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Kingspan Thermataper TT46 LPC/FM, the tapered insulation roofing system designed to enhance water drainage from flat roofs, has been specified for a world-class performance space in Cardiff.
The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the National Conservatoire of Wales, includes actors, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Rob Brydon, among its celebrated alumni and fellows. Its new £22.5 million, BREEAM ‘Excellent’, performance complex, designed by BFLS Architects, includes: the 450 seat Dora Stoutzker concert venue; the Richard Burton Theatre; four state-of-the-art rehearsal studios; and a terraced cafe bar overlooking the Grade I listed Bute Park.
Each performance space is a separate building, but the whole development is linked by a single ‘floating’ roof that ties the existing Bute Theatre to the new drama, concert and public arcade spaces. The arcade area serves as an exhibition hall and is the ‘lungs’ for the scheme - it facilitates natural ventilation by using the stack effect.
Paul Bavister, Associate Director at BFLS and project Architect for the development, explained why some 2,500m2 of Thermataper TT46 LPC/ FM was necessary to the design. He said:
“We had considered a green roof but as sedum is non-indigenous to Wales that idea would have interfered with our aims for BREEAM ‘Excellent’. Instead we designed a traditional ‘warm deck’ roof build up; and we used the TT46 product to achieve a 0.15 U-value whilst keeping the roof build up as low as possible.
“Due to the challenge of the unique geometry of the roof, Kingspan produced coordinated layout drawings, which were a great help to us. The boards were fixed to metal decking and were very fast to install; and the tapered insulation also created the required falls to the drainage outlets. We were pleased with the insulation and with the overall service we got from Kingspan.”
Kingspan Thermataper high performance, rigid thermoset insulation can provide excellent U-values through thermal conductivities as low as 0.022 W/m.K. This can be achieved with less than 1.5% of the weight (and hence the loading implications) associated with screed to fall roofs.
Thermataper TT46 LPC/FM is specifically designed for use beneath mechanically fixed single-ply flat roofing membranes (in this case Fatra was used) and is FM approved for Class 1 steel deck roof assemblies. Had the BFLS design team been able to go ahead with a sedum roof, TT46 could still have been the choice, as it is also suitable for most green roofing schemes.
The tapered boards are pre-mitred which potentially reduces waste by 50% when compared to on-site cutting of hips and valleys. The integral roof falls in the insulation aid water run-off, preventing ponding and associated problems – providing insulation and drainage in one easy-to-install system.
Thermataper TT46 LPC/FM has been assigned a Green Guide Summary Rating of A+. The system is supported by Kingspan’s design service, which can aid in producing the most cost-effective solutions and help with any design challenges. Thermataper TT46 LPC/FM systems comprise tapered insulation boards, flat packer boards and pre−mitred hip and valley boards, which can meet any roof’s rainwater run–off and insulation requirements.