Crosby Lend Lease bags a UK first at The Hub with Knauf Insulation
14th January 2007
Knauf Insulation, the UK's leading manufacturer of insulation
products, has supplied award winning developer Crosby Lend Lease
with 4000m2 of Rocksilk 115mm RainScreen Slab to thermally insulate
the rainscreen cladding system at new Birmingham development, The
Hub.
The Hub, an innovative and contemporary seven storey canal-side
development of studio and one and two bedroom apartments, has a
perforated rainscreen system, and will therefore leave the black
tissue facing of Knauf Insulation's Rocksilk 115mm RainScreen Slab
visible to the public. This is the first time such a system has
been used in the UK, reinforcing The Hub's status as a cutting-edge
development. The Hub is located in the rapidly emerging Gun Quarter
of Birmingham, which adjoins the city's famous Jewellery
Quarter.
Knauf Insulation's Rocksilk RainScreen Slab is a rock mineral
wool slab containing a water repellent additive, specially
developed for rainscreen cladding applications. Rainscreen cladding
systems typically comprise outer cladding panels that are bolted to
a supporting framework of rails, which are supported by cleats
fixed to the building structure. A layer of Rocksilk RainScreen
Slab has been fixed independently against the building's
substructure using proprietary insulation fasteners.
At The Hub, an airspace separates the insulation from the outer
cladding panels, allowing wind-driven rain to run down the back of
the rainscreen panels, providing additional protection to the
insulation layer. Knauf Insulation's Rocksilk RainScreen Slab is
lightweight, but rigid enough to resist the compression forces
generated when installing the insulation slabs to the masonry
substrate. The water repellent additive in Rocksilk RainScreen Slab
also provides a further line of defence against rain penetration of
The Hub's external wall.
Knauf Insulation's Rocksilk RainScreen Slab is made from
non-combustible inorganic rock wool and has a thermal conductivity
of 0.035W/mk. The U-value of a proprietary rainscreen cladding
system is dependent on the degree of thermal bridging in the
system, but typically 100mm of Rocksilk Rainscreen Slab will
achieve a U-value of 0.35 W/m2k.
Andy Bassett, site contracts manager at The Hub contractors
Sisk, explains that Knauf Insulation's Rocksilk RainScreen Slab was
the obvious choice for The Hub: "Knauf Insulation's products are
industry-leading, consistently on budget and readily available at
short lead times. We opted for Rocksilk RainScreen slab largely due
to its incombustibility. It's easy to handle and install, too,
which makes our job easier! I'm proud we've been the first in the
UK to use the product in this way."
Knauf Insulation's Rocksilk product manager, Lynn Quigley,
concludes: "With increasing thermal performance requirements, Knauf
Insulation is proud to be at the forefront of recommending,
manufacturing and supplying compliant insulation products. What
sets us apart is the effort we put into building relationships with
architects and contractors, and it's great that we are working on
The Hub as a result."
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