Over the centuries, with the advent of kerb appeal, more concentrated residential areas and the increased use of technology, there has been a growing requirement for effective architectural screening designs whether as a decorative feature or a technical element. The science, technology and aesthetics that have amalgamated to create the sophisticated architectural screening associated with modern living offers so much more than a simple means of concealing something unsightly or a form of primitive partitioning.
Whether manufactured from modern materials including extruded aluminium alloy, galvanised sheet steel or stainless steel, Solinear’s architectural screening products offer a variety of solutions for the challenges and demands of contemporary building. Whatever the intent and function, architectural screening needs to be effective and there is much to consider depending on objective and desired aesthetics.
A brief history of architectural screening
Architectural screening has evolved from a humble series of rough twigs, branches and small tree trunks in a horizontal, vertical or woven mesh formation, facilitating privacy without losing significant light or ventilation. In Roman times the buildings’ colonnades had screens positioned between the columns supporting the rooves of the buildings, serving to control where the light could shine into a space and safeguarding privacy. In medieval times, large panels were used to divide rooms in substantial buildings such as palaces. They were often made of wood and decorated with carvings and floral designs to act as both a privacy screen whilst allowing natural light to bathe the room.
What is the purpose of architectural screening?
Put simply, architectural screening, is used to enclose, envelope or divide a space with a barrier. The purpose of this type of partition is to act as a screen that separates different elements, for example people, machinery and electrical equipment, food and other objects from the rest of the space. Screens are also used to control the visibility of certain areas of a space. For example, if a room is separated into areas by screens with intersecting slats, the screens will control the visibility of the area, where the screens are placed, so that people outside the area cannot see what’s inside. Architectural screening can be used to provide a buffer zone or protection from insects, litter and debris and punishing weather.
The versatility of architectural screening means that it is often used as a decorative feature.
Timber Architectural Screening
Whilst aluminium is generally the favoured material for manufacturing architectural screening, timber has many benefits for creating striking and effective architectural screening. When a project requires solid decorative screening, timber architectural screens have numerous advantages including heat absorption – instead of reflecting or retaining heat, it keeps the area cooler therefore protect buildings from solar heat gain yet allowing natural light to enter thus saving on energy bills.
Timber also offers greatly superior acoustic properties compared to metal or man-made alternatives, thus significantly reducing noise transfer and making it ideal for both internal and external architectural screen applications.
Timber louvres and fins can be configured either in a fixed position or for even more convenience as an adjustable system with options for motor-driven, automatically-programmed or manual adjustment. The panel slides are mounted on a smooth-running aluminium track and four-wheeled ball bearing rollers, greatly increasing the reliability and durability of the sliding gear. Characteristics of timber include knots and natural imperfections with a tendency to age, fade or weather which can be a desirable feature. Western red cedar is specified more often than other species of wood for its appearance, durability and sustainability.
For more information regarding timber architectural screening lead times, talk to a member of Solinear’s friendly and highly knowledgeable team.
View Solinear’s Darwin House bespoke architectural screening project
View Solinear’s Monks Cross Shopping Centre, York. Pods 1 – 4
Effective architectural Screening & Ventilation
Solinear’s extruded aluminium blades and brackets are available in a variety of typical profiles and sizes to suit both the structural span and solar shading performance requirements. They can be configured for use as effective and robust privacy or security screens, as well as ventilation panels for plant rooms. Used in these applications, the elliptical blades can be mounted either in a vertical ladder arrangement or stood up on end vertically for an alternative effect.
View Solinear’s Roof plant room Louvre system for Imperial War Museum
Vertically Mounted Ladder Screening
Vertically mounted ladder systems offer effective architectural screening with excellent security and privacy properties and, in certain cases, simultaneously offering a high degree of solar shading. Although usually offered as a fixed blade system, vertically mounted ladder systems lend themselves well to being motorised, offering a more comprehensive level of screening and allowing the customer to adapt the blade angle or adjustment via the building management system (BMS).
