Case Study - Coulored Decorative Window Films Colour Made all the Difference for a School - Woodlands School, Plymouth, England

Case Study Coulored Decorative Window Films
Colour Made all the Difference for a School - Woodlands School, Plymouth, England

The Woodlands School in Plymouth, England, U.K., provides a supportive and inclusive environment for its around 70 pupils. The school offers a specialist education for chil-dren with physical and sensory difficulties between the ages of 2 and 18. The modern state-of-the-art buildings play an important role in achieving the school’s mission to encourage self-confidence and develop someone’s full potential.



The school buildings are defined by airy hallways and rooms flooded by lots of natural light. The headmaster was looking for a solution to help visually impaired pupils with their orientation. The aim was to enhance the surroundings giving an ambience that would aid the education process. The extensive overhead lights and large window areas caused discomfort through excessive glare and indoor temperature rises caused by so-lar heat gain.

SOLUTION
To improve the situation the school decided to apply different coloured film to the windows and overhead lights. Internal access was difficult for installation, hence an ex-ternal application had to be chosen. This would leave the coloured film exposed to the elements and degrading UV rays.

To solve this, specialised exterior window film was added as a top layer. With an edge sealant, the focus of this exterior film was two-fold: firstly, it sealed in the coloured film beneath; and secondly, it provided the solar control properties for keeping the building cool during sunny days.

RESULTS

The colour-coated windows were a big success, offering a cost-effective solution with the ability to reduce glare by over 70% and reduce room temperatures for thermal comfort. The headteacher of the school, Andrea Hemmens, explained that "the children and staff love the new colours and we have been treated to a sunny day where they have shown the film at its best. Several children simply sat in a particular colour puddle on the floor and refused to move! It has made our school complete. There are now clear visual zones for our visually impaired pupils and this has helped greatly."

The Woodlands School is a great example of the versatility of window film. It contri-buted significantly to the school’s success, changing people’s life for the better.
For a better understanding of how window film can help tackling a number of pro-blem situations, please visit www.ewfa.org

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