FlexiGlide sliding shutter Costa Coffee, Bristol University Campus

Coffee in a porcelain Costa cup on a brown table
Bristol University have opened a Costa Coffee. Securing the coffee shop out of hours required a FlexiGlide sliding shutter.

The University of Bristol were opening a Costa Coffee concession at their Bower Ashton Campus and needed to secure the Coffee Shop out of hours. However, traditional roller shutters would not work for the coffee shop setup.

Initially it was unclear how to how best secure the Coffee Shop, as it was based in a very open area, while the high ceiling and limited support structure did not lend themselves well to traditional roller shutters.

Importance of the right support structure

FlexiGlide sliding shutters are made from aluminium, which makes them relatively lightweight, compared to roller shutters. Still, the structure that a sliding shutter hangs from has to be able to support the weight of the shutter along its entire length (also see FlexiGlide design and build guidelines).

diagram showing a typical timber support structure for a FlexiGlide top-track and shutter curtain
The curtain of a sliding shutter hangs from an extruded aluminium track, which normally fixes onto the ceiling structure.

Typically, the shutter track screws onto the ceiling structure and can be either recessed or left visible. The shutter curtain then hangs from this top-track through a system of hangers and rollers. This allows the shutter to slide horizontally along the track. When it reaches the end of the track, it concertinas up.

Supporting the track and shutter at Bristol University

The designers realised that, with a few adjustments to the area, our Flexiglide sliding shutter system would work perfectly. There was timber slat system to the ceiling area, meaning we could not take the shutter to the ceiling. The answer was to fit Unistrut through the timber slates down to the height of the shutter's top-track, where we then hung the sliding shutter from this support.

detail of the support system for the sliding shutter at Bristol University, showing the shutter's top-track hanging from supports, connected to unistrut channel fixed to the timber slats on the ceiling
Unistrut channel was fitted through the timber slates on the ceiling, and connected to our sliding shutter top-track with metal rods.

The result

The resulting security shutter and support system all in black, create a clear open space when the Coffee Shop is open, and a classy secure area with the shutter closed.

Installation photos of FlexiGlide Vision Glass sliding, folding security shutter for Costa Coffe at Bristol University

The photos below show the shutter just after it was installed. The pictures show how the shutter support hangs down from the slatted ceiling. You can tap each photo for a larger version.

A black FlexiGlide sliding shutter installed at Bristol university Detail of a corner of a sliding shutter Sideview of a black FlexiGlide Vision Glass sliding shutter closing off a cafeteria. Sideview of a Vision Glass FlexiGlide shutter, looking into the ba servery area of the Costa Coffee shop at the Bower Ashton city campus

More information

if you'd like to know more about this sliding shutter project, or if you have your own project that you'd like our input on, feel free to connect with us. We have many years of experience supplying and installing sliding security shutters, and we'd welcome the opportunity to discuss your requirements with you.

We can work from design drawings, or measurements you supply. It's also possible to meet on site with one of our specialists and talk through the details of the sliding shutter or shutters you have in mind.

Coffee from a coffee machine running into a cup

Location of the sliding shutter at Costa Coffee Bristol University

If you're in the Bristol area, and you'd like to see the shutter we installed at Costa Coffee there. It's at the Bower Ashton city campus and you'll find its location on the map below.

Alternatively, visit our showroom in Exeter to view samples of the sliding shutters we supply and install.

Photo credits

Photos of Vision Glass sliding shutters © HVP Security Shutters Ltd. All other photos public domain or similar royalty free licenses.

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