High levels of natural light and ventilation are the hallmarks of Tree Top Village in Newcastle, a retirement village with an inspirational design that achieves its goal through extensive use of VELUX Modular Skylights.
The award-winning ‘village’, designed by Architects ID Partnership, is the first of its kind in the UK and is focussed on delaying the onset of dementia.
High levels of daylight are achieved by a central four-storey atrium with a row of 60 VELUX ridgelights. Complementing this are 10 VELUX longlights that provide additional illumination in areas away from the atrium. All of which were installed by Glazing Systems & Installations Limited, one of our key partners.
In combination, the ridglelights and longlights help this exemplar mixed-use retirement village, managed by Your Homes Newcastle (YHN), make extensive use of natural light, which recent research shows has beneficial effects on the well-being and recovery rate of patients.
The design was influenced by Dr. Hans Becker, a leading expert in the retirement industry. Meeting Dr Hans Marcel Becker’s philosophy involved designing the atrium and rooflights to create a ‘contemporary hotel-feel’, encouraging residents to actively engage and participate and ensuring each apartment overlooks the main thoroughfare, reinforcing the community feel.
The VELUX Modular Skylights team worked with Wates Construction to value engineer the original curtain walling design envisaged for the rooflights. VELUX presented the benefits of its self-supporting ridgelights for the central atrium, which comprised two rows of skylights that add natural light, ventilation and openness to the areas below.
Being self-supporting meant that the ridgelights eliminated the need for the steel sub-frame support system. The VELUX rooflight solution also achieved the European standard for smoke and heat exhaust ventilators EN 12101-2.
Following an evaluation of the proposal, the project partners felt that VELUX ridgelights offered a superior aesthetic outcome compared to the curtain walling. This was because the parallel lines of the ridgelights that run along the orientation of the central atrium create a sense of symmetry. Aside from that, avoiding the need for a steel sub frame proved to be a more cost-effective solution and sped up installation.
Working with the design team at VELUX Modular Skylights, Wates contractors selected a combination of VELUX rooflights, comprising:
- Ridgelight
- 43no. W = 1000 x H = 2000mm fixed
- 17no. W = 1000 x H = 2000mm smoke vents
- The VELUX ridgelight are suitable for configurations with a pitch of 25-40°
- Stepped wall mounted longlights
- 5no. W = 1000 x H = 1800mm fixed
- 5no. W = 1000 x H = 1800mm smoke vents
- VELUX Longlights are suitable for configurations with a pitch of between 5° and 40.
They are mounted against a vertical wall and this provided new design possibilities because it meant their position was not limited to traditional rooflight locations. At Tree Top Village, it enabled them to be strategically positioned to maximise daylight in all areas of the facility, not just the central atrium.
VELUX ridgelights and longlights offer all the offsite benefits of being fully prefabricated in a factory controlled environment. This ensures that they fit right, first time on site - and can be up to three times faster than a traditional installation.
The modules simply click into place in minutes, minimising time spent on the roof and ensuring a watertight seal is achieved quicker. Superior sightlines including slim frames and maximum glazed area continue the modern design theme throughout the development.