Architects deciding to use Recovery (INNO-THERM) Insulation
November 2004
Architects: White Design Architects
Contact name: Nick James
Project: Anns Grove Primary School New Build, Heeley, Sheffield.
Brief description of project:
The Sheffield City Council jointly with Anns Grove School and community organisations have designed and are building a landmark building for Heeley. The new Anns Grove School will provide a top class teaching and learning environment for local children and the community. The new school will be a state of the art environmentally sustainable building. The project also aims to play a key role in the regeneration of Heeley through expanding community involvement through use, access and, where possible, local procurement of building materials.
Q1. What factors influenced White Design Architects when deciding to use Recovery (INNO-THERM) Insulation instead of conventional insulation materials?
At White Design we approach design by thinking about sustainability in the round – the triple bottom line – addressing the social, environmental and economic aspects. With INNO-THERM we have found a product that happily answers all of these, as the product (ultimately) will be manufactured in Sheffield, creating full time employment for ex-steel workers, re-using a steel mill, producing an environmentally friendly insulation that reduces textile waste and landfill.
Q2. Who was involved (e.g. contractor, client, designer) in deciding to use Recovery (INNO-THERM) Insulation and WHY?
The initial contact was made through Andy Jackson, chair of governors at Anns Grove School and manager of the Heeley Development Trust, a community based regeneration organisation. He was a prominent member of the client team and key in establishing the aspirational brief for the school, calling for a sustainable building that also fed into wider community aspects. He knew David Garlovsky of the Schools & Homes Energy Education Project who was trying to raise the profile of the product. White Design then worked closely with David and Willmott Dixon Construction (the contractors) to ensure that we could incorporate it fully into the design and at a price that was amenable to all!
Q3. What factors influenced the decision regarding the use of Recovery (INNO-THERM) insulation material?
The environmental factors were always high on the design team’s list of priorities; however there are now many products on the market that “tick the environmental box.” What swung it in INNO-THERM’s favour was the local agenda. Here was a product that would be produced in Sheffield using local resources and labour and ultimately helping the local economy. We were keen to help in this way, reinforcing the view that the new school would be a building for the whole community.
Q4. How do White Design Architects justify the higher price when compared to conventional insulation materials?
We actually found that INNO-THERM compared quite favourably when set against other similar environmentally friendly insulation products. There will always be cheaper insulation materials but the whole team felt that there were more important factors involved here than merely cost. Besides, once the quantities were established and the exchange rate factored in for the first delivery from the USA, the cost of the product became less and less of an issue.
Q5. Has the decision to use Recovery (INNO-THERM) Insulation resulted in changes to building designs/specifications and if so in what ways?
For us at White Design there was very little change to the detailing of the building as we were originally set to use a very similar product in the wall and roof build-up anyway. In fact as INNO-THERM had slightly better thermal properties we were able to reduce the timber stud sizes, which in turn offset some of the cost while still achieving very good u-values.
Q.6 Do you intend to put in place any measures for monitoring the performance of Recovery (INNO-THERM) Insulation for educational purposes?
The whole building is intended to be an exemplar of sustainable design and construction. This ethos informs every aspect of the design, from the high level of insulation, the selection of natural materials with low embodied energy and the use of intelligent natural ventilation and day-lighting techniques. Not only is the school designed to enhance the teaching and learning environment for pupils and staff alike but it is also intended to be used as a learning tool in its own right. We will be continuing discussions with Jackie Smalley, the headmistress of Anns Grove School, and David Garlovsky to see what else we can do to raise the profile of INNO-THERM and to get the children involved – perhaps they can bring in their dad’s old jeans for recycling so that they can be part of the process!
