Construction membranes from Glidevale Protect have been installed throughout a flagship low carbon newbuild development for social housing provider, One Manchester, helping meet stringent airtightness and energy efficiency targets.

Situated at Blackrock Street in Manchester, sustainability is at the heart of the development’s future proofed design. Scheduled for completion later in 2021, the development comprises 22 properties, incorporating two, three and four-bedroom houses, with two dwellings achieving net zero carbon status, making them the first social homes in the UK to achieve this landmark, with all other plots being built to strict Passivhaus standards.

The homes were built offsite using a timber frame panelised system from Kingspan Timber Solutions and constructed onsite by John Southworth Builders Limited, with design expertise provided by GWP Architecture and Eco-Res Limited.

The low emissivity Protect Thermo Extreme reflective membrane has been used on all external walls to deliver enhanced thermal performance, creating a radiant barrier to help improve energy retention, alongside the TF200 Extreme breather membrane installed on spandrel panels, offering the required protection from water ingress and the control of condensation risk. On internal walls, the Protect BarriAir air and vapour control membrane was used on all properties, ensuring airtightness results were under the required Passivhaus threshold of 0.6 ACH @ 50Pa. 

Victoria Young, Regeneration Manager of One Manchester commented: “This low carbon scheme helps One Manchester to be at the forefront of sustainability, whilst meeting the demands of Passivhaus design principles. By using a fabric first approach, we combined Glidevale Protect’s high performance, reflective membrane for external walls with an internal airtightness and vapour control layer. This helped to improve thermal efficiency and ensure low U-values, thereby contributing to a low ecological footprint on each home.”

For more information visit:  www.glidevaleprotect.com

---