Vertically mounted ladder systems are frequently used to shade expanses of curtain wall, particularly in commercial buildings that have large sections of glazing, for example, academic buildings, car showrooms or office blocks. The blade size, pitch and angle determine the amount of protection from solar glare. It is worth noting that fixing this type of system to a run of curtain wall needs to be planned well in advance, as the mounting brackets must be incorporated into the curtain wall mullions before installation.
Vertically Mounted Screening Blades
In this arrangement, louvre blades are stood on end and built into a frame which is installed with a slight gap between the screen system and the building thus allowing access to the glass for maintenance. This type of shading is often used when an architectural feature screen is required to protect a floor to ceiling window from solar glare. It is commonly offered as a fixed blade solution, however, as with vertically mounted ladder systems, a motorised version of this screening system can be manufactured.
Vertically Mounted Sliding Ladder Screen
A variant of the vertically mounted ladder system, this stand-alone panel is designed to be positioned in front of floor to ceiling glazing. The panel sits within a frame that allows it to slide left and right across a glazed area and is ideal when only partial shading/screening is required.
This form of screening can be manufactured to bespoke sizes to suit the clients’ requirements. Sliding architectural screening panels have the advantage of manoeuvrability to allow for glass maintenance and cleaning, which means that it can be installed in close proximity to the face of the glazed area if required.
The elliptical blade used in this form of screening allows for the manufacture of very slim panels which are ideal for domestic use. The panel slides on a smooth-running aluminium track and four-wheeled ball bearing rollers, greatly increasing the reliability and durability of the sliding gear.
Perforated Architectural Screening
Perforated architectural screening is a popular choice for its efficacy in providing privacy and ventilation whilst offering design versatility and contemporary aesthetics. Solinear has installed numerous perforated panels on high-rise accommodation and on buildings where a bespoke design theme was required. Screen walls are a great and efficient way to transform a functional space into an architecturally pleasing element.
- Round Perforation
Whether used for technical or decorative purposes, a round perforation configuration is the most commonly requested in Solinear’s perforated product range.
A round perforation is, geometrically, considered the most solid shape and is valued for its great acoustic and ventilation properties.
Round perforations offer the possibility of a large aperture that is also strong and adaptable allowing bespoke design options. Available in a variety of configurations and patterns including diamond and triangular formations, diagonal, straight or staggered rows – round perforation screens offer a visually pleasing decorative privacy shield and increases protection against solar glare. They can also be used as infill pieces in balconies and balustrade panels. - Square, Rectangular and Hexagonal Perforation
As with round holes, whether decorative or serving a practical benefit, perforated sheets with square, rectangular or hexagonal holes can be used in a variety of ways and configured to bespoke design specifications and arrangements including, but not limited to, parallel, diagonal or staggered rows. Also, comparable with round perforations, square, rectangular and hexagonal perforations allow a generous aperture for applications such as ventilation and guards also offering protection from solar glare and acting as an attractive privacy screen. They can also be used as balcony and balustrade panels.
Architectural Expanded Mesh
Also popular is expanded metal mesh screening. Expanded metal mesh combines strength and rigidity with a high percentage of open area for air flow, making it suitable for a wide range of decorative and functional applications. Expanded mesh is highly versatile and offers stylish, contemporary and practical results for both small and large applications when creating the final design solution. Unlike standard perforated screening, which is smooth and flat, mesh is a more textured three-dimensional material. The distinctive three-dimensional form and versatility of expanded meshes mean that they can be used to create numerous special effects and offer a unique and dynamic addition to a built environment.
Its wide variety of mesh sizes and shapes and its transparent and shading properties enable the manufacture of innovative screening for the control of natural light and its open shape facilitates suitability for applications that require ventilation and excellent airflow qualities, such as plant rooms, parking facilities etc.
