VELUX Group opened its first North American skylight demonstration center in Mountain View, California, adding a U.S. facility where homeowners and building professionals can test skylights, ventilation systems and related home controls. The center at 312 Castro St. includes interactive exhibits, designed living spaces, educational displays and project consultations, Velux announced.
Visitors can move through rooms that demonstrate the effects of daylight and natural ventilation on sleep, indoor air quality and mood. They can operate working skylights, integrated shades and smart-home controls and examine how daylighting can be incorporated into different home designs.
The center also provides complimentary consultations with Velux design specialists for renovation and new-construction projects. The consultations cover skylight placement, product selection and installation considerations.
The Mountain View facility will house the company’s third Pro Partner Academy in the United States, where contractors can receive business and hands-on installation training at no cost. Building professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area can also request onsite training for their teams through the company’s mobile training vans.
OEO Studio of Copenhagen, Denmark, was the conceptual designer for the center. DERN Architecture + Development served as architect, while Hillhouse Construction Company managed construction.
Velux has operated in the U.S. for more than 50 years and manufactures skylights at plants in Greenwood, South Carolina, and Wells, Maine. Its products are sold nationwide through home centers, building-material suppliers, lumber yards and independent door, window and roofing retailers.