Hampton Township, Pennsylvania

One of the newest additions to the UPMC family of hospitals,  the Hampton Ambulatory Care Center had over 175 windows requiring blinds, including a three story atrium that posed it’s own series of logistical issues. Most of the hospital was outfitted with manual roller shades, but the atrium and Austin’s Playroom, a child patient play area, were equipped with motorized shades. Nearly all of the shades in the building were in excess of six feet wide, with many of them being over nine.

The atrium required a lot of special planning. It has a series of irregularly spaced mullions throughout the windows, and it was necessary for aesthetic reasons to space the shades in such a way to make sure the breaks were over the mullions. Because there is no easy access  to any of the second or third story atrium shades, battery powered motors were right out, and we went with the Somfy 40RTS for it’s durability and the fact it could handle the massive shades that averaged nine feet by twelve feet. In order to hang the shades, we actually had to have a telescoping man lift come in that could both raise us up to the needed height as well as extend over support struts to get us where the blinds needed hung. It was not your average roller shade job.

However, the extra work was worth it. Now they have a three story atrium with three walls of windows with roller shades that open and close in sync at the touch of a button.