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Solar-powered school

Solarcentury has supplied 482 80W solar photovoltaic modules to the south facade of the North Manchester sixth form college, which won the first prize at the RIBA/Learning and Skills Council Further Education Design Excellence award last month. Walker Simpson Architects also specified 178 165W PV modules for the school’s flat roof. The solar cladding is intended to minimise the building’s overall energy needs and cut overhead energy costs.

Solarcentury

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Robust lighting

ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø services Crofton Design Associates has specified lighting systems from manufacturer Ridi throughout the £2.3m primary teaching unit at the Chailey Heritage school in East Sussex, which caters for special needs children. Crofton chose the systems because of their robust and aesthetic qualities and their cost-effectiveness.

Ridi

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Acoustic ceiling panels

Acoustic specialist Soundsorba has launched a range of stick-on acoustic ceiling panels, which have been developed to meet the requirements of ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø Bulletin 93, which covers sound control in schools. Called Echosorba II, the panels comprise a fibreglass core that is designed to provide very high noise absorption. The panels are 30mm thick to help preserve headroom and are available in a standard white colour that can be subsequently painted. Echosorba II is suitable for applications such as classrooms, assembly halls, music practice rooms and workshops.

Soundsorba

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Steel roofing tile

Decra has brought out a lightweight steel roofing tile called Elegance that is aimed at refurbishment projects such as schools and hospitals. Elegance is available in three satin finishes – graphite, mocha and terracotta – and has a powder coating on the upper surface. Decra says the tile weighs 5.47kg per m², has a similar appearance to clay and can be used on minimal roof pitches as well as for vertical hanging.

Decra

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Fabricated cubicles

TBS Fabrications has launched a cubicle system called Dual which can be specified as toilets, changing or shower cubicles for education applications. The manufacturer says that Dual combines customised panels with twin aluminium columns and has a wide choice of finishes including solid, wood grain and aluminium effect. The Dual range also includes children’s cubicles called Dual Junior which can be maded with curved and reduced-height partitions and doors. TBS Fabrications says that Dual Junior can be combined with accessories such as benches, lockers and vanity units.

TBS Fabrications

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Colourful cladding

Rockpanel has introduced in the UK a cladding panel called Chameleon. Two versions are available, Durable for applications including roof edges, gutter panelling and dormer windows and Xtreme, which has been developed for high traffic areas where resistance to scratching is important. The product can be supplied with an anti-graffiti finish which is said to make graffiti, felt-tip pen and dirt easy to remove. Chameleon is also said to offer versatile colour effects because crystal fragments are added to the boarding material to create a metallic effect in sunlight. The product is available in a wide range of colours and in a standard size of 1200 × 3050mm.

Rockpanel

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Fire control system

Drax has launched a monitoring and control tool called Connect which integrates fire, intruder alarm, access control, CCTV, HVAC and lighting systems. The manufacturer says that Connect can be used to integrate standalone systems into a single system and can use existing building infrastructure networks. Connect is suitable for a wide range of applications in schools and hospitals.

Drax

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Greater fire protection

Cooper Lighting and Security has introduced a range of fire detectors called JSB Self-Check that set off a visual alert and send a signal to the main fire panel in the event of a fault. This provides a high level of protection, as a malfunction is flagged up rather than waiting to be discovered during maintenance. The maker says the detector constantly checks background smoke and heat to ensure that sensing elements are working properly. The JSB Self-Check range includes an optical detector, a combined photo and thermal detector and heat detectors.

Cooper Lighting and Security

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Solar shading for computer classrooms

Dales Fabrications has supplied brises-soleil to the £13m ICT unit of the Homewood school in Tenterden, Kent. Architect Lathams specified the products because of their high solar shading performance.

Dales Fabrications

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