Westgate Oxford revitalized with Kingspan Kooltherm

The premium thermal performance of Kingspan Kooltherm K106 Cavity Board has led to it being installed as part of the £440 million redevelopment of Westgate Oxford, a retail and leisure destination in the city centre.

Developed by the Westgate Oxford Alliance and constructed by Laing O’Rourke, the development is scheduled to open in October 2017. It has been designed by Glenn Howells Architects to reflect the heritage of the surrounding Oxford architecture, with an articulated brick façade and a focus on long-term robustness, quality and endurance. This concept was carried throughout the project, leading to the selection of the Kingspan Kooltherm K106 Cavity Board to ensure the building achieved a high level of thermal performance within a minimal cavity width.

Installed by Kilnbridge Construction Limited on the stair cores at each level, the rigid insulation board has a thermal conductivity of just 0.018 W/m·K, whilst its water-tight, vapour-open polypropylene fleece outer facing allows it to be installed with a 10 mm residual cavity. This combination makes it ideal for projects such as Westgate Oxford, where developers want to meet demanding U-value targets, without moving away from preferred cavity sizes and reducing the internal space.

The Oxford development is expected to achieve a minimum BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ for Block 1. Kingspan Kooltherm K106 Cavity Board can assist, both directly and indirectly, towards the award of credits within the Energy and Materials sections of the assessment. All Kooltherm, Therma and KoolDuct insulation products and cavity closers manufactured at Kingspan Insulation’s facilities in Pembridge and Selby are certified to BES 6001 (Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products) ‘Excellent’.

Kingspan Kooltherm K106 Cavity Board is BBA certified. Its rigid phenolic fibre-free insulation core is manufactured with a blowing agent that has zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and very low Global Warming Potential (GWP). The insulation boards are non-deleterious, easy to handle and install, and are unaffected by air infiltration.