Case studies
7
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ca
K
nauf Insulation has the ability to
manufacture bespoke products to
cater for a variety of project
specifications. As such, the leading
insulation manufacturer was approached by
Euroclad to develop a tailored insulation
solution to meet the acoustic performance
criteria of Cardiff’s new Ice Arena Wales.
The £16m ice arena will be part of the
£400m International Sports Village and will
be home to the Cardiff Devils ice hockey
team. The scheme will provide a 3,000 seat
multi-use arena and separate public skating
rink. A big emphasis was placed on the
acoustic performance of the building in
order to reduce noise pollution for any
surrounding buildings and to maintain a
comfortable environment for spectators.
Kier Construction worked with its Tier
One supply chain partners, Massey
Cladding Solutions and Euroclad, to
develop the roof and walling systems in
order to meet the project’s demanding
acoustic performance requirements.
“With over 3,000m2 of roof area and
over 6,000m2 of mansard roofs and walls,
we created a bespoke
135mm build-up and
required an insulation
product that could be
installed on all
elevations within this,”
commented Gethin
Williams, Elite Systems
supply chain manager at
Euroclad. “Our brief, which was laid out at
the start to Knauf Insulation, required a
product of single density with a high
compressive strength whilst not being too
dense which could interfere with the
acoustics. Our strong relationship and
continued business development with
Knauf Insulation led us to work with its
Technical Support Team to explore a
variety of solutions.
“By consultation with Knauf, a bespoke
product was developed, RS105 RocSlab in
104mm thickness. An insulation solution of
this thickness was created as it had to fall in
line with the 135mm deep spacer system.
Additionally, above the spacer system there
will be two layers of weatherboard installed
and so it was important that the insulation
was flush with the spacer.
“It’s been great to work alongside Knauf
Insulationon this project, as their
knowledge and guidance was critical to
developing the right product solution.”
Delivering a thermal conductivity of
s
ie
ud
st
Knauf’s bespoke
product for
Ice Arena Wales
0.036W/mK, this unique product was
developed within Euroclad’s timescales
ready for a variety of acoustic and thermal
testing, managing to meet the stringent
project specifications.
Gethin continued: “The overall
thickness of the RS105 RocSlab allowed a
16mm reduction in height, weighed less
than traditional roofing boards and
outperformed the acoustic requirement laid
out by the design teams.”
A sequence of acoustic tests were
carried out by Kier Construction in order to
establish what materials were required to
achieve the performance figures set out at
the beginning of the project.
Ray Massey, managing director at
Massey Cladding Solutions, commented:
“After designing the roof and walling
systems, Euroclad supplied us with the
insulation materials we required – I was
very impressed with the laboratory tested
products, as they met our brief accurately.”
www.knaufinsulation.co.uk
Eco Pod specialist to switches to Actis Hybrid
A
national company which designs and builds A+ EPC rated
buildings has switched to using the Actis mix and match
Hybrid insulation system to improve their thermal efficiency
even further. Lancashire-based Pod Living Ltd specialises in
designer Eco-friendly buildings for schools and hotels and, having
trialled the hybrid range on a 100m2 outdoor education centre in a
park in Lytham St Annes, has decided to use the system in all its
ongoing projects.
The centre, in the Queen Elizabeth II community park, is used
for various educational activities such as forest skills and as a
meeting room by community groups and the charity Park View 4U.
This was the first time Pod Living had used the Hybrid range –
which consists of an insulation material, Hybris, insulating vapour
control layer HControl Hybrid and insulating breather membrane
Boost ‘R Hybrid.
The Eco Pod, which used 195mm Hybris and H Control Hybrid
in the floor and ceiling and 75mm Hybris and HControl Hybrid in
the walls, was funded by various organisations including Fylde
Borough Council and the Lytham Soroptomists.
Pod Living MD Nick Clegg
explained: “The end results saw us
with an A+ rated building – with an
energy consumption of 9.8kWh/m2a –
which means it has achieved an A+
EPC and Minus Zero Carbon rating.
We were so impressed by the
performance, not to mention how
quick and easy it was to use; we then
used the full system in our next project
– a pod containing two sixth form
classrooms at the St Mary Magdalene
Academy in North London. And we’ll
use it from now on in all our pods as
www.completecircmktg.co.uk
it is better, lighter and cheaper than the alternatives.”
Schools are the main customers of Pod Living’s timber framed
buildings – for their combination of cost effective extra space,
aesthetic appeal and low running costs. With the addition of
elements such as solar PV on a feed in tariff, Nick explains, the
financial benefits look very attractive.
“We wanted to use Eco-friendly insulation products but couldn’t
get the U-values we wanted with other green systems. Our Eco
Pods, whose panels are made in kit format in the factory before
being transported on site, offer a turnkey solution in three weeks.
They’re not pre-fab buildings, but are built like a timber frame
property. They have the same life expectancy as brick bu [