Designed by Hamilton Architects, the campus was constructed by local firm Tracey Brothers Ltd and accommodates over 800 full-time students, 2000 part-time students and 120 staff. The extensive new 4 storey curved building replaces a 1971 constructed building with a poor energy efficiency rating (band ‘D’) with colossal fuel costs, with around 100,000 litres of oil being used annually. From this low base, the bar was set extremely high in the race for Passive House Premium status.

Unilin Insulation Expertise

A sustainable goal of this magnitude requires commitment from all parties and Unilin Insulation’s Technical team engaged with project architects, contractors and installers across the extensive build project to ensure the ambitious project demands could be fulfilled.

With a huge emphasis on air tightness and the mitigation of thermal bridging at every juncture, Unilin Insulation’s technical team engaged at design stage to ensure specification of suitable products throughout every element of the building. The minimisation of cold bridging in the structural steel frame was of particular concern, and Unilin Insulation’s technical advisors carried our rigorous Y-Value calculations to overcome this challenge at design stage.

Air tightness tests were also carried out at pre-construction stage to trial design and workmanship. Every professional involved in the project was trained in the importance of fine detailing to achieve the desired standards. When it came to specification of insulation materials, Unilin Insulation’s extensive range of under floor, framing and flat roof solutions combined to achieve the required results. Onsite training and toolbox talks were held to ensure no gap developed between design and as-built