Chessington College glazed by Pilkington Planar

Chessington Community College, Surrey has enlisted the help of the Pilkington Planar structural glazing system in the rebuild of the college facilities.

The college, which caters for students aged 11-18, also caters for adult education in the evenings as well as being open for the community in the evenings and weekends.

It received GBP23 million of government funding to improve its capabilities and educational offering for the future.

The college was deemed as being the most suitable recipient of the grant as the existing facilities were not of a standard suitable to raise educational standards further and provide good quality provision for extended school use.

Pilkington Planar was specified primarily for its ability to create an impressive and welcoming entrance for the building, which was in line with the college's forward-thinking educational programme and inclusive approach to the local community.

The use of Pilkington Planar within the college demonstrates the need for a well designed and appealing glazed entrance facade to achieve surroundings that the college and its students can be proud of.

During the project, a technical problem arose with the installation of the sliding entrance doors.

They had to be incorporated without disrupting the Pilkington Planar system, which was achieved by the notching the supporting fins, used by the glazing system to provide support, at their base.

This allowed the doors to be installed and highlights the versatility of Pilkington Planar as the doors were incorporated seamlessly without compromising the glass facade.

Ray Spilman, Sales Manager of specialist sub contractor, Ide Contracting, said: "Pilkington Planar was the obvious choice for this development".

"We needed a glazing system that was easy to install and value for money, without compromising the build or design quality".

"Pilkington Planar allowed us to do just that, and its simple installation meant the school was disrupted as little as possible".

Pilkington Planar is the leading structural glazing system specified by architects and contractors who wish to create buildings using striking glass designs.

This approach provides the opportunity to utilise a wide array of support structures to create the designers preferred visual impact.

The use of specially designed Pilkington Planar bolt fittings and countersunk holes in the glass creates an engineered glass system which avoids the need for conventional frames and increases visual clarity.

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