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New Product Focus
Open Spaces
Commonly used in commercial, institutional and office settings, the MOVEO
operable partition system from Modernfold, part of Dorma North America,
has versatile features that make it ideal for residential applications,
as well. The system combines transparency and sound separation in contemporary
room design, and is fast, easy and flexible in use. It can be used to
create elegant, light-flooded space division solutions, enabling several
separate events to be held concurrently.
MOVEO’s features make it a highly flexible selection in many installations.
In a typical office environment, for example, anyone can expand or reduce
work space on demand to meet changing needs. The individual panels used
to assemble MOVEO are lightweight, and tools are not needed for their
operation; the system operates easily with ComforTronic electronically
controlled top and bottom seals.
Optional built-in blinds maximize privacy or visibility in adjoining spaces
created with the panels. These help maximize privacy or visibility in
both adjoining rooms, according to users’ preferences. The wall is rated
at 50 STC for sound transmission, so noise from one area is minimized
in the adjoining space.
www.dorma-usa.com
Optical Options
Looking for a new way to bring life and light to architecture? The French
company Fred & Fred has created PICT®, designed to help architects
and designers do just that. PICT, which “illuminates and animates,” is
ideal for use in a variety of interior applications. It is a patented
module system of partitions made of optical glass that incorporate 16
lenses and a frosted glass screen. The 227-mm x 227-mm x 90-mm units transmit
both light and images while preserving privacy.
Passing through the lenses the light projects inverted images on the frosted
glass screen.
PICT has been used by architects worldwide and was the 2011 winner of
the Red Dot Award in Germany and the 2010 winner of the Innovation in
the Heart of Europe award.
www.fred-fred.com
Thinking Thermal
Ensinger’s Insulbar® thermal technology can allow building owners,
managers and planners to lower building operating costs by reducing energy
loss without sacrificing any structural or design requirements.
“When used as a thermal break in commercial aluminum, or other metal,
fenestration building components, Insulbar can dramatically increase the
insulating and condensation resistance factor performance values, without
sacrificing specified structural requirements,” says Bruce Tichenor, general
manager for Ensinger. “An example, the typical thermal performance for
operating (hung/slider) commercial windows has a U-value range of about
.45 to .55. For the same window, Insulbar thermal profiles can more than
double the thermal performance, equaling less than .2.”
Tichenor says the impact of such a product has benefitted European markets
for decades.
“Architects [in North America] can now match their aesthetic design creativity
for building envelopes with a cutting-edge thermal performance specification
that will improve the building’s ROI, increase occupant comfort and has
been proven in thousands of global projects,” he says.
Tichenor points out there has been some debate between proponents of commercial
buildings’ daylighting benefits versus wall insulation benefits, where
architects are caught between designing buildings with more natural light
versus more thermally efficient walls, i.e., less light.
“By specifying Insulbar, the architect can mitigate the ‘more wall’ argument
because of offsetting increases in fenestration thermal performance,”
he adds.
The profiles can also be custom designed to meet project specifications.
www.ensinger-ind.com
Architects' Guide to Glass & Metal
© 2011 Copyright Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.
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