Let the light in, keep the heat out

New screens on slim window profiles in the heart of Ghent

An apartment on the Kouter, in the heart of Ghent, Belgium, offers a beautiful view thanks to its large windows. This view should be as undisturbed as possible, even on sunny days. But what if, at the same time, you want to keep the heat out? That was the challenge for Kristof Torck, director of the family business of the same name, who as Renson Premium Ambassador came up with the Fixscreen Minimal as a solution.

For screens and exterior solutions, Torck - which also installs doors and gates - has been working closely with Renson since 2008. "Our relationship goes beyond that of a customer to a supplier. Indeed, strategy and the need for improvement on both sides are also discussed in detail. We maintain open communication and are on the same wavelength," says Kristof Torck. 

"Being a Premium Ambassador for Renson requires several years of experience with Renson products and going through different stages. It is also a vote of confidence: Renson relies on our good performance in sales, installation and subsequent after-sales service. Or, in other words, Renson gives us plenty of support to represent its products on the market in a quality way, including in
our showroom."

Halt to overheating

On a project in Ghent, Torck was able to use his expertise to the fullest with Renson's sun blinds. "The residents of this apartment were looking for a solution that would largely keep out heat waves like those of some recent summers. Having had good experiences with solar shading in their previous apartment, they wanted such a solution again. After all, it can make a big difference to the room temperature on hot days, because cloth sunshades block the sun along the outside, even before it can reach the glass."

Maximum retention of outward vision

However, Torck discovered on site that several obstacles hindered the installation of traditional cloth awnings or screens. "Of course, the residents wanted to keep the view to the outside in the best possible way. This is perfectly possible thanks to the transparency of the awning fabric, but for this reason the side guides and the fabric box were also not allowed to protrude in front of the window profiles." 

Since this was a relatively new building with large window areas and slim profiles, this was not obvious until then. "We saw at first glance that ordinary 35 mm side guides would not fit. On the outside of the window, the profile was already not very visible, so these guides would protrude outside the window profile and thus limit the field of vision, and so we suggested Renson's Fixscreen Minimal to the occupants."

Advantages for slim window profiles

The residents were immediately convinced. "Thanks to the narrow side guides, this turned out to be the ideal solution without interfering with the large windows with slim profiles," says Kristof Torck. The Fixscreen Minimal has side guides of 20 mm that are not visible from the inside. "Even the fabric box in this case was not visible from the inside. This was another plus for the customer."

Moreover, the installation could be done in several stages. Kristof Torck recalls how amazingly simple everything was: "First we assembled the fabric box and the guides, then the fabric shaft and finally the bottom rail. Very practical, because this allows our fitters to keep the weight to a minimum during assembly." 

The right color

It was an additional challenge to find the right color for the screens so that they matched the special champagne color of the window profiles as closely as possible. "We went to great lengths to find the right match. In the end, in consultation with the customer, we chose a RAL color that was very similar. From a distance, you can't tell the color difference."

Kristof Torck considers the project a success. "After the installation, some housemates came to look at the screens. They were curious about the result because they were struggling with the same problem of indoor overheating. And look: in the meantime, we even received word that this type of 'minimalist' cloth awning in that specific color would henceforth be included in the apartment block's house rules. Anyone wishing to install blinds there must choose to do so so as not to detract from the uniform look of the building. We take this as a great compliment to our work."