Bringing the outdoors in

From opening roofs to outdoor blinds and automated disappearing louvres, bringing the outdoors in has a new meaning with the introduction of advancing technology. Living spaces that encapsulate the outdoors or which open up to it as desired is something many architects and designers set out to achieve in some form when designing residential homes. And it’s a concept that’s often sought after when people consider the benefits of renovating older homes too.

Blurring the line between indoor and outdoor living and creating these versatile spaces that can either be an interior or exterior room is something that’s now easily achievable. We spoke to Louvretec’s Rebecca King about what’s possible.

“This year will see the release of a retracting range of sun louvres that we see as the way forward for this technology,” King says. “These are louvres that when down, look like a shutter however they also have the ability to retract away when not needed so people can fully enjoy their view. The beauty is that if desired, they can easily retract down again for privacy or shielding from the elements.”

To complement the retracting sun louvre range, Louvretec are also about to release a ‘Finishing Touches’ range, which will offer clients the ability to add lighting, heating and louvre operation to a smartphone app, which will, in essence, create a fully automated ‘smart’ outdoor room.

Louvretec’s range of sun louvres are aluminium and include either a rectangular-shaped or an airfoil-shaped option in sizes ranging in width from the 70mm mini louvre right through to 600mm wide maxi louvre.

Various options are available for finishing, with louvres able to be powder coated, anodised or have a Eurocote wood grain finish. “The wood grain finish is proving to be super popular. This type of finish is achieved by using a heat bonded wood grain that looks and feels like wood but is durable and low maintenance. Eurocote is available in six different wood grain finishes from a pale timber such as light cedar to reddish, dark brown and Black Riverwood,” King says.

Because of their materiality, Louvretec’s sun louvres are more durable than the traditional wood shutter and aren’t prone to warping, shrinking or splitting. Wooden frames also absorb light while aluminium sun louvres reflect it and bounce it around creating a light, airy feel.

Sun louvres aren’t just being used for standard residential projects either. They’re being specified for various applications including sliding and bi-folding shutters, plantation-style hinged shutters and louvres in a stand-off frame providing sun and privacy protection in front of windows, hinged doors, and chimney surrounds as well as for pedestrian and privacy gates, and motorised privacy panels as well as in various commercial settings creating a functional contemporary look for a home or commercial building.

But as we all know, what’s cutting edge today won’t necessarily be tomorrow, and as such, Louvretec’s range is constantly evolving to develop new solutions and advanced technology. “The release of our retractable range of sun louvres is Louvretec’s answer to innovation. Research, development and engineering play a huge part of who we are and why we are market leaders. We are currently investing in the development and engineering of our retractable sun louvre range,” King says.

“We work closely with architects and engineers. Architects are the creatives that come up with the most amazing design ideas, for instance the demand for a rectangular louvre range came from them. Once we have a product in mind we then work with engineers before we make it part of our product range.”

If you’re interested in the innovative options available for creating versatile indoor/outdoor areas, or the numerous other practical uses for louvres and automated technology, visit Louvretec for some inspiration on ArchiPro here.