Glazing contractor PGS Glass has partnered with passive fire protection specialist Promat UK to provide fire resistant screens and fire doors for a project involving the conversion of a disused listed building into a new travel centre for Trailfinders.

Sun tunnels, which are also referred to as sun pipes, sun tubes or light tubes, are increasingly being recognised for their sustainability benefits. This is primarily due to the way they enable plenty of natural light to be introduced into a building and reduce the need for artificial light generated by electricity.

Fire resistant glazing and fire-rated glass door-sets manufactured by Promat UK have been installed to provide assured passive fire protection whilst maintaining high levels of natural light in key communal areas within a major new build-to-rent (BTR) development in South Yorkshire.

Modern interiors are often characterised by clean sightlines, minimal clutter and plenty of natural light, so it is no surprise that interior glazing with a virtually frameless look has grown in popularity in recent years.

Advances in fire resistant glazing have enabled modern performance expectations to be applied to architecturally sensitive and listed buildings as a variety of Promat SYSTEMGLAS® projects demonstrate.

Promat SYSTEMGLAS® fire resistant glazing systems enable architects and developers to maximise natural light within buildings by using glass in separating floors and ceilings. Glass floors have become an increasingly attractive design option as glass composition and manufacturing has evolved over recent decades, ensuring that the demanding structural performance required for load-bearing applications can be accommodated in more types of projects. This provides the opportunity to use glass to allow light to flow between the floors of a building, or even from the street level above, making glass floors particularly appealing where daylighting is sought in basement levels, or in rooms where there is limited or zero potential for external windows.

The UK has some of the most popular museums in the world spanning a hugely diverse range of historical and cultural subjects. According to the latest statistics, the country’s most visited museum, the British Museum, attracts around 5.8 million annual visitors alone, and it is estimated that there were around 35 million visits in total to England’s top ten museums in 2023.

Promat UK has introduced a new privacy vision panel which can be incorporated into fire doors within healthcare and secure environments to balance functional and aesthetic objectives with assured fire safety. Promat Custodia is an E30 fire rated triple-glazed cassette featuring an interstitial ‘hit and miss’ blind which can be retrofitted as part of refurbishment projects or installed into new FD30 doors. The glazing cassette has been tested to provide integrity-only fire resistance for 30 minutes, making it suitable for the majority of fire doors within care and custodial environments.

Schools and nursery school environments present many design challenges given the need to create attractive spaces where children will feel engaged and comfortable whilst being safe and secure. And studies from around the world, conducted over many years, have demonstrated how important it is to get school design right due to the negative impact a poor quality environment can have on a child’s development and ability to learn.

Lifts have become an essential feature for multi-storey residential buildings over recent decades as the importance of maximising accessibility is increasingly prioritised in building design. In fact, ever since the publication of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995, which was subsequently replaced by the Equality Act 2010, there has been a much greater focus on installing passenger lifts within apartment blocks and flats.

Retail buildings take many forms from the smallest independent shop units, food and drink kiosks and trade counters to multi-storey shopping centres and car showrooms. Despite their variation in size and purpose, there is one overriding design goal that is likely to apply to all types of retail outlet. That is the creation of an attractive and appealing environment in which customers will feel comfortable and engaged, whilst also being confident that they will be safe in the event of a fire.

Homeowners and developers looking to create safe, stylish interiors where rooms are filled with natural light are increasingly recognising the value of fire resistant glazing, windows and doors. In the past 12 months, Promat, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of fire rated glazing systems and high performing fire glass products for doors and windows, has seen a noticeable increase in the number of enquiries it has received relating to domestic projects. From doors into attached garages and basements, to large butt-jointed glass screens such as for separating a kitchen from a stairway, fire glass is increasingly on the radar of home builders and renovators.

Two large internal glass screens which balance aesthetics with assured fire protection have been created using Promat SYSTEMGLAS® F1 within a new multi-million pound facility to support the day-to-day operations of a major UK airline.

Fire door manufacturers seeking to eliminate the risk of inappropriate or unproven materials inadvertently creeping into their supply chain can take advantage of a range of technically advanced materials and expert passive fire protection support under one roof from Promat UK.

With so much confusion and uncertainty prevailing about how to deliver assured fire protection, it is worth remembering that two factors matter more than most when making design and specification choices – product testing and traceability.

Ian Cowley, Regional Director at fire, thermal and acoustic specialist Promat UK, explains why scrutinising the origin of components and raw materials and how they are produced, combined with a thorough understanding of where any supply chain risks lie, is crucial to delivering assurance and peace of mind to fire door customers.

SYSTEMGLAS® Advenerat from Promat UK has proven to be the perfect solution to meet the brief of providing assured fire protection with uncompromising aesthetics for a renovation project at a luxury family home in Surrey.

A comprehensive project to refurbish an open plan, first floor kitchen and dining space within a luxury Victorian residential property in Notting Hill has utilised the Promat SYSTEMGLAS® Celare fire resistant glazing system to balance outstanding aesthetics with assured passive fire protection.

A project to create a high quality meeting room and classroom within the new Upper School of the prestigious École Jeannine Manuel School in London has been completed using the complete fire resistant, timber frame glazing system Promat SYSTEMGLAS® Ligna.

Fire resistant glazing specialist Promat UK has worked with Doorset Technology to help deliver a safe, calm and naturally-lit environment for a specialist healthcare facility developed for mothers who are facing mental health problems.

An innovative new residential property built on Passivhous principles in Devon, located on the site of a former walled garden within a classic Georgian country house estate, utilises Promat SYSTEMGLAS® Celare fire resistant glazing system from fire, thermal and acoustic solutions specialist Promat UK.

Fire resistant glazing plays a key role in creating buildings that give occupiers or users safe routes of escape in the event of an emergency, But as the spotlight falls on the fundamental question of how effective passive fire protection products actually are, it is vitally important that what we think we know is correct in terms of designing and installing fire resistant glazing.

Considering how many stages are involved in the design, manufacture and installation of fire resistant glazing, how confident can we be that the end result lives up to the original design intent?

Dame Judith Hackitt’s assertion that the building industry routinely puts cost before quality will come as no surprise to architects and contractors who often see their specifications being challenged, and ultimately changed, just to save a few pounds. Whilst this ‘value engineering’ can deliver what it promises for clients – better value from their investment – it has become synonymous with an industry obsessed seeking to do everything at the lowest possible cost.

Assured passive fire protection for a spectacular central atrium in Dublin city centre’s largest and most prestigious new commercial development has been provided by over 300m2 of Promat SYSTEMGLAS® Ferro.