Vista Apartments, Peterborough

THE OBJECTIVE

Vista is a 295 home new-build development in Peterborough’s South Bank area. The landmark, eco-friendly housing project was strategically designed to provide sustainable living, with a range of renewable features available in each zero carbon home.

For one of the development’s steel-framed apartment buildings, a thermally efficient cladding system was a priority and so the specification of a high-quality, premium performance insulation was key.  As the UK’s largest zero carbon housing development, the building also had to the highest level of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH): Level 6.

THE CHALLENGE

Appointed to design, supply and install the cladding system, Horbury Building Systems Ltd required a premium performance insulation to ensure a thermally efficient envelope, reduced running costs and lower levels of carbon emissions when utilised behind the terracotta and timber rainscreen cladding.                                                                                                                             

THE SOLUTION

To minimise heat loss, 603m² of Celotex RS5000 was installed as part of the external wall build-up. Specified in a thickness of just 100mm, the premium performance insulation helped the apartment buildings to achieve the target U-value of 0.021 W/mK with minimal thickness to maximise the habitable space available.

Suitable for use in warm steel frame constructions for ventilated facade applications, Celotex RS5000 can be used in buildings above 18 metres in height – a first for PIR insulation. With low emissivity textured aluminium foil facings, Celotex RS5000 has low global warming potential (GWP) and zero ozone depletion potential (ODP).

The OUTCOME

With annual energy savings of approximately £300 per household, the energy-efficient cladding system has proved crucial in the creation of fabric-first homes that are fit for the future. Crowned as the country’s Best Low or Zero Carbon Initiative at the Housebuilder Awards, the homes require 74% less energy for heating when compared to a typical dwelling built to 2002 regulations.

“You can put a lot of technology in but it’s not all required. The fabric has been suitably fortified with the walls of the Jasmine Houses 450mm thick instead of the standard 250mm. Residents have commented on how well insulated the homes are. The heating doesn’t have to be on much.”