Rockwool keeps the noise down at new Heathrow hotel

Noise pollution is an inevitable fact of life at busy airports, and results in hoteliers in these locations needing to minimise the impact of unwanted noise on their guests. Thanks to a pioneering approach from ROCKWOOL that is based on acoustic performance test data and use of its BBA (British Board of Agrément) approved A1 rated RAINSCREEN DUO SLAB® insulation product, the new Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express at London Heathrow Terminal 4 will be providing visitors with a peaceful and tranquil stay when it opens later this year.

Connected via a convenient air bridge to Terminal 4, this dual-branded hotel development includes Crowne Plaza and  a Holiday Inn Express, with a combined total of 750 rooms. There is also a range of onsite business facilities, including five meeting rooms, to enable guests to be at their most productive during their stay. Minimising external noise from the UK’s busiest airport, where the average number of air transport movements reached 1,295 per day in 2017, was a major factor in this build. To this end, Grove Developments, the construction division of The Arora Group, who is overseeing the project, challenged ROCKWOOL to achieve a significant R_w 58dB sound reduction within the façade system used on the development.

Using test results from its Rainscreen Acoustic Reference Guide, and working closely with sub-contractor, SD Samuels, ROCKWOOL was able to demonstrate the exceptional performance capabilities of its 150mm RAINSCREEN DUO SLAB® product for the hotel development project. As a result, 5200m² of the product was specified.

RAINSCREEN DUO SLAB is a non-combustible, dual density insulation board that offers a robust outer surface and a resilient inner face designed for a variety of external cladding systems. Made from stone wool, RAINSCREEN DUO SLAB reduces noise intrusion into a building in multiple ways.

As soundwaves try to pass through the air trapped within its fibrous structure, they get absorbed by friction as the individual fibres are made to move back and forth. In addition, the random orientation of the fibres makes it very difficult for sound to find a path from one side to the other. The top 15mm layer of each RAINSCREEN DUO SLAB board is manufactured at a higher density than the remainder of the board, changing its acoustic impedance so that sound is reflected at the interface between the two layers.

RAINSCREEN DUO SLAB achieves an A1 Euroclass fire classification and is therefore non-combustible. The product also has the benefit of a high resistance to wind and rain during construction, which, together with the minimal number of fixings required, made installation quicker and easier for SD Samuels. At the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express, the product was tightly butt jointed, knitting together to deliver an effective thermal insulation with a U-value of 0.20 W/m²K. It has also minimised heat loss that could otherwise arise from gaps between insulation boards.