VISION Issue 48 | Page 21

21 How happy have you been with the use of Viridian’s SpectraPrism™ range. It’s just a wonderful glass panel and we’ve got the availability of multiple colours and from that we selected a very sophisticated, but inviting and energetic colour range. It worked in the colour glass panels with the timber warm hues that are in the tree houses and gallery type environment. So the rest of the play of the light through the windows and the coloured glass is really how the building connects to the outside. It’s that awareness of connection internally and externally with the natural light. “An understanding of daylight as a sculptural element is key to the serious business of playful design.” VISION It’s not just a building about looking out or in. It’s the magic that’s often difficult to design by numbers or computers. The really interesting thing about this learning environment is that it’s a space for all seasons of the day. From the early sunrise, the colour comes through, and at midday the glass panels change to something quite sharp, bright, more intense. As the sun goes down of an evening, all those warmer glass colours are revealed in another light. What about thermal control and glare for example? We worked very closely with Viridian throughout the design process in terms of the glazing colours and final efficiency. They knew our design intent. The thermal efficiency of the glazing and the double-glazing provided our acoustics and thermal controls while the SpectraPrism™ glazing contributed to the ambience. There were no issues or hesitations from Viridian in helping us achieve our design brief. It was challenging for them as the client challenged us with the design brief.