Alex House is an educational project located in Swansea, Wales, in the UK. AluK GB had the opportunity to contribute its expertise to this incredible project.
In 2015, the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, invested £8 million into the refurbishment, restoration and extension of its former central library building in order to create the brand new “Institute for Sustainable Design”.
This project’s main feature is an impressive double facade created with AluK’s curtain walling solution. The curtain walling has added more texture and extra dimensional aspects to the original building. The contemporary extension affords an additional 657m², providing additional space for a new entrance, workshop and teaching spaces, as well as several design studios.
The twin-wall facade was constructed with the AluK SL60 curtain walling system forming the internal wall, and a structurally bonded and laminate-glazed glass skin forming the external wall. An intersectional space is integrated between the two walls.
AluK’s solutions provided this Listed Building with the required transparency, as well as several climate control options. Due to extended daily sun exposure, the south-facing facade is well-suited to solar energy generation. Even without generating solar energy, the sun exposure keeps the building warm during the winter months. A series of louvers at the bottom of the facade ensure ventilation control, as well as noise-insulation, reducing noise pollution from the busy road below.
“Due to the context of the Listed Building, it was imperative that the new extension was as transparent as possible, so the original scale and features of the historic fabric behind, could still be expressed. The University was also looking for a truly sustainable solution, to reduce energy consumption and create an inspiring place for learning.” explained Yvonne Gibbs, Architect at Powell Dobson.
