The Vision

Learn by doing, learn by care is the driving force behind the culture of the Nueva School. The private school, founded in 1967, develops and nurtures gifted children to maximize their potential. They engage students using project-based and social-emotional learning, tailored the needs of each student.

Nueva School started as a pre-K through middle school and in 2014 expanded to a second campus to house its high school program. The new campus in San Mateo provided the opportunity to approach secondary education with a greater connection to community. According to the school’s website, the San Mateo campus was, “designed to use 65% less energy than a typical high school,” and a “transit-oriented campus . . . conceived as a ‘living laboratory’ that will inspire . . .”

The architectural design of the San Mateo campus incorporated many custom sunshade products that provided functional thermal reduction while captivating the attention of all who see it.

The Airolite Look…

The design of sun control products from Airolite emphasizes reducing heat transfer while still permitting natural lighting. The sun control products for the Nueva School all were custom designed and included origami-shaped sunscreens for smaller windows and sun shades having dimensions up to 25’ 4” wide by 27’ 4”. A critical requirement for the large sun shades was the ability to install easily. Airolite products are designed for easy installation; however the sheer size of the sun shades demanded additional engineering to minimize the labor needed for field installation. Working with the contractors, Airolite engineers developed a plan to build and deliver the larger sun shades in several sections instead of assembling individual pieces on-site. This planning resulted in field labor savings of more than 50%.

Attaching the larger sun shades to the building also required a non-standard approach to ensure these products could stand up to the point load and wind loads. In place of traditional methods, engineers developed a process to attach the sun shades using brackets that went into the wall structure prior to the window system. The brackets attached to steel plates providing the necessary support to hold each sun shade in place.

Aesthetics also were important to the project. Architects and school leaders wanted to stimulate the young minds of the students, making it important that every aspect of the facility achieved this goal. All Airolite sun control products attached to the Nueva School had to match exact primary and secondary colors specified.

That Works

The San Mateo campus of the Nueva School opened in 2014 as a non-traditional approach to secondary education. The campus achieved LEED Gold certification, meeting its goal of using up to 65% less energy.

Airolite custom sun control products assisted in helping the school achieve its LEED certification. The sun shades prevented heat transfer from sun glare yet allowed light and air from San Francisco Bay to flow in the windows unobstructed. Airolite offers custom solutions regardless of the size of the product required.

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The Vision

This seven-story City Hall Parking Garage in Miami Beach, Florida was completed in 2009 as the final addition to the city’s Civic Center Campus. It poses a stunning architectural statement while serving as a gateway to the city’s historic Art Deco district. The 300,000 square foot facility includes 38,550 square feet of office space and connects to the city hall administration building via a pedestrian bridge. The garage also provides event parking for the nearby Miami Beach Convention Center and Lincoln Road Mall commercial center.

 

Owned and managed by Ivanhoé Cambridge, Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, British Columbia was built in 1966 and has undergone multiple expansions and renovations since then. The second phase of a five year expansion, one of the largest shopping center redevelopment projects in Canada, was completed in August, 2013 and added a dramatic new entrance, a complete refurbishment of the interior and 213,000 more square feet of retail space for 70 additional retailers and a new Food Court.

Today, Guildford Town Centre offers over 1,200,000 square feet of leasable area with over 250 stores and restaurants. Airolite architectural louvers are featured prominently on top of the rotunda over the new entrance to the mall.

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The Vision

On February 2, 2004, the University of Colorado Hospital opened the beautiful new Anschutz Cancer Pavilion on the new Fitzsimons Campus located in Aurora, Colorado. Physicians, employees and patients participated in the design of the state-of- the-art $148.8 million hospital, helping the architects achieve a functional, efficient building with spectacular views of the nearby Rocky Mountains. An important sustainability goal was to maximize the use of natural daylight, while using energy efficient controls to turn-off light fixtures in corridors and exterior areas during bright daylight hours. The reliance on natural daylight resulted in the design team’s need to control glare and heat transmitted through glazing and window systems.

The Airolite Look…

A massive curvilinear window system frames the western view of the mountains from the ambulatory care center. This ten-foot high wall of glass paints a constantly evolving image of the changing seasons evidenced in the roof garden and the majestic Rocky Mountain backdrop. At the same time, this large expanse of glass poses monumental challenges for maintaining energy efficiency. The height of the glass wall dictated a monumental horizontal sun control projection of more than eight and one-half feet to shade the windows to inhibit thermal heat transmittance and glare during peak daylight hours.

A complimentary sun control design with a comparatively modest maximum 4′-0″ projection is utilized over windows in patient rooms located in the south-facing wall to support operation of the patient-operated environmental controls. A special fascia element maintains continuity of the horizontal linear configuration across the red masonry façade.

That Works

Notwithstanding the use of extruded aluminum elements to reduce the weight of the eight and one-half foot sun control assemblies, the extended projection resulted in significant moment forces transferred to the structure by the sun controls. This problem was addressed by departing from the window supplier’s standard frame, which was not designed to accommodate the substantial moment forces transferred by the sun control outrigger. Instead, a horizontal steel member was incorporated in the exterior wall design to address the loads transferred by the sun controls. The sun control outriggers are secured to the steel member with brackets which project through painted aluminum cladding. In addition, the maximum wind design forces required the use of diagonal stainless steel support rods to mitigate the moment forces transferred to the steel member located in the exterior wall design.

The designer elected to utilize vertical extruded aluminum tubes spaced six-inches on center to achieve crisp, uniform, and sharply defined sight lines for the sun control infill. The close center spacing of the vertical tube blades yield a sun cut-off angle that prevents sunlight from passing between the blades except at its maximum height. The hollow shape dissipates heat easily and is a rigid member that can accommodate the 5′-0″ maximum span without difficulty. To alleviate the costly and cumbersome task of fabricating each tube blade to the constantly changing radius, the factory-assembled sun control sections were designed to be segmented about the curvilinear window configuration.

Surprisingly, only the fascia element is radiused to lend the perception that the entire sun control system is comprised of a series of non-linear segments. Lastly, selection of a white fluoropolymer coating enhances the sun control’s capacity to deflect sunlight, head and glare from the windows below and through windows located above the sun control to enable diffused daylight to be projected across interior spaces.

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Test Method for High Velocity Wind-Driven
Rain Resistant Louvers

Did you know that, if located in the Hurricane-Prone Region, all intake and exhaust louvers must comply with AMCA 550 (Test Method for High Velocity Wind Driven Rain Resistant Louvers) per the International Mechanical Code versions 2012 and 2015? The AMCA 550 test standard simulates external wind speeds up to 110 MPH with an external rainfall rate of 8.8 in. per hour. To pass AMCA 550, no more than 1% of the total sprayed water volume may penetrate the louver. If your state has adopted International Building Code 2012 or 2015, now is the time to ensure that all intake and exhaust louver specifications call for an AMCA 550 Listed louver, if located in the Hurricane-Prone Region.

Airolite offers a complete line of AMCA 550 listed louvers, ranging from high performance vertical blade products, dual-module horizontal front/vertical rear louvers and combination louver-dampers that will not only meet the function required, but the form desired.

Click here to view and download a list of Hurricane-Prone Region Louver Products.

Louvers with Glazing Adapters

The design of glazing systems with louver infill has become a very popular design choice by architects. Airolite has the ability and flexibility to work within this design request by offering a louver infill with a glazing adapter that allows the louver to be installed directly into the glazing system. There are many different types of glazing systems, and the glazing adapters do not necessarily work with them all. Airolite is happy to promptly review your project details to verify they will work and make the best recommendation for your specific application.

Click this link to view and download a chart of options.