Diners at a new
rooftop restaurant located in one of London’s most historic sites can enjoy
comfort whatever the weather, thanks to an innovative external shading system
designed and manufactured by bespoke blind specialists Guthrie Douglas.
Eric Parry
Architects designed a clear glass roof, which hovers over the grade I listed
Opera Terrace in Covent Garden, enfolding a restaurant and bar area, whilst
still allowing access to the sky and views out onto the square below.
Whilst blinds were a
necessity to reduce heat and glare, the architects did not want a typical bulky
shading solution such as awning boxes or aluminium side rails to interfere with
the aesthetic quality of the roof design when the blinds are not needed, and a
shading solution was required which could work equally well across the variety
of glazing angles in the roof design.
Guthrie Douglas
worked with specialist Swiss metal façade contractor Tuchschmid to integrate
external tension blinds into the roof structure, hiding a tensioned roller
mechanism within the steel apex of the roof, and guiding the shading system
along discrete stainless steel wire guides, almost invisible when the systems
are retracted.
The system works
automatically using a smart control system, triggered by an external weather
station which deploys and retracts the blinds based on sun, wind and rain
sensor data.
Andrew Kitching of
Guthrie Douglas, said: “We believe that great design is often about what you
can’t see and we work with architects and façade contractors as early as
possible in the design process to integrate bespoke shading systems that
disappear into the surrounding structure when not in use.”
Thanks to the
inherent strength and versatility of the tension mechanism in Guthrie Douglas
products, they have been specified externally in challenging climates such as
the Middle East and Scandinavia for decades.
A concealed torsion
spring and aircraft grade tension cable hold fabric tight even in extreme
temperatures and strong winds, meeting stringent European Norms. Robust testing
and a long track-record of successfully delivered external shading projects in
prominent locations such as Covent Garden give designers confidence in
specifying external shading systems without fears around maintenance and
durability.
