WITH unusual and complex facades continuing to gain popularity and the trend towards highly-glazed facades becoming ever more prevalent in modern architecture in the Middle East, there is a clear need for façade solutions that utilise the highest standards of design, engineering and technical expertise, says Brett Martin Daylight Systems.

The leading rooflight manufacturer aims to provide a solution with a lightweight architectural glazing system that can be used to create internal or external facades, roofs, cladding and partitioning. The simplicity of its Marlon Clickfix 1040 panel glazing system ensures the most stunning architectural innovation is now just a click away, says a spokesman for the UK-based company.

Developed by Brett Martin’s in-house product development team, the Clickfix 1040’s tongue-and-groove connections simply interlock to form glazed areas of unlimited size and shape. Quick and easy to install, it perfectly complements Brett Martin’s leading range of rooflight solutions for commercial and industrial building projects.

“Clickfix is an extension of our well-established Marlon ST structured sheet range, so it started with a solid foundation of technical and production expertise,” says Chris Czyzyk, product manager at Brett Martin.

Clickfix is a complete architectural glazing system comprising lightweight 40-mm 10-wall polycarbonate panels. With thermally broken aluminium profiles, fixing clips and rubber gaskets, Clickfix’s installation is quick and efficient with no need for vertical profiles, reducing both material costs and installation time. It can also be used for roofs, as cladding or partitioning, internally or externally.

Available in a wide range of tints and colours, Clickfix provides high quality natural light, superior thermal insulation and ultraviolet (UV) protection. It is also lightweight and easy to handle, in addition to the impact resistance, resilience and structural strength that is inherent in all of Brett Martin’s high-performance polycarbonate systems, he says.

Put to work ... the Clickfix 1040 at the Emirates hangar in Dubai.

“It is an ideal addition to the rooflight market as it performs better than its competitors for value, performance and quality. We’ve have already had great success with Marlon Clickfix in the UAE and supplied 10,000 sq m to create a stunning vertical façade at Emirates airline’s new aircraft hangar at Dubai International Airport,” says Czyzyk.

Designed by ADPi and built by contractor J & P, the 25,000-sq-m maintenance hangar will accommodate four Emirates airline’s Airbus A380s – the world’s largest passenger airliner. To provide maximum natural daylight and create a safe and healthy internal working environment, Brett Martin was appointed to create a vertical glazing element for installation around the entire building perimeter.

Slated to be installed within approximately 10 weeks, the Clickfix façade met the client’s aesthetic demands whilst also delivering the required standards for strength, impact resistance, fire rating and thermal insulation. Brett Martin also provided full installation support for the project – including drawings, written installation guides and engineers attending site to ensure all goes smoothly.

“The steel framework had to be split into two 200-m lengths to accommodate the thermal movement in the building,” says Michael Johnston, system designer and engineer at Brett Martin.

“The Clickfix façade also had to allow for up to 90-mm vertical deflection, with the secondary steelwork adjusted to provide distributed support and reduced deflections.

“Designed with this type of application in mind, the impact resistance and toughness of the Clickfix polycarbonate system are ideally suited to provide a robust glazing material where such large movements must be accommodated.”

To minimise the visual impact of the project’s sheet end closures, Brett Martin specially engineered bespoke transparent corner detailing which encompassed 2-mm polycarbonate moulded profiles. The company also supplied Marlon Clickfix 1040 for installation to the lower 2.5 m of the hangar’s 95-m-wide hangar doors.

This prestigious project once again demonstrates that natural light can improve the atmosphere and internal aesthetic of the largest and most modern buildings, says Brett Martin, the only European company to manufacture all the main plastic rooflight materials – polycarbonate, GRP (glass reinforced plastic) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride).

“The benefits of natural daylight within any building are well understood and with more and more aircraft hangars featuring architecturally challenging rooflight applications, specifiers need to find the right products and assistance to meet these demands. This is why so many are turning to the expertise of Brett Martin, a company with the greatest range of products and options as well as a technical team who can help realise these aspirations,” says the company spokesman.

Brett Martin Daylight Systems is the UK and Ireland’s leading and largest rooflight manufacturer with more than 50 years of experience. It provides daylight solutions to a wide spectrum of building types, supplying well over 1 million sq m of rooflights every year.

Based at a manufacturing site in Coventry, Daylight Systems is a division of Brett Martin, a family-owned business employing more than 800 people, with a turnover in excess of £112 million ($183.36 million) per year.

Brett Martin is a multi-site manufacturing company specialising in the manufacture of plumbing and drainage systems, plastic rooflighting and glazing materials, architectural rooflight systems and semi-finished substrates for the sign and display industry.