Architectural Wire Mesh Project Archives - Page 2 of 9

Greenwich Design District – Buildings C1 and D1, London

Sawston Unity Campus MSCP

Design challenges

Each panel had identical sinusoidal corrugations. The perforated pattern, as well as the depth and wavelength of the profile, can be varied to create a bespoke facade.
The panels were only 2mm thick but had to vertically span up to 3m unsupported. The radius profile of the panels had to be deep enough to impose the required rigidity.
The constraints of the rolling tool had to be considered when determining radii.
The panels were designed to overlap enabling neighbouring panels to share common fixings.
Wind, snow and ice forces were considered.
The design maintains rigidity whilst having a 40% laser-cut open area for air flow.
The slot centres were adjusted to take account of the sinusoidal radii.
The drawing extract below shows a typical laser-cut sheet prior to, and following radius forming:

Fabrication Challenges

Perforation slots had to be laser cut prior to forming the radii.
The slots were not to distort during the radius forming.
The perforated sheets had to be incrementally “bumped” in a break press to form the exact radii.
The sinusoidal radii had to be consistent from panel to panel.
The panels were grit blasted prior to being polyester powder-coated. The grit blasting process removes the toolmarks.
The corner panels were site measured and installed last.
The laser cut panels had to be consistently accurate to the millimetre as they could not be altered on site.
The following images show the mesh panels laser-cut in their unformed state and in their radiused condition: -

Puskás Aréna Hungary night time lights side

With over 40 years successful use in the offshore industry to protect people and equipment from radiant heat, Locker were approached by Galliford Try (now Vistry Partnerships) to provide a bespoke solution that would provide protection for personnel and infrastructure from the effects of a fire scenario at the adjacent processing plant, whilst also providing something that would also be aesthetically pleasing to look at.

The desired protection could easily have been provided with Lockers standard Heatshield range of panels but would have been unsightly, being a purely industrial product.

With a vast amount of experience in Architectural facades Locker were able to incorporate our standard offshore product the Mini ES Heatshield with a layer of RMIG ImagePerf to provide a decorative architectural image perforated façade with a practical application.

Standing at 4m in height the Heatshield fence which replaced the existing 2m high acoustic fence provides an excellent practical solution allowing for safe occupation of the new housing estate whilst also providing an attractive feature for the occupants.

Working with their Architectural counterparts Locker Heatshielding were able to offer a full turnkey solution, supplying not only the vast amount of 3m long Heatshield panels, but also providing the design of a bespoke support structure and installation of the panels.

The Heatshield wall is constructed in 3m wide sections, supported by 200mm SHS sections with a mounting flange plate which is bolted back to the cast in anchors. The support structure has been designed and verified by our engineers to accommodate both the weight of the panels and the associated wind loads. The structural integrity of the proposed Heatshield fence was independently verified by a structural engineer.

Locker Heatshields have undergone extensive testing at independent N.A.M.A.S. approved laboratories and, with a front face radiant heat up to 60kW/m², the resultant radiant heat reduction recorded at a distance of 150mm behind the Heatshield was in excess of 83%.

Further details are available on request.

The combination of the Locker Heatshield and Architectural façade has huge potential for use in both industrial and commercial applications such as service stations and fuel storage / power generator enclosures to name but a few.      

First Street, Manchester