Safety in the skyline: FIEGER louvre windows at Unite Students Coventry
At Unite Students Coventry, a high-rise student accommodation scheme in the heart of the city, the façade does more than define the building’s vertical expression. It also supports an essential ventilation and smoke control strategy, helping the building respond safely and efficiently during both everyday use and emergency conditions. Located on Friars Road in Coventry, the 614-bed student accommodation was commissioned by Unite Students, designed by Day Architectural Ltd, and constructed by RG Group, with Air Design Systems Ltd acting as ventilation contractor. The project, also known as Friars Road or Trinity View, sits within the Friarsgate Masterplan and occupies a challenging triangular site in the city centre. Day Architectural describes the scheme as six connected blocks of different heights, ranging from three to twenty storeys, creating high-rise student living close to Coventry’s urban and academic life. For a building of this height and density, ventilation and smoke control had to be integrated carefully into the façade – technically robust, visually coordinated, and ready to perform when needed.
Visit a reference projectSolution
Natural ventilation , Smoke Ventilation
Location
Coventry, Great Britain
Sector
Residential
Project Type
New build
Student living in the city centre
The Friars Road development was created to provide purpose-built student accommodation in a central Coventry location. Its scale and position make it a prominent part of the cityscape, while the stepped massing helps organise the building across its compact urban site.
The façade plays an important role in that expression. Its mix of light-toned panels and vertical glazed elements gives the building a clean, contemporary appearance, while the louvre vents are integrated as part of the overall elevation rather than appearing as separate technical additions.
In student accommodation, shared circulation areas are especially important. Residents move through stairs, corridors, and common routes throughout the day and night. These spaces need to feel safe, clear, and functional – and in the event of a fire, they must support an effective smoke control strategy.
The need: smoke control with summer ventilation
To meet the combined requirements of Approved Document B and Approved Document K, Air Design Systems Ltd selected FIEGER louvre windows for the project. The solution needed to provide the required geometric free area for smoke control, while also remaining suitable for integration into the building envelope. The primary function of the installed vents is emergency smoke control. In the event of a fire, the openings can support the extraction of smoke and heat, helping to protect escape routes and maintain safer conditions in key areas of the building. However, the vents also have a second role. They can be used for general ventilation during summer, allowing the same façade-integrated openings to support everyday air movement when conditions are suitable. That dual-purpose functionality is a key strength of the project. Rather than treating smoke control and comfort ventilation as entirely separate systems, the design uses one carefully coordinated opening type to support both safety and seasonal ventilation.
FIEGER FLW 32 SmoTec: compact, tested, and façade-ready
The project uses the FIEGER FLW 32 SmoTec system for ventilation and smoke control. In total, 10 FIEGER SmoTec vents were installed. Each vent comprises five louvre blades, providing the 1.5 m² geometric free area required by the Building Regulations.
The vents were supplied in Basalt Grey, RAL 7012, allowing them to sit neatly within the façade design. The units were manufactured with low-E coated double-glazed elements, consisting of toughened outer glass, an argon-filled cavity, and laminated inner glass. Factory-fitted glazing adapters were also supplied, colour-matched to the vent frame for a more integrated finish.
This level of coordination matters in a high-rise residential building. The ventilation openings need to be immediately functional, but they also need to respect the architectural rhythm of the façade. At Unite Students Coventry, the FIEGER FLW 32 SmoTec vents form a practical part of the elevation without disrupting its overall visual character.
Motorised operation for reliable response
The FIEGER vents were supplied with motorised actuators, wired to the control system installed by Air Design Systems Ltd. For everyday operation, this enables the vents to be opened for summer ventilation when appropriate. In emergency conditions, motorised operation allows the louvre windows to respond as part of the building’s smoke control strategy, opening to support smoke and heat extraction. This is particularly important in tall student accommodation, where safety systems must be reliable, coordinated, and simple to operate. The façade openings are not passive features waiting to be manually adjusted. They are active building elements, ready to respond when the ventilation strategy requires them.
Performance built into the building envelope
The FLW 32 SmoTec vents installed at Unite Students Coventry were tested in accordance with EN 12101-2 for natural smoke ventilators. The system has also been successfully barrier-load tested to BS 6180:2011, supporting its use in a multi-storey environment where guarding and occupant safety are key considerations. Alongside smoke control performance, the vents also contribute to the quality of the building envelope. The installation achieved an overall U-value of 2.10 W/m²K. Combined with an air leakage rating of Class 4 under EN 12207, the louvre vents provide an energy-efficient element within the façade. That combination of tested safety performance, thermal performance, and low air leakage is central to the value of the solution. The vents are designed not only to open in an emergency, but to perform as part of the building envelope throughout the year.
Fresh air and safer student living
Unite Students Coventry shows how louvre window technology can support the practical demands of modern high-rise student accommodation. The FIEGER FLW 32 SmoTec vents provide smoke control functionality, summer ventilation potential, tested barrier-load performance, and coordinated façade integration in one compact system.
For residents, the benefits are mostly experienced quietly: shared routes that are supported by a reliable smoke control strategy, a façade that allows for controlled ventilation when needed, and a building envelope designed to balance safety, energy efficiency, and architectural expression.
For the project team, the installation demonstrates how technical requirements can be resolved without visual compromise. Smoke control does not need to be hidden awkwardly or added as an afterthought. With the right louvre window system, it can become part of the façade from the beginning.
At Unite Students Coventry, that approach gives the building a practical kind of intelligence: a high-rise home for students where the façade is ready to breathe – for comfort in summer, and for safety when it matters most.