ORIGIN
Hearing the call for silence
Our story began with a phone call from an architect. It was 2013. He needed to protect a property in Marylebone High Street from extreme noise… and he’d heard about the quality of our timber windows.
At that point, we were not noise reduction experts. And – in terms of residential properties – neither, it seemed, was anyone else! Noise pollution was not talked about as it is today.
Realising the value of turning the noisiest spaces into the very quietest places, we saw a sizeable gap in the property market… and the scope to transform our clients’ homes… and with it, their lives.
PIONEERS
Following in nobody’s footsteps
“Reduce the noise by 50 decibels? With a window? It can’t be done!.” So said one acoustic lab technician. But do it we did. It’s just one breakthrough of many that we’ve made over the last ten years.
Around the world, in different industries, there had been pioneering work before to reduce noise and create new levels of tranquility… but never within residential homes.
As our wisdom has deepened, we’ve evolved every imaginable aspect of our offering. We saw it wasn’t enough to have the very best timber and glass… or the latest noise analysis equipment. We saw we also had to rethink every aspect of our process – from design to installation.
Together, the changes we’ve made add up to a series of marginal gains that set our acoustic windows and doors well and truly apart.
ENGINEERS
Not sales people. Just acoustic experts
The first meeting homeowners have with our team typically comes as a pleasant surprise. Why? Because they’re engineers, not sales people… there to take the ‘noise signature’ of your home, using the very latest acoustic equipment.
‘But acoustic experts? Really?’
Yes, really. Thanks to extensive R&D investment, and in-depth training, courtesy of Solent University and the Institute of Acoustics.
Early in our journey, we arranged for a CPD training specifically for us. It means that the latest acoustic wisdom runs right through our process and our entire team: from our surveyors and designers to our installers.
It’s why we’re able to create unique, award-winning windows that are completely bespoke… individually designed for you and your environment.
TRANSFORMING LIVES
Creating tranquility that transforms
We’re proud of the fact that nobody is able to reduce the decibels more dramatically or reliably than us.
But we’re prouder still of the impact our solutions have had on people’s environments and lives. It is no exaggeration to say it is transformative. Countless customers have said as much.
“These windows are life changing.”
Time and again, expectations are exceeded. Sleepless nights become a thing of the past. Homes become havens. Hotel guests are delighted. Stress is removed. Tranquility is restored.
In an industry that once seemed ‘change-proof’, we are changing perceptions, lives and possibilities.
ARCHITECT’S CHOICE
Why Architects love us
On projects across the UK, we’ve enabled architects to deliver a rare promise – ‘noiseless nights’ – in a multitude of urban settings.
By collaborating with these architects at the conceptual stage of a project, we can ensure they have a solution that works harmoniously with their design.
We know we’re sitting on the ultimate remedy of its kind… for mitigating the impacts of noise pollution, and delivering the benefits of tranquility.
Such wisdom, we’ve realised, is far too precious to keep to ourselves. That’s why, in 2021, we made it freely available to architects with our RIBA-approved training.
So it’s no wonder that architects love us.
By equipping them to solve one of their most pressing challenges, it means fewer sleepless nights – not just for their clients – but for them too.
HOTELIER’S CHOICE
Taking a five-star approach to noise reduction
Just as ‘silence is golden’ for those who sell sleep… so noise can be extremely bad for business.
So it was proving for a particular hotel in the Radisson chain.
With Tottenham Court Road’s traffic thundering past, the noise-related complaints from guests on the first floor were only getting louder.
So, having heard about our award-winning windows, Radisson got in touch… and we got to work: creating their very first ‘quiet room’. Such was the impact that soon we were being invited to replace all 145 windows across the hotel’s first floor.
And the verdict? In the words of Steve Holmes, the hotel’s chief engineer.
“The difference was unbelievable. Absolutely amazing!”
This remarkable case study has prompted countless follow-up projects, not only from Radisson, but from other hoteliers across the UK. And no wonder. Complaints went completely out of the window.
AWARDS/ACCREDITATIONS
Winning awards and recognition
When you win – or are shortlisted for – two separate awards in a single night, it gives you food for thought. Especially when this happens more than once. On multiple occasions, Hugo Carter have picked up awards for our Silent Windows.
In 2022 alone, as well as being recognised as “The Manufacturing /Reprocessing Business of the Year” at the West London Business Awards 2022… we were shortlisted for two separate awards at the prestigious annual 2022 Building Innovation Awards.
Awards apart, we’re equally proud of the various accreditations we’ve been given by different respected bodies – including RIBA. To prospective clients, these serve as further evidence of our commitment to the very highest standards of service and performance.
SUSTAINABILITY
Why and how we’re taking a stand
Today there is an area of our lives where sustainability is more crucial than ever before. And that’s the construction of the buildings in which we live. Heavily reliant on natural resources, the construction industry has no choice but to sit up and take notice of sustainability.
We are wholly committed to sustainable design; it’s embedded in every aspect of our business – from how we source products to the footprint we leave behind us. That’s why we are following the Kyoto protocol and why, for every new project we take on, we plant a tree.
We’re also crossing borders in more ways than one. In Scotland we’re setting new standards for thermal efficiency. And further afield, we’re not just meeting certain stringent ‘green’ standards – such as Passive House – we’re going beyond them.
THE TEAM
The unsung heroes behind Silent Windows
We know that our success owes so much to the quality of the individuals who make up our team…. and to the fact that we never, ever outsource.
So when you choose Silent Windows, that’s exactly who you get. No-one else. And that creates a different level of accountability, control and quality of service.
Continuity counts. Many of our team have been with us since the very beginning. We believe this goes a long way to explaining why so many clients come back to us. (Sometimes asking for team members by name.)
Having such exceptional individuals behind us powerfully affects our confidence in what lies ahead. That’s why it’s only right we sing their praises.
RIGHT CHOICE
A decision you only want to make once
In our experience, investing in noise reduction windows is not something you want to be doing more than once.
So how do you know you’re making the right decision?
Yes, we could point you to our testimonials… to various case studies… or to our multiple awards and accreditations.
But here’s the thing. We don’t want to persuade you of anything. We just want you to make an informed choice. To know the pros and cons of your options. And to then do what’s best for you and your property. Be it a home or a hotel.
After all, you don’t want to find yourself counting the cost of cutting corners.
To be certain that you make an informed decision, know exactly what to ask your supplier. That way, you can make sure your only surprises are good ones.
Ready to shrink the decibels?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a homeowner, wrestling with how to turn your home into a more peaceful haven… a hotelier, wanting to put an end to all the business that you’re losing from guests suffering noisy nights…
Or an architect, curious to learn more about our free CPD trainings or what we can bring to one of your projects. We firmly believe we can go further than anyone else to shrink the decibels and to restore the tranquility you seek. Here are our reasons why.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Jacob and the Silent Windows team