Kingspan TEK is light on its feet at Safari Park

The Kingspan TEK Building System has been erected at West Midland Safari Park to provide research and educational space, with minimal impact on the site, due to the lightweight system.

The 250-acre landscaped park in Bewdley, Worcestershire has continued to increase its purpose-built space to meet the growing interest in animal conservation and study. It is estimated that the site receives up to 46,000 school children per year from more than 1,000 schools across the UK, who come to learn about wildlife and take part in activities. 500 m2 of the Kingspan TEK Building System in a 142 mm thickness were pre-cut to specification by delivery partners, Glosford SIPS.

Richard Painter, Director of Painter Architects Ltd, explains the specification of the Kingspan TEK Building System for the building envelope: “We needed to provide large teaching spaces within a quick construction period that would leave no footprint on the land if it was returned to grazing land in the future. The Kingspan TEK Building System was an obvious choice as it is low maintenance and lightweight. It also provided a well-insulated structure to help us meet Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) compliance.”

The entire building envelope was manufactured off-site and transported to the park then craned into position above screw pile foundations. Mike Fleming, Director from Glosford SIPS, added:
“With the installation having to be completed during the closed season, there had to be a quick turnaround. We have had lots of experience working with Kingspan though and the system is really quick – the entire envelope was up in two weeks! We also really enjoyed working alongside the Safari Park construction team and the wild animals too.”

Following this, the Kingspan TEK panels were clad with cedar and African art panels on the walls and dark green corrugated tin sheeting on the mono pitched roof, to blend in with the landscape and fit the aesthetic of the park. With the roof panels being light, there was also less structural stress.

By erecting a Kingspan TEK Building System envelope, the project could accomplish excellent levels of thermal performance by achieving U-values of 0.20 W/m2.K or better for the walls and roof. The insulated spline jointing detail, in combination with its OSB/3 facing bonded to a highly insulated core, ensured minimal thermal bridging through the insulation layer and resulted in a very airtight building shell which offered air permeability of less than 1 m3/hr.m2 at 50 Pa. Once the system was sealed with a breather membrane, the entire structure is watertight.

The manufacturing facility where the panels are produced carries both FSC® (FSC®-C109304) and PEFC Chain of Custody certification. As standard, the OSB/3 facing of all Kingspan TEK panels is PEFC certified.