Dublin Airport, Ireland

CHALLENGE

With passenger numbers building up to a projected 15 million a year, the elegant new Terminal 2 elevates Dublin Airport to one of the most important and busiest in Europe, serving both tourism and the business community. The new facility’s form meanwhile, draws on the expertise of many specialist consultants, contractors and manufacturers: amongst whom Knauf Insulation made a significant contribution to the thermal, acoustic and fire performance.

SOLUTION

Knauf Insulation’s Earthwool® Universal Slab (rock) was primarily employed as part of the vast and complex parabolic roof structure, which covers the arrival and departure halls, as well as extending over the link to the gates within Pier E. The sheer size of this public space and the colossal amount of people visiting on any one day, meant the key considerations were acceptable internal noise levels and adequate fire safety, not to mention the ability for products to be delivered and installed on time - all vital to enable the development to open on time.

The building envelope features a Kalzip aluminium standing seam and façade system, installed by the project manager, Martifer. Terminal 2 was designed by the architectural practice of Pascall + Watson in conjunction with renowned structural engineers, Arup. PJ Hegarty & Sons meanwhile, was the main contractor for Pier E with Lynch Roofing Systems being the Teamkal contactor. Throughout the erection of what is a 50,000 m2 plus roofscape, acoustic comfort was incorporated by the installation from below of fully perforated Kalzip internal liner sheet, overlaid by Earthwool Universal Slabs.

BENEFITS

For public buildings such as this, superior fire performance is crucial. Made from non-combustible inorganic rock mineral wool, defined as mineral wool in BS 3533: 1981, Earthwool Universal Slabs are produced under a Quality Assured manufacturing process.

The product is also classified as Euroclass A1 to BS EN ISO 13501-1 for non-combustibility and will not give off toxic smoke or suddenly ignite in a fire due to ‘flashover’. Earthwool products re present the very best in insulation. The fact that Knauf Insulation’s Earthwool mineral wool products are made with ECOSE® Technology, a unique formaldehyde free binder technology, based on rapidly renewable organic materials, was of benefit to the project. Earthwool products manufactured with ECOSE Technology, deliver superior environmental performance, as the binder technology is up to 70 per cent less energy intensive than traditional binders.

In addition to large scale structures such as Dublin Airport Terminal 2, Earthwool Universal Slabs can be found employed for their thermal, acoustic and fire performance in all types of building including schools, care homes, shops and business premises.