Kingspan TEK® shelters flock

The structure of Manchester’s new “Pop-up Cathedral” has been erected on budget and in just 11 days using the high performance Kingspan TEK® Building System. The 220 m2 building has space for up to 300 people and will be used to hold services over the next 18 months while the city’s historic Cathedral is closed for repairs.

Developers Nikal Ltd. acted as main contractors and part sponsors of the project and worked in conjunction with Manchester Cathedral to create a design which was sympathetic to both the gothic architecture of the Cathedral and the Tudor heritage of many buildings in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

A number of factors had to be taken into account during the design process including ensuring that the structure offered sufficient thermal performance to withstand the varying conditions throughout the year, and could also be delivered on budget against a tight overall deadline of just 3 months from design to completion.

These requirements made the Kingspan TEK® Building System an ideal solution for the project. The System is constructed from highly insulated timber panels known as Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) which are engineered and cut to size offsite, allowing efficient installations with little or no site waste.

Mark Hopkins, Construction Director at Nikal Ltd. discussed the specification:
“After looking at various options, from a simple canvas marquee, to a log cabin and standard timber frame it was decided to run with the Kingspan TEK® Building System. The System provides a robust structure which can be quickly erected, screwed together and eventually disassembled in the same way, offering the potential for it to be reused in the future. It also gave the additional value of creating a highly insulated and airtight structure with solid external and internal wall finishes which could simply be ‘dressed’ with the final elevation treatment. All in all it was perfect for the project”

Kingspan Delivery Partner SIPS@Clays designed, engineered, fabricated & installed the System and the entire construction went from production to hand over in just 6 weeks.

The Kingspan TEK® Building System holds BBA and NSAI agrément certification and is recognised by the major building warranty providers including NHBC, Building Life Plans, Premier, Build Zone, Homebond and HAPM. The high performance insulated core allows it to achieve whole wall U-values of 0.21 W/m2.K and below while its proprietary joint system means it can also deliver air leakage levels as good as 1m3/hour/m2 at 50 Pa.

Tel: +44 (0) 1544 387 384
Fax: +44 (0) 1544 387 484
e.mail: literature@kingspantek.co.uk
website: www.kingspantek.co.uk