Barwon Health North

Verosol roller blinds the perfect match for state-of-the-art healthcare hub

Built to serve Geelong’s growing northern suburbs, Barwon Health North is a state-of-the-art medical hub that provides a range of services including a walk-in urgent care centre, medical imaging facilities, child and family services, renal dialysis, pathology, and specialty clinics.

Opened in early 2020 and designed by multidisciplinary Australian practice BLP, the facility was conceived as a space in which a new model of care – one that emphasises community and personal autonomy, as well as patient security – could flourish.

Located alongside the local library, a community hall and the Waterworld Leisure Centre, the now complete Barwon Health North is welcoming, friendly, and safe. The architects have successfully avoided things like physical barriers and long service queues – features that are all too readily associated with medical centres, and inevitably turn them into places to avoid.

Verosol Window Coverings

Double height glazing from the waiting area opens to the exterior public space, welcoming all with open arms, while bursts of colour maximise natural light and views to the streetscape.

To regulate the light – and ensure that patients and staff don’t get too much of a good thing – the architects fixed upon the idea of incorporating high quality window coverings into their design. To do so, they sought assistance from Verosol, a supplier with which they already had a strong relationship.

Specifically, they chose Verosol Ambience Twin Roller Blinds, in both manual and motorised models. Suitable for both commercial and residential applications, this versatile system incorporates two separate roller blinds together within a single bracket. As such, it is suitable for use at all times of the day or night.

For the Barwon Health North project, a blind made from a semi-transparent screen fabric (Verosol 231 Veroscreen G3) is positioned close to the glazing with a block out blind (of Verosol 712 Trezzini) as the front layer.

Contributing to Sustainability

Verosol Ambience Twin Roller Blinds also help ensure that Barwon Health North meets its regulatory requirements in terms of energy efficiency.

This is important because as much as 30 per cent of heating energy is lost through windows and 76 per cent of sunlight that falls on standard double pane windows enters buildings to become heat. For this reason, all non-residential commercial buildings in Australia must adhere to energy efficiency requirements as set out in the National Construction Code (NCC 2019). In calculating thermal efficiency, these regulations include walling and windows (including window coverings) together as part of the total façade.

This means that effective window coverings have a significant role in improving thermal efficiency and ensuring commercial buildings meet their regulatory requirements.

And this is exactly what Verosol Ambience Twin Roller Blinds achieve at Barwon Health North. They cut glare, minimise thermal heat gain, ensure the privacy for patients and staff, and maintain views to the outside world. And they do all of this while also cutting energy costs, minimising waste, and ensuring the facility is ready to play its part in our sustainable, low carbon future.

Project Details

LOCATION: North Geelong, Melbourne Australia

ARCHITECT: Billard Leece Partnership / Builder: Kane Constructions

WINDOW COVERINGS: Manual and Motorised Twin Roller Blinds by Verosol

• Featured Fabrics: 231 Veroscreen and 712 Trezzini Blockout
• Sector: Health

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