Drive-through success
Fenetek recently installed the glazed curtain walling shopfront for the new Starbucks in Stockton-on-Tees.
The project requirements included curtain walling glazed with high performance solar control glazing and a custom-designed ‘drive-through’ serving hatch incorporated into the build.
James Lagan, director at Fenetek, said: “The products are well designed, easy to fabricate and easy to install.”
In this case, Fenetek used Exlabesa’s KLW Curtain Wall system and the KSF Non Thermal Shop Front, both of which maximise the glazed area and offer design flexibility and cost efficiency.
“This project was a great opportunity to demonstrate our innovation abilities and we were delighted with the results,” James said.
When it came to installation, the combination of the scale of the curtain walling and the specification of the glass meant the glass units were too heavy to be installed safely by hand so the team used a glazing robot instead.
“We work on lots of projects where the glass units are too heavy to be safely installed by hand,” James said. “In these cases, we look to use the most suitable and efficient machines based on site layouts, which in this case was the glazing robot.”
Fenetek took the project from initial site survey to completion in less than four weeks including the Christmas break, and the project is the first drive-through Starbucks on Teesside.