VS-1 curtain walling system shortlisted for prestigious construction industry award

Innovation in façade design, manufacture and installation by GLASSOLUTIONS has been recognised by the judging panel of one of the construction industry’s leading awards programmes.

The company has been shortlisted in the category of ‘Product Design Innovation Award – Building’ in the British Construction Industry Awards (BCIA) for its new VS-1 curtain walling system and its role in the creation of the Believe in Better Building for media giant Sky.

The 3000m2 timber framed BREEAM ‘excellent’ building, located on Sky’s Osterley campus in West London, is an industry-leading community engagement and educational facility which is home to the Sky Academy Careers Lab. GLASSOLUTIONS was commissioned to design and install the entire building envelope by Sky, who worked in conjunction with Mace, including a centrepiece glazed façade on its main elevation for which VS-1 was the ideal choice.

VS-1 is a mullion-only façade system which enables large spans of glazing to be achieved from a standard kit of parts. In the case of the Believe in Better Building, these aluminium mullions were externally mounted to support the glazing along the full length of the 51m staircase over which it rises some 15m in height. These highly engineered aluminium extrusions are secured using steel brackets at top and bottom cantilevers from the building’s timber structure – this ensures a secure attachment at the top of the structure and at each floor level.

Mike Butterick, GLASSOLUTIONS marketing director said: “VS-1 is the first evolution in curtain walling since the launch of bolted systems in the 1990s so we’re really pleased our industry peers recognise its significance. In addition to being aesthetically original, the innovation that VS-1 brings means buildings can benefit from large expanses of glass with unbroken vertical sightlines without the need for bespoke systems and the long lead times these usually incur.”