from red brick, reflects a distinctive local heritage and continues to be the centre of the community with over 28 languages spoken and 43 ethnicities represented. However, to meet the demands of the expanding community, the school required a major programme of refurbishment to provide suitable accommodation and additional places for the children well into the future.
Typical of Victorian school building design, the facility incorporates large halls, wide corridors and high ceilings necessitating large segmental windows to provide sufficient natural light for the classrooms and common areas.
The original timber windows inevitably had deteriorated over time with many becoming inoperable with age leading to a combination of heat loss, water ingress and inadequate ventilation. As part of a major refurbishment of the building, Salford City Council’s Children Services Directorate took the decision to replace all the windows with Senior Architectural Systems’ SPW600 to provide a thermally efficient, high performance solution.
Working closely with main contractor and installer Anders Glass, based in Salford, in excess of 100 Senior SPW600 aluminium windows of differing sizes and configurations were fabricated and installed in just five weeks during term time and whilst the school was fully operational.
Working with external powered access equipment, each existing window was removed and replaced in the same day with the new Senior SPW600 system, thus minimising disruption to the children. To maintain the original segmental aesthetic and to provide the necessary light levels for the large halls and common areas, the east and west elevations incorporated specially fabricated windows, glazed into SCW curtain walling which is in excess of four metres in height and 2.2 metres wide with no interim supports.
Andrew Long, project manager at Anders Glass, said: “The refurbishment necessitated working with existing opening sizes which required the fabrication of vents up 1500mm in height. Senior’s systems lent themselves ideally as they are one of the few companies offering a fully accredited system capable of meeting such exacting requirements.”
Powder coated at Senior’s in-house facility in Doncaster - one of the largest and most technically advanced in the UK - the SPW600 window system, coated in white Synta Pulvin to match the original window colour, carries a 25-year guarantee providing a durable and sustainable fenestration.
Independently tested to BS6375 for performance and to BS7950 for security, the 75mm thermally broken SPW600 window system incorporates 28mm double glazing to provide exceptional thermal U values. Fabricated with top hung lights and incorporating espagnolette locking for added security, the SPW600 is fully compatible with Senior Architectural Systems’ aluminium curtain wall and the robust SD door system installed throughout the school.