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Replacing six 100m long rooflights during ongoing business operations

The roof of the 1969 industrial building was getting on in years. The construction was no longer completely waterproof, and the design did not meet the energy or fire protection technical requirements for a modern workplace. A renovation was needed, and this was carried out by the architects at BKW Energie AG.

To preserve the original features of GF Wavin AG, a company making piping systems for gas and water supply, it was decided the roof's original structure should be retained.

However, it was necessary to consider that the new insulated windows with laminated safety glass and thermally insulated cover would weigh many times more than the original fibre-cement cover and simple glazing.

The industrial plant continued to work throughout the six months of roof renovation from October 2019 to March 2020. To protect the employees and the sensitive production robots, a safety net was installed which made it possible to continue working inside the building while work was being done on the roof. Every old window that was removed had to be replaced the same day by a new module.

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Products used in project

11 x Northlight 90°

Northlight 25-90°

A rooflight series for sloped, shed or saw tooth roofs.

Illustration of Northlight solution Read more

Quantity of modules: 586

453 x Northlights 90°, fixed, 1000 x 1800.
50 x Northlights 90°, electrically opening, 1000 x 1800.
4 x Northlights 90°, fixed, 750 x 1800.
12 x Northlights 90°, fixed, 800 x 1800.
5 x Northlights 90°, fixed, 900 x 1800.
54 x Northlights 90°, fixed, 1000 x 2000.
6 x Northlights 90°, electrically opening, 1000 x 2000.
1 x Northlights 90°, fixed, 800 x 2000.
1 x Northlights 90°, fixed, 900 x 2000.

Special glazing: Combined sun protection and thermal insulation glass (Combi Neutral 61/32) with argon gas filling, laminated safety glass.

Northlight 25-90°

A rooflight series for sloped, shed or saw tooth roofs.

Illustration of Northlight solution Read more

Barbara Liechti

Head of Construction Management – Architecture & Infrastructure at BKW Energie AG

The windows we removed had to be filled in again in the evening with the new VELUX modules, to ensure they were waterproof and there was no risk to production with the robots in the halls. That was a major challenge!

Barbara Liechti

Head of Construction Management – Architecture & Infrastructure at BKW Energie AG

The work had to be done with open roof without affecting production. A great team came up with an outstanding solution.

‘Open heart’ roof renovation

To overcome this special challenge, BKW Energie AG chose the fully prefabricated VELUX Modular Skylight system. Six Northlights around 100m long were replaced on two work halls and ten adjoining offices. The contractor, Zaugg AG, installed a total of 586 modules, including flashings.

To cause minimal disruption, the existing IPE beams were used for the substructure and new window modules were placed on these. The roof panelling now consisted of steel elements insulated on the interior with mineral wool.

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