Glass for a Great Night’s Sleep

Pilkington noise-control glass has been revealed as the secret behind a good night’s sleep for customers of the new, award-winning, Sleeperz Hotel in the heart of Newcastle. And, while the noise-reduction performance helps ensure guests sleep easy in the 98-bedroom hotel, it also plays a key role in creating a stunning visual impact for the glass-fronted building.

Opened in January 2012, the hotel was built in a heritage conservation area on the site of a derelict former parcel works on Westgate Road. The creative yet practical use of Pilkington Optiphon™ glass was a key factor in the project being recognised for its architectural excellence at the Royal Institute of British Architects Hadrian Awards.

The unusual nature of the site meant an innovative solution was needed to ensure that the 15m2 rooms felt light, airy and spacious. Being located next to a busy railway line, a major main road and some of Newcastle’s most popular nightlife spots meant the glazing solution also needed to provide excellent sound insulation. Large windows, incorporating Pilkington Optiphon™ insulated glazing units (IGUs), provided the perfect answer to both of these challenges.

Pilkington Optiphon™ is a high quality acoustic laminated glass that offers excellent noise reduction without compromising on light transmittance or safety and security properties. Any desired acoustic performance can be achieved by combining various thicknesses of glass with a special polyvinylbutyral (PVB) interlayer.

In the Sleeperz case, sound engineers had specified a noise reduction target[1] to ensure ambient noise levels inside the building were comfortable for all guests and staff. At such a high level of sound insulation, a person speaking loudly on the other side of the window could only be heard faintly. At the same time, the glazing needed to help the Sleeperz Hotel to be as energy efficient as possible, with a target U-value of 1.1.

In order to achieve these targets, the architects used IGUs comprising a 12.8mm pane of Pilkington Optiphon™ Therm S3 and an 8.8mm pane of Pilkington Optiphon™, with a 16mm argon gas-filled cavity in between them.

The IGUs were fitted into a bespoke Universal Aluminium Systems curtain walling framework by installers Visual Concept Limited. This was designed specifically for the glazing thickness required.

Looking back, railway hotels have always been a byword for stunning architecture. From London’s Great Eastern and Midland Grand to the Royal York, Great Victoria in Bradford and Edinburgh’s Caledonian, iconic railway hotels have dominated the landscape around them. Now, a new generation of railway hotels is helping to define the character of Britain’s cities, and Sleeperz Newcastle is at the forefront of this change.

With glass solutions from the NSG Group enabling quiet hotels to be built next to even the busiest roads and railways, there’s no doubt that we’ll see more stunning solutions like the Sleeperz Hotel Newcastle in coming years.