AM Profiles’ Structural Silicone Glazing for ‘Amazing’ Dalry School

AM Profiles have recently supplied Kaye Hinchliffe System 65SG Structural Silicone Glazing for the new Primary School and Community Centre in the town of Dalry Ayrshire. Robert Noble, AM Profiles’ Technical Director commented ‘this project has been one of the most interesting ever – the building is so radical - we worked closely with Radbury, our client and the architects and now feel that the glass wall effect of the silicone glazing, within this novel building, looks amazing’.

Although AM Profiles is best known for its aluminium timber composite windows, doors and curtain wall the purchase of Kaye Hinchliffe a few years ago massively increased the range of aluminium systems AM can offer. The Structural Silicone Glazing solution included in the Kaye Hinchliffe range offered by AM Profiles was exactly what North Ayrshire required for the Dalry School as it has the aesthetics that the design team required and offered a cost saving against the European based system originally considered.

AM Profiles’ Silicone Glazing can be a very interesting architectural feature with the glass units appearing to stand on their own with only a thin silicone seal between each pane. No structural aluminium members are visible externally as the aluminium structure is behind the glass. AM Profiles can supply SG, and a range of other aluminium or composite products, either as a ‘bar length’ system or fully fabricated from its Derbyshire HQ.

The client had a school designed with even the fabric of the building aimed at firing young imaginations and the innovative design created by the Council’s Architectural Team certainly is eye catching and inspiring. The amazing conceptual idea, developed with funding from the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery fund, was to find and develop the children's own concepts for an ideal school. A series of all-day workshops were undertaken with children from a number of North Ayrshire primary schools. Led by arts professionals and with the design team in attendance, by using arts-based processes (drama, film and drawing) the group worked with the children to capture their model school environment. Dalry primary kids were even involved in their new school design - two days of drama activities exploring relationships to space and environment, led by Andrew Cowie (drama consultant) sparked ideas and then drawing and design development, led by Bruce McLean, Will McLean, and David Watts (NAC architect) subsequently took shape. The team also looked to Europe with particular assistance from the Danish Cultural Institute with information on Danish schools’ best design practice. The result is the new Dalry Primary School in North Ayrshire - this is the latest manifestation of the Primary Space project, to develop new concepts in school building design, which has been running for ten years.

From the start, the design of the school has been a collaborative work between artists Bruce McLean and Will McLean and North Ayrshire Council’s Educational and Technical Services departments. The outcome is a school like no other, embodying the concept of ‘Imbedded Intelligence’ throughout its construction.