Switzerland-based hardware specialist Hawa has enhanced its existing line of products to provide an alternative to the popular rounded cover caps, so that the system can fit in with any architectural setting.
The sliding hardware designers at Hawa have given an extra sales appeal to the Hawa-Junior GP, an all-glass sliding system, and its quality companion product, the Hawa –Toplock, with the addition of contemporary rectangular cover caps.
“Our Hawa-Junior GP hardware system with point suspension for all-glass sliding doors and the Hawa-Toplock, have both proved extremely popular since their market launch,” says head of marketing services Rolf Arnold.
With aesthetics becoming an increasingly important aspect of interior design in addition to top-quality engineering, Hawa is taking a closer look at the way its products are styled. One result is that contemporary rectangular cover caps are now available for both the sliding hardware and the lock.
Hawa’s new systems offer crystal-clear, uninterrupted transparency from floor to ceiling with both classic round and avant-garde rectangular cover caps; and are available in a choice of finishes, to give planners extra creative freedom for elegant, aesthetic solutions and problem-free integration of installations with any given setting, he says.
Hawa-Junior GP is an all-glass sliding door system for glasses from a thickness of 8 to 12.7 mm and is available in versions for doors weighing up to 40, 80 and 120 kg respectively. It allows transparent all-glass room designs without elaborate concealment covers, even with stationary glazing. Hawa is developing a heavy-duty version for sliding elements weighing up to 160 kg, for availability shortly, he says.
“High-quality Hawa engineering has made it possible to have glass systems with concealed securing systems,” Arnold says.
All glass-securing components hide away under the plastic cover caps, with the round version producing a rather classical overall effect. With five different surface finishes (dull and polished chrome, polished brass, stainless steel effect or plain for custom painting), they fit in with virtually any colour scheme.
Those who prefer clear, straight lines, or who wish to follow the trend towards cool stainless steel and chrome surfaces will choose the rather avant-garde, rectangular cover caps, which are available in dull chrome, stainless steel effect, or plain for custom painting, he says.
“Complementing the cover caps in particularly elegant and contemporary style is the Hawa -Toplock. This innovative lock for glass doors, complete with plastic cover caps, blends perfectly in colour and style with the all-glass sliding door hardware,” says Arnold. “Suitable for use with 22 mm round cylinders and 17 mm profile cylinders, it can be fitted to right- and left-hand doors alike.
He continues: 'Ease of assembly is built into Hawa products, so joiners and window makers can look forward to completely trouble-free installations using Hawa-Junior GP and the high-quality Hawa-Toplock. The sliding door system is, in fact, a further development of the best-selling Hawa-Junior, so fitters will already be familiar with the components arriving on-site. Anyone who has already worked with Hawa -Junior will not need to modify customary practice.
“All hardware parts that secure to the glass have a screw fitting. Suspension bolts are readily accessible and adjustable. And the lock fits into the glass cutout with similar ease.”
The new cover caps further widen the choices for Hawa-Junior GP and Hawa-Toplock. The hardware system is a universal, adaptable, complete solution for situations that call for elegance with top quality, he says.
The company says it has invested heavily in manufacturing capacity from its earliest days to ensure that Hawa hardware performs regularly, faultlessly and unobtrusively for years on end.
Its systems have been used around the world right from the Sydney Opera House in Australia to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, UAE.
Among the interesting projects to which it is supplying is the 180-m futuristic structure being built to house the offices of the Swiss Re reinsurance organisation, which will rise above London’s financial district like a giant glass fir cone. Sliding glass hardware, custom-built by the Swiss company contributes aesthetic functionality to this architectural marvel with its double-skinned glass facade. For the hardware specialists at Hawa, the building marks a debut opportunity to prove their development and production expertise in the trend-setting area of multifunctional facades.
Designed by British architectural practice Foster and Partners, the building is due for completion this year.
