Kawneer meets acoustic and aesthetic criteria

University of East London's urgent need for student accommodation is being eased by a unique dry jointed curtain walling system by Kawneer that has met challenging acoustic and aesthetic criteria.

The University of East London's urgent need for student accommodation at its Docklands campus is being eased by close to £1million worth of a unique dry jointed curtain walling system by Kawneer that has met challenging acoustic and aesthetic criteria.

Kawneer's new AA100 curtain walling is being installed by approved installer Leay for main contractor HBG Construction alongside AA601 casement windows and low-threshold AA605 swing doors that are designed to provide improved access for all users.

Fraser Brown MacKenna Architects have designed the accommodation in five seven-storey blocks connected by a three-storey spine of self-contained studios to give as many of the 1,000 student rooms as possible views of the dock rather than the light railway.

Kawneer's curtain walling is being used around brise soleil on the north and south-facing kitchen elements of the first to fifth storeys.

The south-facing kitchens also feature staggered mullions.

Acoustic glazing was specially designed to achieve 34 decibels and a channel allowed in the concrete base to minimise drilling on site.

Leay's design manager Jim Matthews said: "Installation is going well but at the design stage it was certainly one of the most challenging education projects we have worked on".

"" Louise Newman, director of Fraser Brown MacKenna Architects added: "The Kawneer AA100 system was able to accommodate the demanding acoustic performance required for the curtain walling to this site opposite London City Airport while maintaining the elegant slim frame profiles that we were looking for, for such a prominent dockside location".

The accommodation was required to meet a 40% increase in enrolled students to a record 18,000 over the past three years, leading the university to allocate the last vacant waterfront site at its Docklands campus as digs.

It responds in design to existing buildings on the campus, including Cullinan's iconic drum buildings, which have become a central feature of UEL's dynamic image.

The £33million project, which overlooks London City Airport and had to consider radar and safety requirements in relation to it, is due for completion next spring.

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