SHY (UK), the pioneers of the Zip Screen blind, are often asked to help out by providing light-excluding blinds for all sorts of applications and two recent projects show the versatility of this clever system

Architects love glass. Glass allows natural light to bring the space alive but this light and the heat it brings with it, needs to be controlled, and every so often you come across an interesting challenge.

Such as the one faced by David Brown and All Window Blinds from Dublin when they were asked to provide dim-out blinds for the 5 star Europe Hotel in Kilkenny.

This contemporary hotel situated on the shores of Loch Lein has a thriving conference centre, and whilst the full height windows provided stunning views over the Loch and to the hills beyond, they needed a modern and effective dim-out solution. All Window Blinds enlisted the services of SHY (UK) to produce motorised roller blinds to shade some 300m² of glass.

The blinds were all fitted with a blackout fabric and controlled by wireless switching, all of which is perhaps fairly unremarkable. However, on this job it was the individual blind sizes which were more unusual. The smallest blinds were a mere 6m², but most were in double figures and the largest ones measured 6.4 x 4.4m, giving a total square area of 28m².

Making blinds of this size is definitely more of a science than an art. Cutting and joining cloths has to be done with absolute precision and this is where SHY’s computerised 8m cutting table is put to good use, ensuring everything will run accurately when on site. For large blind sizes the hardware just has to be bigger and more robust and of course the installation needs an extra degree of precision as well as strong fixings.

At this hotel the blinds were concealed within a soffit above the glazing with a timber cover in line with the head of the window. The Zip channels were equally inconspicuous as they were recessed in the timber reveals to the widows – a solution that meant the blinds literally disappeared when fully retracted.

“Most blinds we make are for standard window sizes but we are increasingly providing our dealers with larger blinds. We were delighted to help David Brown and All Window Blinds on this job and admire the skill of their installation team in getting everything perfect first time.” explained Martin Dibben, managing director of SHY (UK).

Far from Academic at SOAC
From the tranquillity of Southern Ireland to the hustle and bustle of London and another job which required a proven and robust solution. The world-renowned School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAC) called on the expert services of Flamingo Blinds from Potters Bar to provide a dim out solution to seminar rooms.

Large glazing, opening windows and students is not usually an ideal environment for dim-out blinds but SHY Zip Screen’s innovative zip system ensures that the cloth always remains in the channels. As the blinds in these rooms were quite large a gearbox operation was specified by Flamingo Blinds and they, and the blinds, passed with honours.

“Both of these installations used fairly large blinds but we can actually manufacture freehanging blinds up to 70m² in screen or blackout so the largest ones used on these sites were less than half our maximum. However, the ability to make a dim-out blind which can withstand the rigours of daily use is more important to our dealers and their clients and this is something SHY (UK) has achieved with our Zip Screen blinds for over ten years across the UK, Eire and even further afield” concluded Martin.

• SHY (UK)