SOLAR SHADING, PWF, IPSWICH
PWF 'Cherry Wood' at Cardinal Park
Project Overview:
Cardinal Park is the premier leisure destination for Ipswich, with restaurant chains, Cineworld and night clubs. In 2018 the site was revamped with outdoor seating areas and a new look featuring attractive solar shading along the length of the main parade of outlets. A brise soleil system was chosen, with angled blades to control the amount of sunlight impacting upon the building. In addition to its practical purpose the brise soleil system offers an attractive architectural feature.
Brise soleil is often constructed from wood but on a large multipurpose site such as this it becomes impractical, requiring weather-proofing and regular maintenance.
The Solution:
Powdertech Wood Finish (PWF™) replicates wood with variation in colour, grain density and grain pattern. Instead of depleting timber resources, highly abundant and 100% recyclable aluminium can be used and is a better material for forming the finely angled, lightweight aerofoil blades for solar shading. Powdertech (Corby) Ltd coated over 2,500 linear metres of aluminium solar shading panels in PWF022 Cherry Wood and they were delivered direct to site ready for installation.
Wood Finish enables designers to combine the look of wood with the strength and practicality of metal. At the same time, this high performance finish compliments the durability of metal and preserves its appearance for many years. The Ipswich Star (erroneously) printed on 21st December 2018 “New wood panelling has also been added to the main building and a Cardinal Park sign added to its frontage” – we see that as independent confirmation of the realistic appearance of PWF.
Benefits:
- The appearance of wood with the fabrication flexibility of metal .
- Excellent resistance to abrasion and corrosion
- Adapts to curved surfaces and can be cut and drilled for fabrication.
- Available in over 35 shades in smooth or textured finish.
- Low maintenance
- PWF was formulated by Powdertech in 2000. We have considerable experience in applying this finish and advising on shade solutions and colour matching.
NOTE: We recently commissioned PRA World Ltd to carry out independent tests on PWF™ to internationally recognised architectural metal finishing standards. The results confirmed the robustness of the product with excellent performance in all tests, including corrosion and abrasion and humidity resistance; colour and gloss stability and physical tests including bending, cupping, impact, sawing and many more. See the full results HERE
