Two of Senior Architectural System’s most innovative and thermally efficient glazing solutions have been specified for a new high school in Reading, helping to maximise the sense of light and space whilst reducing the environmental impact of the building.

Designed by Maber Architects and delivered by Interserve Kajima Joint Venture, Reading Girls’ School is part of a wider scheme to create seven new secondary schools across Hertfordshire. Luton and Reading.  

The new Reading Girls’ School in Berkshire features Senior’s patented low U-value PURe^® aluminium casement windows throughout the two three-storey high teaching blocks, with the company’s thermally enhanced SF52 curtain walling used to create the school’s main entrance area and atrium.  

Daylighting is a key consideration of the school’s overall design and as the main window pattern required a specific area of visible daylight to be achieved, the PURe^® multiframe option was used to accommodate opening in and opening out ventilators, negating the requirement for reverse rebate adaptors or couplers. Wastage was also reduced by using the PURe® multiframe sections, as one section can be used as the outer frame, mullion and transom.

The attractive slim profiles of both the PURe^® windows and SF52 curtain walling help flood the interior of the school with natural light and contrast perfectly with the striking blue cladding panels that have been incorporated on the exterior façade to reflect the school’s official colours.

The contract to provide the fenestration package for the new school saw Senior once again working with leading installers Elite Aluminium Systems Ltd, a key manufacturer and installer of the Senior range of systems for the over 20 years.

Competitively priced compared to standard aluminium windows, Senior’s innovative PURe^® system benefits from an enhanced thermal barrier manufactured from expanded polyurethane foam (PUR) and was able to achieve U-values lower than required by the project team. Used alongside the SF52 curtain wall system which has been developed to offer an enhanced thermal performance which exceeds current building regulations, Senior’s fenestration package has played a key role in achieving the building’s thermal targets, improving its environmental efficiency and contributing to the reduced reliance on mechanical cooling and ventilation.