Brett Martin adds light to Heathrow's T2A
Above: Brett Martin Trilite GRP rooflights on Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2A.
For a terminal expected to accommodate 20 million passengers a year, a light and appealing interior environment was essential which led to the specification of rooflights from the UK and Ireland’s leading rooflight manufacturer, Brett Martin.
Designed by Luis Vidal + Architects and built by HETCo (Ferrovial Agroman Laing O’Rourke JV) for client Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited, the terminal’s geometrically complex wave form roof was designed and installed by building envelope specialist Lakesmere Group Limited. The specification for the Kalzip aluminium roof included Brett Martin GRP Trilite rooflights to add light into this stunning passenger terminal and reduce the need for natural lighting.
The iconic wave form roof features 10 raised ‘eyebrow’ sections and includes almost 1,500 metres of Brett Martin Trilite rooflights on the downslopes of the most westerly wave sections which cover the West Passenger Forecourt. Each rooflight measures 24 metres long, with six installed in each of the first nine sections whilst the tenth section has eight Trilite rooflights, all of which were assembled on site. The design also included a handrail and walkway system around the rooflights to allow for maintenance and cleaning.
“These rooflights were easy to install in what was a very complex roof design,” commented Pete Chandler, Design Director at Lakesmere. “The Brett Martin Trilite rooflight proved ideal over the passenger concourse, as it offered the optimum daylight solution and is designed to be integral to the Kalzip roofing system.”
GRP allows a more even spread of daylight, illuminating the terminal while eliminating the risk of hot spots and solar glare which could disturb the public. Comprising a liner panel and outer weather sheet, along with an option to include an intermediate sheet to form a triple skin, the built up profiled rooflight is ideal for pitched or gently sloping roofs such as the wave form shaped roof at Terminal 2A.
For this landmark airport application, Lakesmere installed Brett Martin site assembled in plane rooflights which were built up using a Trilite GRP sheet 2.4kg/m2 outer and Trilite 3.0kg/m2 liner with Hardpak rigid fillers to prevent crushing of the rooflight when fixed and to ensure fast, reliable weatherproofing.
With over 1,000 profiles available and seven sheet thicknesses to choose from, Trilite GRP rooflight sheet is used extensively in a wide range of applications in the industrial, commercial, horticultural, agricultural and DIY sectors. Offering high strength and durability, these BBA certified rooflights are specified to satisfy project fire rating and to be Class B non-fragile to ACR[M]001.
Rooflights offer an attractive solution to daylighting requirements whilst also providing the required insulation values which allow buildings to meet their energy saving targets and reduce their running costs.
With Heathrow’s stunning new terminal open for the millions of passengers who will pass through its doors every year, the use of in-plane GRP rooflights from Brett Martin have played their part in the roofing design and demonstrated that natural light can play a huge part in improving the atmosphere of the largest of buildings.
Established in 1958, Brett Martin is a privately owned family business which has become one of Northern Ireland’s most successful independent manufacturing companies. With headquarters located on its founding site in Co. Antrim, the company has grown in scale to employ over 800 people at several locations throughout the UK and Europe.
