Trent Park Stunning Glass Balustrades, Case Study

Colwick Country Park, Nottingham

Contractor: Clegg Construction

Nottingham's award-winning River Crescent sits on the banks of the River Trent and is immediately adjacent to 240 acres of woodland beauty in Colwick Country Park.

Complementing this impressive development of prestigious apartments are hundreds of metres of glass and aluminium balustrading supplied by Balconette.

External balconies have become an important and appealing feature of new homes, particularly for apartments where they allow residents convenient access to enjoy fresh air and surrounding views.

As an integral and aesthetic aspect of domestic architecture, their appearance also plays a key role in a property's visual appeal, helping to secure sales. Consequently, modern balcony styles now favour glazed systems, rather than railings or spindles, to retain clear panoramic views of surrounding scenery.

Using low-maintenance materials, such as glass and aluminium, also has the added advantage of requiring almost no regular and costly maintenance to keep the structure looking as good as new.

Innovation and development in balcony design has resulted in a beautiful, yet cost-effective system available on the British market that replicates the look of structural glazing for both curved and straight balustrading solutions. As the Balconette system relies on the handrail to provide the required strength, in many cases the glass balustrades require no vertical supports to provide an uninterrupted view.

This was the key reason why the system was requested and specified for Trent Park by the client, built to the east of Nottingham city centre. Balconette supplied the specialist balustrading solution for 146 luxury one to three-bedroomed apartments to take advantage of spectacular riverside views.

Designed and installed by Balconette’s sister company Viking Balcony Systems (VBS) the result delivered the client's vision for an aesthetically-driven balustrading solution that is as visually stunning as it is practical. VBS provided technical expertise at all stages of the project, from initial design concepts right through to overseeing installation of nearly 1,400 metres of straight and curved glass balconies.

Sweeping curved glass balconies follow the building's rounded lines on the larger apartments, allowing for unobstructed views across the landscaped grounds and enhancing light through the full height windows.

The system's versatility allowed for specialist adaptation to suit the fixings and edge installation. Waterproofing was also taken into account with the balcony installation interfacing with the cladding system.

The system is suitable for all types of applications, being compatible with timber, steel, stone, brick and concrete walls. As the toughened glass panels are held securely at the base and handrail, there are no clamps, clips or 'lugs' to spoil the clean lines.

According to a Clegg Construction spokesman, the two companies jointly developed the overall balcony design to achieve the desired bold design statement - and the clear glass balconies played a major part in that process.

"The main considerations were maximum glass and minimum uprights to keep the river views. Achieving smooth curves without the need for a faceted construction and the expanse of glass gives a 'Mediterranean' feel to the whole development, which works really well," he added.

In recent years, the Trent Park development has won a series of high-profile industry awards. Following accolades from the Daily Mail Awards for Best Architecture, Best Development and Best Apartment, River Crescent gained further national recognition by winning the Your New Home/Daily Telegraph Award for Best Waterside Development.

River Crescent was the first phase of the Nottingham Waterside Regeneration Plan aimed at developing the River Trent from Colwick Country Park to Trent Bridge.

This mixed use community has been carefully designed with the local environment in mind and the £50M River Crescent building also showcases the latest environmental and renewable energy initiatives.