A new primary school in Derby has become the first completed project in the UK to feature the new thermally-efficient PURe^® windows from leading fenestration designer and manufacturer Senior Architectural Systems.

The innovative new aluminium window system, which is the first on the UK market to benefit from an enhanced thermal barrier manufactured from expanded polyurethane foam (PUR), has been specified for use on the new Carlyle Infant School in Derby.  Working alongside main contractor Bowmer & Kirkland and Bond Bryan architects, Senior’s  PURe^® casement windows were installed by leading fabricator Allied Glazing.

Key to the specification of Senior’s PURe^® windows was the system’s high thermal performance that not only gives exceptionally low U-values but also has the potential to dramatically improve the building’s overall carbon calculations.

Carl Broadhurst, managing director of Allied Glazing added: “Allied Glazing is extremely proud to be the first installer to work with the new PURe^® window system and we hope that the staff and pupils of Carlyle Infant School are as pleased with the finished results as we are.  With any new product there is always going to be some uncertainty about how easy it will be to work with and how well it will perform but we are extremely impressed with the PURe^® window system, particularly as it combines ease of fabrication with a technically advanced construction and exceptional thermal performance. We liaised closely with Senior’s technical team throughout the contract, developing a much stronger working relationship in the process, and we are looking forward to working with the new PURe^® system on future contracts.”

Providing a modern and inspirational learning environment for some 180 pupils, the new Carlyle Infant School in Derby is one of six to be rebuilt as part of the Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) Priority Schools Programme.

The new patent-pending PURe^® window range is the first in the UK to benefit from an enhanced thermal barrier manufactured from expanded polyurethane foam (PUR).  Traditionally used in cladding and insulation products, the innovative use of PUR as a thermal barrier in windows gives the PURe^® system the potential to achieve U-values as low as 0.71w/m2k when calculated as a commercial CEN standard window. 

As well as helping to cut the operational carbon emissions by making the building easier and more cost-effective to heat, the unique construction of the PURe^® system can also contribute to reducing the calculations of embodied carbon which looks at the energy used in the manufacture, transportation, assembly and deconstruction of construction materials. Not only is the PURe^® system manufactured from aluminium, which offers ‘cradle to cradle’ recycling, but the PUR thermal barrier can be re-used as fillers for other products with no requirement for landfill.

With a generic Green Guide rating of ‘A’ for use in commercial projects and a life expectancy in excess of 40 years, Senior’s most recent product innovation has also been designed to meet the PassivHaus standard cycle and exceed the current requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations.