Working together, Foster + Partners Industrial Design and Velux devised a visually simple, affordable, and sustainable modular skylight for use in a wide range of building types. The highly flexible solution can be used to create a single roof light, a long light well or even covers an entire atrium.
The skylights in the range are designed to fulfil different requirements in terms of size, placement and functionality. In keeping with the refined aesthetic of many of the studio's projects, the design has minimal detailing and can be discreetly operated by concealed motors. They incorporate several controls to adjust or limit a room's ventilation, the amount of daylight, as well as the solar heat effect. Optional screening can also be specified to limit glare and to help prevent solar heating. Automated vent modules promote efficient natural stack effect ventilation to flush exhaust air out while drawing in fresh air.
The system is designed to be more environmentally sustainable than conventional skylights, achieving a high level of thermal performance through the use of pultruded fibreglass. Though of similar strength, the pultruded frame has a thermal conductivity 700 times lower than aluminium, as well as lower embodied energy. Combined with double or triple glazed units and the option of a very low pitch, the skylight provides one of the lowest U values on the market – from 1.5 to only 1.0 kWh/m2 for the complete framed assembly. The modular fixing system reduces the installation time by eliminating the need for on-site glazing and the assembly of silicon joints.
