As this selection of new products reveals, when it comes to windows and doors, innovation comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes it involves a step forward in terms of design or installation procedure, while at other times, it is more about the use of environmentally friendly materials.
In considering new residential door and window technologies – the various fire-rated doors and windows, low-e glass products, closers, frames, window trims, access control systems, handles, locks, hinges, and so forth now becoming available – it becomes apparent that, while each delivers its own specific set of features and benefits, when viewed together as a whole, all these products share a couple of things in common.
They were all conceived as improvements on what came before them. They were designed to expand the possibilities open to architects; to help buildings achieve improved thermal performance and reduced carbon footprints; or to provide a longer service life than previously available materials and products.
In line with their designers’ understanding of the ever-shortening project time frames that builders and trades must deal with, they were designed to simplify the installation process and reduce costs.
With these common themes – of efficiency, sustainability, and innovation – in mind, here is a selection of the best recently-released residential window and door products in Australia.
Ground-breaking aluminium trim
In the case of Me Trim, an aluminium trim product that replaces the traditional timber joinery around bathroom window and doors, innovation has two positive consequences. The product open up the interiors of residential bathrooms (which continue to become smaller over time); while, at the same time, simplifying the installation process and reducing the number trades required, from five to one.
“While assisting the project teams with reducing completion times and labour costs is an important aspect of the solution, my main goal was to give architects and designers a multifaceted and reliable tool to carve out more precious space in petite interiors and create highly-resolved bathrooms irrespective of the square meterage,” says Vio Marchidan, the product’s designer.
“Removing unsightly timber lines around areas we might not want to intentionally highlight creates a perception of a more generously sized and less cluttered interior.”
By doing away with unwanted architraves, it allows tiles to be installed right up to its edge. In this way, it is able to create a pin-like line around windows and doors and ensure a clean, polished look.
On top of that, all three profiles are manufactured using only responsibly sourced aluminium and independently certified commercial-grade powder coatings. In short, they can be relied upon to last. Deceptively simple, the product belongs very much in the ‘why hadn’t anybody thought of that before’ category. As such, it is surely set to have a significant impact in residential applications.
As Marchidan puts it – “The solution has been designed to improve the craft of the architects, designers, builders and trades people – and ensure that the occupant of the space enjoys a unique, high-quality and sophisticated finish for years to come.”
Concealed, surface mount door hinge
Occupying a similar space, at least in terms of its apparent simplicity and potential impact, is the HES2S-140-A125. A three-way adjustable hinge from Sugatsune, a Japan-based architectural and industrial hardware specialist, the product also breaks new ground.
Unlike standard products of this type, which require routers on both the door and the frame, this new hinge only requires a router on the door. Apart from making installation much easier, this also means that the hinge is concealed. It is completely invisible when the door is closed.
For this reason, the hinge can produce the type of clean, sleek appearance that previously was simply not possible; a look that can be expected to be of great appeal to designers and homeowners, alike.
Beyond this aesthetic appeal, the fact that it requires only one router means that doors can be processed, ready for installation, at the factory and installation is fast and simple. In addition, the hinge’s innovative three-way adjustment function allows for vertical, horizontal, and depth adjustment after installation.
Windows & doors made from low-carbon aluminium
As mentioned, the environmental credentials of architectural products, of all types, are more important now than they have ever been. Windows and doors are no exception.
In this context, Capral Aluminium, Australia's largest manufacturer and distributor of aluminium products and architectural and building solutions, has introduced a lower-carbon primary aluminium option across its full range of locally manufactured, extruded window and door systems.
Going by the name, ‘LocAl’, the offer includes two lower carbon aluminium options: LocAl Green with carbon emissions of 8kg CO2e/kg Al and LocAl Super Green at 4kg CO2e/kg Al. Based on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emission ex smelter, these figures mean these products are amongst the lowest carbon aluminium available globally.
Explaining the thinking behind the initiative, Brendon Orth Capral's National Specification Manager, says, "We feel it is vital to respond to the needs of the Architecture and Design community in their commitment to reducing embodied carbon within the built environment.
“By making LocAl green standard across all our proprietary window systems, architects can specify systems they are familiar with, with no extra effort and no pricing premium. The outcome is a lower embodied carbon solution for their projects."
In other words, the primary aluminium for those systems carries the LocAl green badge, with a carbon intensity of 8kg CO2e/Kg Al - 50% lower than the current global average for primary aluminium.
Innovative residential access control system
The final mention on our list of residential door and window technologies goes to Homelok, an access control solution from Salto Australia. Custom-designed for the residential and multi-family real estate sector, the system is intended to facilitate modern keyless living, while streamlining operations for building management and owners.
As Salto Australia’s Shared Living Vertical Manager, Thomas Matthew explains, access control is heading towards unified platforms that manage access not only to doors but to a wider range of locking applications.
“These unified platforms are also linked to an integrated property management ecosystem increasingly in cloud-based environments. We are seeing increasing demand for digital credentials which are also migrating from an app-based key to a wallet-based key,” he says.
“Customers are asking for a single credential (physical as well as digital) to be able to provide access across doors, gates, padlocks, lockers among other points where access control can be deployed.”
According to Matthew, Homelok was developed to merge the strengths of SALTO's patented Data-on-Card technology and our cloud-based KS platform to deliver a highly efficient deployment of access control.
“The system capitalizes on the flexibility of cloud to deliver automatic updates and remove the reliance on network infrastructure for multi-site deployments. It is based on high security credentials to bring purpose-built access control for residential and shared living facilities that can be easily retrofitted to existing buildings,” he says.
A comprehensive solution that includes both hardware and software, it is designed to secure all parts of residential properties, including apartment unit doors, perimeter access points and common areas. It allows for the flexible provision of access to visitors, tradespeople, and so forth, while removing the need for keys and providing residents with convenience and peace of mind.
Or, as Matthew says, it “…redefines traditional access control as residents can self-manage access to their living spaces and invite guests without depending on building management.”
Image: Capral Aluminium
SUPPLIERS
Me Trim
Sugatsune
Capral Aluminium
Salto Australia
