Multiple panel façades provide myriad design options

The Hunter Douglas multiple panel façade system (MPF) presents architects and designers with an unequalled creative solution that offers myriad design options for any building.

Ideal for façades and exterior ceilings for buildings that are designed with a uniform architectural appearance or highly architectural effect, this versatile and robust solution for both low and high rise buildings is one of Hunter Douglas’s most specified systems.

Hunter Douglas has been developing ground-breaking ventilated façade systems for more than 40 years and is at the forefront of innovation, offering a huge range of shapes, joint options, materials, finishes and colours.

Developed to resist high wind loads, the MPF system incorporates cranked corners that are precisely integrated with the support systems. The joints can also be open or closed, offering another creative option for architects.

The panels can be laid horizontally, diagonally, or vertically for maximum effect and their concealed fixing system allows free thermal movement with an easy-to-install method.

Available in various widths, from 200mm to 600mm widths in 50mm increments and lengths up to 6m as standard, MPF is manufactured in a plank panel format in aluminium, zinc or copper, and can be delivered with flat or variable parabolic surfaces to suit a multitude of architectural designs.

Thanks to the different panel modules and the option to curve, crank or close panel ends, the Hunter Douglas MPF system can be applied to almost any new or existing superstructure in need of simple fixings.

The company combines several manufacturing processes to ensure the highest quality. We use roll-forming technology, which allows the molecular pre-coated metal to stay intact, thus resulting in an even stronger product.

Coil-coat technology, which coats flat metal strips in a continuous process before the metal is given its final shape, ensures optimum control over coating thickness and colour continuity.

Creating a striking exterior design has never been so exciting, with dozens of options materials and finishes, such as Hunter Douglas’s exclusive Luxacote® - an innovative product that improves the durability of exterior aluminium building applications, thanks to its powerful three-layer system that comprises an anorcoat pre-treatment, a colour coating, and a transparent topcoat.

The colour options are also wide ranging in the Luxacote® system, from subtle shades to bold, colourful palettes and metallic. There is also the choice of PVF2, which is resistant against weathering and strong solar radiation and is ideal for any modern look, dual tone, look-a-like finish or anodised aluminium.

Hunter Douglas’s customised façade helped to give the Tesco store in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a striking and distinctive look.

A unique feature of the scheme was the introduction of “shards” - flashes of random metal strips cutting through the façade. The Hunter Douglas design team worked closely Saunders Partnership Architects, ensuring that the MPF was manufactured to integrate the unusual shards.

In total, Hunter Douglas created 1,400m2 of MPF that included: 295m2 White RAL1013; 357m2 Brown RAL8024; 349m2 Orange RAL8023; 261m2 Beige RAL1019; and 135m2 Red RAL3002.