One Hyde Park, Londons

Construction work on this £1.0bn development began in early 2007, however it was not until May 2009 that the insulation works commenced. Working with its supply chain, Sharpfibre were able to offer a solution for the insulation works that satisfied both the clients’ very demanding acoustic and thermal specifications, whilst avoiding a number of other construction constraints. As part of the design criteria it was necessary to provide extremely high acoustic sound reduction values between the car parking area, the two cinemas and the apartments themselves.  Added to this was the requirement to provide high performing thermal insulation between the car park areas, which are considered as semi-exposed environments, and the warmer heated internal environments of the dwellings.

In consultation with its in-house acoustician, Sharpfibre’s design team developed a hybrid Insulation system comprising of a mineral fibre infill layer, high performance Phenolic foam and a dense hard facing cover layer to protect against impact whilst providing an aesthetically pleasing finish. With the main structure of the building constructed in reinforced and post-tensioned concrete, it was necessary to ensure that the numerous fixings used to support the Insulation system, did not damage the post-tensioning tendons or reinforcement steel that would be present in the concrete. Working with fixings specialist Ejot, a solution was developed that enabled to the Insulation system to be fastened back to the concrete structure first time, preventing damage to the concrete structure or the face of the insulation boards.

During the 54 weeks on site, Sharpfibre employed over 25 operatives to ensure that the critical acoustic and thermal specification demanded of such a high end design was achieved within the construction programme, allowing the building to be handed over and fitted out, ready for its grand opening in January 2011.