AN ARRAY of advanced aluminium building solutions unveiled by Technal at a leading European trade show for construction and architecture innovations late last year are lined up for launch in the Gulf by the end of 2014.

The Bahrain-based Technal Middle East (TME), part of the France-based international architectural aluminium systems supplier Technal, is set to introduce many of these innovations that drew considerable attention at Batimat 2013, held from November 4 to 8 in Paris, France, according to Hesham Kameshki, marketing and business development manager of TME.

According to Kameshki, a group of 50 delegates – representing TME’s key clients and specifiers in the Gulf – which was invited to visit Batimat evinced keen interest in the products that were showcased at Technal’s purpose-built stand featuring a challenging concept – Motorisation for Comfort – based on automation at affordable costs.

“This was the fourth year that we invited delegates from the region to attend Batimat in Paris, and I am glad to say that it is been a successful experience appreciated by all our guests, and we intend to repeat the same for the next event that will be held in 2015,” he comments.

Among the new products that created a stir at the show were the Air Active Door, which won the Batimat 2013 Innovation Silver award, and the Sun Active Color fixed frame, which changes colour in tune with outdoor temperatures. TME stresses that such concepts put Technal at the forefront of all architectural aluminium systems providers in the market place and give its product a competitive edge in the industry, which in turn will boost Technal’s market share and, subsequently, TME’s sales.

Air Active Door

Air Active Door is a swing door based on Technal’s Soléal range of casement door systems. Designed primarily for office buildings featuring vast areas with heavy foot traffic, the solution keeps traffic fluid whilst optimising ease of opening. It features a system that ensures water-tightness through the use of a compressible gasket, which provides for excellent, lasting performance whilst being easy to open, Kameshki explains.

Elaborating on how the system works, he says: “The active gasket is a peripheral tubular unit located on the opening frame along with the traditional brush gaskets. A simple mechanical system retracts the gasket when the leaf is opened, enabling effortless manoeuvrability and comfortable use. When the door is closed, the gasket returns to its expanded form, minimising leakage.”

The Air Active Door, which retains the minimalist aesthetic appeal of the Soléal range, provides greater tolerance in installation and maintenance, and no longer requires the installer to use a door threshold.

The product is suitable for applications such as entrance doors to all residential, office, institutional and public buildings, where higher levels of air- and water-tightness are needed.

Sun Active Color

Sun Active Color fixed frame is said to combine aesthetic originality with efficient energy control.

“It is based on using sections powder coated with dark thermochromic paint and dynamic solar control glazing that change in appearance according to outside temperatures,” Kameshki says, adding the sections retain their colour up to an adjustable threshold (between 0 and 60 deg C), determined prior to manufacturing.

“Once this threshold is reached, the thermochromic paint becomes transparent, revealing the colour of the underlying, lighter layer. This variation makes it possible to change the heat absorption coefficient. For example, with a black colour the coefficient is 0.9, whereas with white it is reduced to 0.3,” he says.

A cross-section of the Air Active Door.

In winter, the joinery has a dark colour but the glazing is completely transparent, thus maximising solar gain inside the building. The light transmission factor (LT) is 55 per cent and the solar factor is close to 0.35 (for fixed frame application, based on electro-chromic SageGlass glazing from Saint Gobain).

In summer, the opposite occurs. The sections become light-coloured and the glazing darkens, protecting the building from heat. Light transmission drops to one per cent and the solar factor drops to 0.05. As a comparison, for a standard fixed frame, the solar factor is 0.568 for traditional double glazing and 0.245 for double glazing with solar control.

The use of thermochromic paint also constitutes a solution to the problem of thermal bending, which can occur in sections with thermal breaks.

“This is a pure technological concept that can be a suitable solution for use on most of Technal applications in all sustainable buildings, residential, commercial, public and private, where energy savings is a criterion. The cycle for commercialising such technology will take a bit of time, beyond 2014,” adds Kameshki.

Accessibility & Ventilation

In addition to performance, aesthetics and functionality, Technal also accords priority to ease of use especially by the physically challenged. In view of this, the aluminium systems specialist is offering new motorised solutions aimed at improving the daily lives of building occupants.

These include:

• The Luméal Move Slider and Soléal Move Slider, which optimise the ease with which doors can be opened and closed and improve accessibility with a built-in disabled access threshold. Luméal is a concealed-opening slider offering minimalist frame lines; and

• The Soléal Move Window-Assisted Opening, an innovative casement window with assisted locking/unlocking for effortless use.

Another serious concern that Technal has aimed to address with its Safetyline Move Louvres and Soléal Move is the lack of ventilation in glass-clad buildings.

Visitors at Technal’s Batimat stand in Paris.

Safetyline Move Louvres includes an exclusive rotating drive mechanism for improved opening, while Soléal Move is a turn-and-tilt joinery, which combines a traditional side-hung open-in with a motorised bottom-hung opening. Bottom-hung applications optimise natural aeration in rooms during both day and night, he adds.

These systems are suitable for windows and sliding patio-doors in all residential and private home buildings which require enhanced levels of comfort and convenience.

“Technal architectural aluminium systems are renowned for their quality, innovative French design, durability and technical performance. All over the world, Technal’s aluminium systems give architectural projects intelligence and performance, right from the design stage and are increasingly specified and utilised in landmarks across the Middle East,” concludes Kameshki.

Technal offers a wide range of technically-advanced proprietary and bespoke products for all types of architectural aluminium façades, skylights, sunshades, windows, doors, office partitions, balustrades and blast- and bullet-proof applications.

TME, as the regional services provider for Technal, has been serving the Middle East markets for more than 34 years.