Watling Place, situated in South Kilburn in London, contains 152 apartments. The project is part of upgrading work being carried out in the London Borough of Brent. Around 1,700 new homes will be built in the district in the future. Watling Place is in the heart of vibrant South Kilburn, a borough with a unique character just a few minutes from the centre of London. DUCO Ventilation & Sun Control provides residents with a pleasant indoor climate and the ultimate in living comfort via use of architectural solar shading.
Watling Place - London | Architectural solar shading for London apartment block
This large-scale project, designed by PRP Architects, uses more than 200 DucoSlide panels in order to offer residents optimum living comfort. The open and closed sliding panels let in a lot of sunlight so that the flats can, in part, be heated passively in winter and are protected against overheating in summer.
DucoSlide Wood: harmonious interplay between wood and aluminium
The DucoSlide sliding panels consist of aluminium frames holding wooden or aluminium louvre blades. Thanks to the wide selection of louvre blades, the architect or client always has a large choice that will seamlessly fit any project. Here, the architect opted for DucoSlide Wood wooden louvre blades made of Western Red Cedar. These louvre blades lend the façade a warm appearance and are an effective solution for regulating solar heat and the privacy of the residents.
The sliding panels not only serve as solar shading and protection but determine the overall look of the exterior of the building. The fact that every resident can freely move the panels on their terrace means the façade looks different every day. This gives the façade a degree of dynamism which brings the building to life.
Maximum daylight, minimum energy loss
As well as preserving daylight, the solar shading system ensures, in a natural and energy-saving way, that the sun's rays don't get the chance to heat up the interior spaces of Watling Place directly. Consequently, overheating in the hot summer months is a thing of the past. The result? A reduction in the cooling load of up to 63% and a significant drop in temperature. By contrast, the louvre-blade pitch allows passive solar heating in the winter.
Installer and architect agree that Watling Place has set the bar high for the next phases in the area’s upgrade.