"skylight"

About the ProjectA new educational hub in the heart of Kuwait, the College of Business is known for its impeccable design and breathtaking facade. A part of Kuwait’s much larger Sabah Al Salem University complex, the college building is an interactive teaching and research space where students hone their business skills. The building’s unique architecture, with vertical louvre shades and expansive rooflines, was created to maximise the natural airflow while minimising solar penetration The ChallengeThe building had a roof of approx 4,000 sq. m., which would allow a large amount of heat to enter through the skylight. This posed a big challenge to the architects in order to manage the cooling loads for the building. Our brief was to make the building as energy-efficient as possible, which called for us to find a way to keep heat transmission to a minimum while also maximising light transmission. Finding the appropriate build-up for the skylight was key for the success of the project completion in the short term and for the operation of the building in the long term to ensure sufficient light disbursement and reduction of solar heat gain. The glass make up had to protect the interiors from the harsh sunlight while also ensuring that the sun’s movement did not leave parts of the building in darkness. The idea was to ensure uniform dispersion of sunlight so as to reduce the occurrence of shadows and contrasts within the space. 

Scope of WorkProcess and deliver double-glazed triangle-shaped units with a dotted frit ceramic design with 50% coverage providing shading to the internal areas. The mall's skylight required 6,000 individual units in multiple configurations with a total area of ….m2Build Up39.52 mm ecoTHERM (IGU) consisting of ecoSHIELD (T) 10 mm COOL-LITE SKN 144, 16 mm spacer, ecoSHIELD (T) 6 mm clear (Guardian), 1.52 mm clear PVB (Trosifol), ecoSHIELD (T) 6 mm clear (Guardian), U-insert (Silicon Dow Corning – 3362)Triangle Glass – 29.52 mm ecoTHERM (IGU + LAMI) consisting of ecoSHIELD (T) 6 mm COOL-LITE SKN 144, 12 mm spacer, ecoSHIELD (T) 5 mm clear, 1.52 mm clear PVB (Trosifol), ecoSHIELD (T) 5 mm clear, U-insert (Silicon Dow Corning – C-3362)Project DetailsThe Lulu Group, known predominantly for its hypermarkets spread across Dubai, decided to create a mall in the heart of the Silicon Oasis Smart City. Silicon Central was designed with sustainability at the forefront, populated by plants, water and natural light.Given Dubai’s harsh summers, we had to ensure the skylight allowed light to pass while filtering heat and minimising glare to ensure shoppers had a comfortable experience. Only 50% of the skylight is transparent, while the rest is opaque. We achieved the shading effect by using dotted ceramic frit in the panels. The main atrium skylight comprised triangle-shaped panels, which complicated the processing due to sharp corners. To ensure the delivery of all 6,000 panels seamlessly, we set up a multi-glass management system to easily track and handle the different glass sizes and codes.The skylight was installed successfully, and Silicon Central has become an integral part of the sustainable Silicon Oasis neighbourhood.

Central to the new UC Davis Medical Center Surgery and Emergency Services Pavilion's design was a large skylight that allows natural light to vertically flow into the atrium area and other light wells throughout the building. However, they also wanted to let light flow horizontally into the adjacent hallways, rooms, etc. Because the walls in the atrium and light wells have to meet a 2-hour rating, Stantec Architects approached SAFTI FIRST® for a solution. Large portions of the 2 hour atrium and light well walls were made “transparent” with the use of SuperLite® II-XL 120 in GPX® Framing.