Achieving the LEED CS Platinum certification was the result for the Building 03 of the Vimercate Energy Park. To get there meant combining the world’s most sustainable materials with unmatched energy design.
Pushing the boundaries of sustainability
When lead architect Paolo Garretti set out to design Building 03 of the Vimercate Energy Park, near Milan, he naturally started with sustainability in mind. "It's something we consider for every project we take on," says Mr Garretti. With Building 03, however, the team at Garretti Associati took sustainability further than ever before. They did it with the help of ROCKWOOL insulation.
Serious solutions for heavyweight buildings
The solution Mr Garretti chose for the building's exterior walls was a double-skin ventilated facade solution. Inside to out, the solution consists of plasterboard, 20-cm prefab concrete panels, 12 cm of ROCKWOOL insulation, a 6-cm ventilation gap and, finally, corrugated, perforated galvanized steel plates, partially finished with Aluzinc®. Why ROCKWOOL insulation? "From a design point of view, ROCKWOOL is always our first choice," says Mr Garretti, "We design heavy-duty, sustainable buildings, and ROCKWOOL insulation helps give us the thermal mass, flexibility, fire and acoustic protection we're looking for - plus it's a natural, abundant material, and that means a lot to us," he concludes.
Natural protection from the elements
When used as the insulating layer of a ventilated facade design solution, ROCKWOOL insulation provides natural protection from the elements, including heat and cold, fire and noise. ROCKWOOL insulation's A1 fire rating is particularly important for multi-storey buildings designed with a ventilated facade, because it does not contribute to the spread of fire up the ventilated cavity - the so-called "chimney effect".
Certification in November 2011
Mr Garretti and his colleagues at Garretti Associati were rewarded for their insistence on sustainability in November 2011, when Building 03 was awarded LEED CS Platinum certification.
"From a design point of view, ROCKWOOL is always our first choice." - Paolo Garretti, architect
