Windows and doors create synergies between inside and outside spaces, bringing ventilation and light in every room, but can also be the biggest offenders when it comes to heat loss. For this reason it is important to choose the right product when planning a self-build project. VELFAC composite windows deliver the durability of aluminium and the beauty of natural wood, together with great energy performance. VELFAC triple glazing windows offer U-values as low as 0.8W/m²k, and bring maximum daylight into every room thanks to the 54mm slim frame, which increase the solar gain – free heat from the sun – reducing the amount of energy needed for heating and lightning your home.
But don’t just take our word for it – read about two recent projects where VELFAC is helping deliver low energy living.
PAVILION HOUSE, SUFFOLK
Set in rolling Suffolk countryside, Pavilion House is a beautiful, minimalist ‘inside out’ home designed by Bjerre-Poulsen from Norm Architects. The home is ‘in keeping with the traditions of Scandinavian design,’ say its owners, and combines ‘timeless aesthetics, natural materials and upholds the Modernist principles of restraint and refinement.’
In 2013 Pavilion House owner asked Norm Architects to create a long, low building with minimal walls and maximum glass, where ‘the countryside could be the star’. Bjerre-Poulsen immediately specified VELFAC windows, both to sustain the minimalist aesthetic and deliver the insulation and air tightness required to ensure a ‘glass house’ would be both comfortable to live in and energy efficient.
The extensive front elevation, and the narrow sides, are entirely glazed in a combination of VELFAC fixed triple glazed units and large sliding doors, all fronting elegant kitchen, dining and living spaces. On the rear elevation large sliding doors are set between walls clad in local larch, providing bedrooms with access to a stylish terrace. ‘The design of the facade is all about transparency,’ says Norm Architects, ‘letting nature be an integral part of the interior and framing views of the extraordinary settings.’ Externally, dark grey VELFAC aluminium frames are ‘as subtle and as discrete as possible so that the wooden character of the house becomes the dominant expression’, while internal timber frames are clear lacquered, adding warmth and natural texture to a colour scheme of white walls and pale wood floors, designed to deliver a feeling of space, light and tranquility.
THE PARTY HOUSE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
A radical remodelling of a 1950’s house has given filmmaker and photographer Stuart Chapman a beautiful, and impressive, family home. The transformation includes multiple VELFAC composite windows installed as individual units, combined in a two storey window wall, and – in the open-plan roof top ‘party room’ – an extra-large VELFAC double sliding door to provide light, air, and wonderful views.
‘I had seen the VELFAC system in projects on TV’s ‘Grand Designs’ and really liked the minimalist external frames, the uniform sightlines and the Scandi-style interior finish,’ says Stuart. ‘I realised that VELFAC composite windows would deliver the ideal aesthetic – clean, modern, and very contemporary.’
Stuart specified mainly top hung and fixed VELFAC units, and opted for white painted internal timber frames and black external aluminium. As a bespoke solution, VELFAC could also supply the multiple different shaped units Stuart needed to create the glazed screen, rising above the front door, the triangular roof windows and the angled fixed units flanking the large sliding door in the ‘party room’.
VELFAC delivered more than just a clean aesthetic, adds Stuart: ‘The VELFAC windows replaced old, poorly performing PVCu units and together with improved heating and insulation, our energy use has totally changed. We definitely turn the heating on much less than before, and rarely use the radiators in the party room. Yet the house always feels comfortable, well ventilated and with good air circulation, and we no longer experience any condensation as we did with the old windows.’
DISCOVER THE LOW ENERGY BENEFITS OF VELFAC COMPOSITE WINDOWS
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