Foamglas® plays to its strengths in rooftop application
Published: 10 December, 2009
FOAMGLAS® insulation from Pittsburgh Corning was the only material that could provide the right combination of properties for an innovative rooftop play area at St Mary Magdalene Academy in Islington. As well as excellent insulation properties FOAMGLAS® also offered the high compressive strength, light weight and durability demanded by the architects Feilden Clegg Bradley.
The new 600 square metre all-weather playground is sited on the roof of the sports hall – giving twice the space for games and activities. The FOAMGLAS® was laid onto the concrete deck and then topped with a layer of Permanite polymer modified asphalt. As cellular glass insulation is inert and hence completely non-combustible there were no restrictions on laying hot asphalt over the insulation.
Richard Battye of Feilden Clegg Bradley says that FOAMGLAS® was the only material that met all of the requirements.
“We wanted to optimise the structure to minimise the roof load. The heavier it gets then the stronger, thicker and more expensive the deck and supporting steelwork would have to be. If we had used an alternative insulation material such as PIR or EPS we would have had to put in a secondary 150mm concrete slab to take the required compressive load. Other approaches would not allow us to carry out the required hot work.”
FOAMGLAS® owes its thermal performance, strength and lightweight properties to its cellular structure and the fact that it is manufactured from recycled glass. It is completely inert, which also makes it non-combustible, and is totally impervious to water.
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