Happy Birthday Evolve® Zero! Here’s Our Top 5 Evolve® Zero Highlights
A year of Evolve® Zero: the highlights
In June 2023, we launched our most revolutionary shading solution ever.
Evolve Zero is the UK’s only compromise-free wide roller blind solution: up to 5m wide on a 44mm tube with zero deflection.
Small pockets, limited space and sagging fabrics are no longer a problem thanks to Evolve Zero’s anti-gravity support system inside, made possible with Zoomtech™ technology.
Since then, this incredible roller blind technology has been specified and fitted in homes of all shapes and sizes; from ultra-modern ‘Grand Designs’ style homes to cosy annexes and traditional family homes.
Here’s our top 5 Evolve Zero highlights from the past year:
5: The best roller blind for bifold doors.
What seemed like moments after launching in June 2023, we had our very first order for Evolve Zero at a local property just 5 miles from our HQ.
This bifold door was already shaded with two Sirios blackout fabric roller blinds.
Installed in a neat 80mm powder coated cassette headbox, this Evolve Zero roller blind features white blackout fabric, delivering impressive light exclusion even without zipped edges and side channels like our famous KuroLok full blackout system.
The result is a beautifully concealed roller blind with no light gaps. This first installation filled our team with confidence and concreted its place as the ultimate blind for wide bifold doors.
4. Beautiful inside and out…
This installation shows just how much internal shading can benefit the external aesthetics as well as the interior design.
The Annex is a cosy retreat in the Brecon Beacons, featuring a large bifold door downstairs and a matching fixed pane window above. At 2.9m wide with a 2.1m drop, these large spans of glass were ideal for Evolve Zero.
Two blinds were specified with 5% ‘Linen’ screen fabric for optimal outward views, thermal performance and privacy all in one.
A powerful Somfy Sonesse 40 WF RTS motor was paired with a Somfy Situo multi-channel remote to allow for grouped or individual control of both blinds. With approximately 6 months of battery life, this battery powered motor made this retrofit solution as quick and easy to install as possible.
Simplicity is at the heart of Evolve, and this also applies to Evolve Zero.
3. Room for two…
We used to get this conundrum a lot: the customer wants both maximum blackout, but with the option of a screen fabric for days where you want privacy whilst allowing in natural daylight.
Tradiationally, on any window wider than 2.7m, a 65mm tube or bigger would be the only sutiable option. Without Zoomtech’s patented anti-gravity technology, the only way to counter deflection was to increase the tube size.
This increase in tube size often meant that blinds can’t fit in most specified ceiling recesses (more on this later) or traditional window reveals, both of which are usually 100mm or less.
This window was no exception. Traditionally, installing two roller blinds in this space next to eachother would be impossible, but thanks to Evolve Zero’s 44mm tube size, both blinds fitted perfectly with room for a smart Evolve Fascia blind in the front.
The result? A blackout blind at the back, a screen fabric blind in the front and both with perfectly flat fabrics with zero deflection.
Now the customer can choose between natural light or full blackout with privacy maintained at all times.
2. A grand design.
When our friends at Zoomtech introduced us to their groundbreaking anti-deflection technology, their presentation was populated with images from the sort of houses that feature on Channel 4’s Grand Designs; ultra modern, eco-friendly homes with floor-to-ceiling glass where there’d normally be brick walls and timber.
This is the exact market for which Zoomtech was intended.
This project on the South East coast of England was one of the first to use Evolve Zero.
The windows of this stunning property, overlooking the English channel, were individually 2.8m wide by 2.6m drop. Despite their large width, this is comfortably at the lower end of Evolve Zero’s capabilities on this size tube.
The main area features seven Evolve Zero roller blinds with a Spectrum 5010 5% black screen fabric. This allows for stunning outward views whilst reducing solar glare and thermal gain.
What’s more, that pesky 100x100mm ceiling pocket was no issue for Evolve Zero’s 44mm tube size.
We’re very proud of this installation by Callum of Creative Curtains and Blinds.
A quick reminder: what is Zoomtech?
Zoomtech inventor Bernard Mullie saw a literal gap in the market for blinds designed to span these huge glazed panels that have become a staple of modern architecture since the early 2010’s.
The previous soluton was to either make a wide roller blind on a tube with a massive diameter or multiple blinds with privacy/light gaps between units.
The problem with the large tube solution is the lack of installation space often specified above the window (usually a 100mm ceiling pocket, or often no pocket at all). Plus, this solution will always present sagging fabric or ‘deflection’ to some degree. The more common option is the multiple blind route, but this results in a gap between units. Add to this the expense of multiple motors, multiple brackets and more installation fuss.
When these things are considered, Evolve Zero looks like a no-brainer.
1. Zoomtech takes the Gold at R+T 2024!
Of course this was always going to be our favourite Evolve® Zero highlight of the past year.
We’re far from the only company in the blinds industry that recognises the breakthrough of Zoomtech’s patented technology.
R+T is the world’s biggest shading expo, usually held every 3 years. 2024 was an especially anticipated year following on from years of postponements during covid.
A lot has changed since the last R+T in 2018, making the Gold Innovation award at this year’s event an especially sought after accolade.
Of course, the biggest revolution for roller blinds in decades caught the attention of the judges and scooped this prestigious award to universal praise! Harry went to see their whopping 8m wide Zoomtech blind on their stall at Stuttgart, and he even managed to spot some Umbra marketing on display! Check out the video below to see our coverage of the Zoomtech stall from R+T 2024.
We’re thrilled to be early adopters of this truly innovative shading technology, offering it exclusively to the UK market. Evolve Zero’s first year has been a great start to Umbra’s mission to change the possibilities of ultra-wide roller blinds. We’re making sure that acrhitects and installers know there’s a different, better way to shade wide spans of glass. Every other solution is just compromise.
You can see more about Evolve Zero here: https://umbrashading.co.uk/product/evolve-zero/
Head to https://www.zoomtech.eu to see more from the people who made this technology possible.
Got a project for Evolve Zero? Email [email protected] for more.