SL 25 balcony glazing: Osdorf, Hamburg

Sustainable, cost-efficient residential renovations

COMPREHENSIVE BALCONY AND LOGGIA SYSTEMS FROM SOLARLUX

Many of the affordable rental properties built in the 20th century have seen better days – the plaster is crumbling and, even worst, energy costs keep on rising and rising. This presents huge challenges across the board, but especially for the housing associations who in charge of so many of Germany’s multi-storey residential facilities. With so much focus on sustainability, knocking these buildings down and erecting new ones in their place usually isn’t a viable option, as they contain a lot of grey energy.

A modernisation project in Hamburg demonstrates one cost-efficient way of implementing a full renovation with Solarlux balcony glazing that can benefit both the building’s residents and the environment.

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Tenant-friendly living space renovations as a hot-swap process

The exterior of the residential facility in Hamburg’s Osdorf district, which is owned by the bgfg (the Free Trade Unionists’ Building Cooperative), was renovated in 2014, before a full interior modernisation was carried out the following year. As part of the energy optimisation process for the facade, all the building’s pergolas were fitted with Solarlux balcony glazing to provide protection from the elements. The glazing provided a huge quality-of-life boost to residents, expanding as it did the amount of living space they could use even when the weather is less pleasant.

The property at Kroonhorst 118-122 is home to 56 apartments, with ground plans that offer between 30 and 81 m² of living area. The first year of modernisation measures saw the introduction of modern lifts and a more efficient heating system, as well as bathroom and kitchen renovations. The work took around three weeks per apartment to complete.

Fassade in HH-Olsdorf, Vorherbild und Modell

Showcase balconies help to gain tenant acceptance

The interior modernisations were preceded by an energy optimisation procedure performed on the facade. The dreary, grey facade, which dated back to 1967 and had long since seen better days, disappeared behind a modern curtain wall made of composite aluminium plates in white, anthracite and shades of green. The balconies, which were only about 70 cm deep, were encased in moving glass elements. The members of the bgfg cooperative on Kroonhorst viewed the latter modernisation feature with a good deal of scepticism at first, as Solarlux Project Sales specialist Lars Hammann recalls: “When we started out, the residents were concerned that our balcony elements would obstruct their view of the outside world. But their doubts were soon cast aside when they saw the accurate replica we had set up in a showcase apartment.”

Fassadengestaltung mit Balkonverglasung SL 25

Balconies – A versatile climate buffer zone in front of the building

The balcony glazing was implemented using the non-insulated SL Modular facade module, which was combined with the SL 25 slide-and-turn system to create a comprehensive balcony system. This system offers a number of advantages for both the tenants and the housing association.

Firstly, the uninterrupted glass surfaces of the elements provide unrestricted transparency, and the frameless sliding panels can be moved to the left or right or turned either inwards or outwards, according to preference. This gives the residents more usable living space all year round, as they can decide how open they want their balcony to be depending on the weather. At the same time, closing the balcony glazing creates a climate buffer zone outside the apartment that cuts down heating costs, protects the fabric of the building and reduces noise from the streets below.

Balkonverglasung SL 25 farblich abgestimmt auf die Fassade

A facade with a harmonious colour scheme

With its moss and pale green vinyl applications, the comprehensive balcony system fits in perfectly with the green, white and anthracite aluminium composite plates that define the colour scheme of the new facade cladding. The coloured films were applied to the 10 mm panes of toughened safety glass used for the balustrades.

Short construction times thanks to installation as a complete system

Another of the SL Modular facade’s benefits is its degree of pre-fabrication. All the structural elements, from the surrounding frame to the balustrade, are prefabricated as a system combination at Solarlux’s factory. They are then delivered as a complete unit and installed using a crane to save time and ensure an accurate fit. This is just one of the reasons why Norbert Prohl, who is in charge of the bgfg project, keeps coming back to Solarlux products for his residential facilities. “In addition to the rapid installation, we also love the amount of creative freedom Solarlux products give us, the high quality of their building components and the added value they provide our members in terms of living comfort,” Mr Prohl explains. He’s also satisfied with the service Solarlux provides: “When we work with Solarlux, the focus is always on the solution: all our contacts at the company are friendly and want to work with us to move our projects forward.”

Order today: The balcony glazing brochure

Would you like even more in-depth information on our individual systems and the technical details of our balcony glazing products? Order our comprehensive digital product brochure today and get inspired.