Small mesh sizes are appropriate where screening and climb prevention are required design criteria and large mesh sizes for applications where good see-through properties are a requirement. Varying surface facets offer differing levels of opacity with the visual open area variable as the viewing angle alters. The open area for air flow remains constant across all viewing angles and is the maximum achievable open area for air flow. The precise level of screening and open area can be tailored to suit a customer’s requirements providing a perfect aesthetic and practical solution on internal and external walls. It’s also worth noting that as well as being an effective form of architectural screening, expanded metal mesh can provide significant cost savings when compared with perforated metal screening.
Expanded metal meshes are typically available in mild steel or aluminium and panels can be manufactured and supplied flat or framed, folded or curved (subject to material / pattern restrictions) and are suitable for an extensive and diverse range of powder coated or anodised finishes.
Continuing an Architectural Screening Theme
Projects can be problematic when attempting to encompass practical necessities into the overall design theme. There is scope to transform these challenging areas into colourful custom fabricated project features – whilst simultaneously adding a considerable element of site security.
As well as the typical applications for architectural screening – such as building facades and rooftop or ground level enclosures for generators, chillers, aircon units and other mechanicals – themes and designs can be conveyed via custom fabricated project features including:
- Gates and fence panels
- Infill panels
- Doors
- Balconies
- Balustrade and handrail panels
- Bin stores
- Car park screening and partitioning
Thus, offering architects and design engineers an opportunity to coordinate, extend and enhance a project theme, colour and design, facilitating continuity and façade cohesion with adjoining structures, environment. etc.
These elements can be considered for a variety of projects including corporate buildings, schools and universities, health and sports centres, municipal spaces, utility substations, high-end residential and retail commercial premises.
Architectural screening and effective plant room protection
Continuous louvre walls are a popular choice for constructing plant rooms and creating visual screens on the upper levels of buildings. As the name suggests, this is the technique in which walls can be created from a combination of rows of vertical mullions with louvre blades fastened to them. In this case elliptical louvre blades are preferential to the more traditional “Z” profile blade, tending to be a more effective design maximising the throughput of air from one side of the wall to the other. These systems offer a typical free area of between 40% and 50%, making them more viable, cost-effective alternatives to “Z” blade systems.
Louvre doors should also be considered, as continuous louvre walls often integrate them as part of the system. Louvre doors are designed to be either stand-alone units or integrated into a continuous louvre wall solution. Doors that are integrated into a continuous louvre wall, are designed to form an almost seamless part of the wall.
Comprising an outer frame and hinged inner frame which forms the door itself, louvre blades are mounted on the inner frame which houses the door handle mechanism, locks and sundries. Depending on specific requirements, louvre doors can open inwards or outwards.
View Solinear’s Nine Elms, London Underground Aquarius AQ75 double louvre doors
Looking for something completely unique?
Whilst there are more standard perforation patters, Solinear can offer a variety of decorative configurations to suit applications such as solar shading and ventilation panels, privacy screens or architectural façade elements. Finishing options include anodising, polyester powder coated (PPC) finishes to any RAL colour or specialist coatings to mimic natural materials such as timber. For those who prefer the look of continuous, unbroken architectural screening will benefit from Solinear’s secret-fix solution.
Experts in efficient architectural screening
Effective architectural screening helps to improve building security, energy efficiency, ventilation and comfort and serve a variety of applications. However, not all screened products are the same – for some applications, the screened product must meet a rigorous set of design specifications and testing requirements. Solinear’s screening products are subjected to thorough scrutiny to ensure they are of the highest standard and offer the best possible solution regardless of intent. A continuous program of research and development ensures the highest standards and product performance are achieved with many new designs being developed and tailored to suit specific applications and client requirements.
Want sleek, contemporary architectural screening or a more traditional style? Need striking architectural screening to create a unique building façade? Require privacy but still want natural light and ventilation? Have space that needs more sophisticated partitioning or equipment that requires protection from the weather? Solinear’s architectural screening can be fabricated to a clients’ specifications and expertly finished to the highest standard.
With a range of screening products available from tradition louvre screening products to architectural mesh façade fabrics and metal cladding systems all designed to interface with the building structure, Solinear has the perfect solution and a team of architectural screening experts who are happy to help.
