ohn Lewis is one of the most recognisable names in retail, with large stores populating High Streets ups and down the country. After a period of closure because of the pandemic, The Window Film Company were engaged to apply high performance safety and security window film to the Welwyn Garden City location.
Safety and security window film is retro fitted to glazing that has already been installed, providing an added layer of protection while also making sure that if glass does break, it does so in a safe way.
Requirement
Like so many of their instantly recognisable stores, The Welwyn Garden City premises benefits from an almost exclusively glass frontage. `in a busy, town centre location with consistently high levels of passing pedestrians, glass is always, unfortunately, at risk of accidental or malicious damage and in the event of either of these instances, specialist window film will serve to hold the glass together instead of allowing it to break into dangerous, sharp shards.
A clear safety window film was required for an internal application to all of the glazing, totalling over 300 square metres.
Solution
The film selected for the project was 175 Micron safety window film. The film is clear in appearance, a vital consideration for the John Lewis shopfront - an unobstructed view inside was of paramount importance. Once in place, the film is virtually undetectable to the naked eye and has no special cleaning or maintenance requirements.
Once in place the film will provide an extra layer of protection, the 175 micron thickness of the film serving to help protect the glass against breakage - although this isn’t the primary function of the film. The main purpose of the film is to hold the glass together in the event of breakage, holding the large panes in place in the frame instead of allowing them to form shards and fall in on themselves. By keeping the broken glass in place, it ensures that the broken window presents a greatly reduced threat of injury or danger.
Result
With the film in place, there was no discernible aesthetic change to the glass; to passers by and those inside the store, the glass continued to have the appearance of standard, untreated glazing. However, the film was effective immediately, adding an extra layer of both security and safety throughout.
Project Summary
* Application of safety and security film for John Lewis.
* 175 Micron clear film.
* Applied to over 300 square metres of glass.
* Invisible, yet highly effective.
* Elongation at break: 140%
* Break tensile (psi): 25,000
* UV reduction: 99%
