A custom sun shading solution fabricated by Louvreclad met the design requirements of FJMT Architects for the Goold and Lecceto buildings on the St Augustine’s College campus in Brookvale NSW.
FJMT Architects was engaged to create St Augustine’s 20-year masterplan, with Stage One of this project including the refurbishment and extension of the Goold and Lecceto wings on the college campus. The sun shading requirements were integral to the refurbishment project with the new vertical and horizontal fin system designed to maintain a very solid aluminium aesthetic.
As a sun shading specialist, Louvreclad was brought on board to transform the architects’ design to life.
FJMT’s design concept consisted of a very large section 750mm deep bespoke aluminium vertical fin fixed between 1m deep horizontal sunshades.
Since it was not possible to construct the design out of proprietary aluminium extrusions, Louvreclad project manager Samuel Suarez collaborated with FJMT façade expert, John Perry to produce a bespoke solution utilising Louvreclad’s Platinum Series aluminium cladding.
Louvreclad’s Platinum Series combines proprietary components with custom fabricated 3mm solid aluminium to offer a high degree of versatility and engineering capability to suit even the most challenging designs.
St Augustine’s design incorporated a bespoke engineered aluminium structural rib cage clad in 3mm powdercoated folded aluminium with no visible fixings or open joints. The concealed fixing system was created by folding the aluminium to form a hook that hooked and snapped securely into the allocated slot in the rib structure.
To ensure the bespoke design met the requirements of the original concept as visualised by the architects, Louvreclad designed and fabricated a full-scale prototype. Following the approval of the prototype, the project got underway and also prompted another call to innovate.
Typical installation methods were not possible at this site due to the constricted space, which made it very difficult for the crane to lift the panels from the top. Louvreclad’s project team worked around this problem by designing and engineering a custom lifting rig, making it possible to offset the lifting point and crane the panels in from the side, therefore, mitigating the risk of damage to the panels.
The custom designed Louvreclad Platinum Series fins were engineered, fabricated and installed seamlessly, and finished with Interpon’s D2015 Copper Penny Matt powdercoat, an earthy tone to complement the natural environment.
