In the heart of Radlett, Hertfordshire stands Orchard View – also known as Orchard House – a Ström Architects designed, contemporary residential property, occupying substantial grounds on a former brownfield site that previously served as a nursery.
In the form of a distinctive H-shape, the structure spans nearly 8,000 ft², merging simple cubic forms, light double height spaces with private and public areas carefully designed around one another along with extensive full-height glazing, inviting uninterrupted views of the beautifully landscaped gardens and courtyard spaces. Visual access to the outside was an important aspect of the design as the occupants required a tranquil haven to relax in whilst also appreciating the rural setting allowing them to escape their high-pressured lives.
The house benefits from a number of energy efficient measures and cutting-edge, intelligent technologies including Crestron home automation, underfloor heating, efficient Lutron lighting and fully automated blinds/curtains.
The design prioritised sustainability objectives alongside luxury living and architectural brilliance.
Solinear would play a significant role in helping the project to achieve each of those intents.
Looking for a specialist to design, supply and install brise soleil on a high-end residential property – which was under construction at the time – Chris McGovern (Spring Residential) approached Solinear for a solution.
Orchard View was designed to be a haven of relaxation, allowing as much natural light as possible to enter rooms and maintain a strong connection with the extensive green spaces that border the house on all sides.
Whilst generous swathes of glass are highly desirable and frames the spectacular views of surrounding grounds, it can also act as a greenhouse, allowing heat to pass through and trap it within. In addition to the problem of heat, the sun’s glare can be distracting for occupants of the building and cause bleaching and damage to interiors.
The architectural louvres’ primary function would be to offer high-performance protection against solar gain penetrating the vast expanses of glass, whilst also acting as privacy screening preserving the modesty of the occupants. Visually, the solar shading would need to be cohesive, seamless and reflect Ström Architects’ modern, minimalist vision, co-ordinating with the sleek, brilliant white rendering of the building’s external envelope.
Solinear’s Solex Halo solar shading range was the perfect solution.
Solinear offers an extensive range of award-winning louvre options, which made it easy to find a profile that matched the exact size and shape specified in the architect’s design drawings. Conveniently, this ensured the fin’s depth would remain within the depth of the roofline, maintaining the façade’s seamless architectural flow.
With schedules agreed, the team began to manufacture the fins along with fixings. In addition to the solar shading louvres themselves, being of the superior quality that Solinear is renowned for both in terms of appearance and performance, the architect/client wanted to keep any visible support structure or fixings to a minimum. In response, Solinear designed and manufactured bespoke brackets that concealed the carrier plate for the individual fin spigots behind the cladding line and then fixed the fins to the spigots with low profile barrel nut fixings.
The completed system was carefully packaged and couriered to its destination over 200 miles away. The solar shading system, consisting of a simple vertical arrangement of rectangular hollow section fins (finished with RAL 9016 (Traffic White) 30% gloss) would take just six days to instal and was carried out by two of Solinear’s highly-skilled fitters.
Orchard View, is a bold statement in modern architecture and an example of how thoughtful design can meet the challenges of a changing climate.Award-winning, Swedish architectural practice, Ström Architects, designed a minimalist modern vision where energy efficiency and quality living were of the utmost importance, along with striking aesthetic architectural appeal befitting the exclusive location – as quality living extended beyond the interior to the exterior.
Orchard View presented Solinear with the opportunity to showcase a prestige residential project that was simple, straightforward but highly effective in spotlighting how solar shading can add significant architectural interest to a building whilst being empathic to its minimalistic design. In the case of this high-tech residence, complementing the exterior’s clean and simple architectural lines.
Integrating intelligent, high-performance solar shading supplemented the building’s sustainability benefits; when temperatures are on the rise, the new occupants will undoubtedly appreciate a more comfortable internal space and reduced dependence on potentially costly, disruptive mechanical cooling thus promoting calm and relaxation.
The louvres also help to moderate heat loss during colder months and provide a degree of screening and privacy as well as protection against damage to the glazing from external forces – all without compromising the view from within the building.
We pride ourselves on continuing to develop and innovate and it’s generally acknowledged that Solinear can offer façade options that competitors simply can’t fulfil. In this case, we could offer a profile size to the exact dimensions required by the client, yet it’s not a widely available profile, thus demonstrating that with each project Solinear is transforming the future of architectural facades.
It was a pleasure to work with Chris McGovern (Spring Residential) and Ström Architects on this project – helping them bring their vision to life – and we look forward to working with them again.
Orchard View featured in episode 4 of the latest series of Channel 4’s ‘Britain’s Most Expensive Houses’.
Described as an “architect’s digital dream”, the property is currently for sale at £10 million
Read our informative blog to find out more about Orchard View and how Solinear’s solar shading could have a starring role in a major blockbuster!
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