Gilberts ventilates new Lake District museum
Controlled ventilation for the £16 million+ new Windermere Jetty, Museum of Boats & Stories is provided by ventilation louvres made by Gilberts Blackpool. The museum was designed by Carmody Groarke as part of a RIBA international design competition for Lakeland Arts.
The new museum will replace existing facilities and will rehouse what is deemed to be the most important collection of watercraft in one location anywhere in the world. The design breaks down a large museum into a cluster of buildings — including a boathouse, conservation workshop and learning centre that reflects the site’s industrial heritage.
The project includes 28 high-performance flanged ventilation louvres, each fitted with a volume control damper, into the external facade of an SFS substructure with a copper profile rain-skin screen. The Gilberts louvres were chosen by project consultants Arup for their ability to integrate into the external soffit zones of the facade and provide efficient airflow and ventilation of the main exhibition spaces throughout the cantilevered building range.
The ventilation damper was designed to provide smooth, accurate and stable airflow. The damper has a U-value of 0.96 W/m2/K with air leakage of less than 5 m3/h/m2.