The € 3.5 million design and build project by Clancy Construction with MOLA Architecture, in conjunction with KMD Architecture, adds a new 1500 square metre structure to the hospital, housing a 25 bedroom Cardiology intensive care unit, and is built to the highest specifications for safety and sustainability.
The new DuPont™ Tyvek® FireCurb® Housewrap flame retardant breather membrane and DuPont™ AirGuard® Reflective AVCL vapour control layer feature significantly in the new timber frame construction for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, located in Crumlin, Dublin 12, Republic of Ireland.
DuPont™ AirGuard® Reflective, a high performance metallised air and vapour control layer, has been specified to the interior of the building envelope as a significantly cost-saving and easy to install solution to optimal airtightness and improved thermal performance, designed to achieve the required U-values.
Furthermore, 225 square metres of DuPont™ Tyvek® FireCurb® Housewrap breather membrane has been installed to the stair core of the structure. The patented new technology incorporated in this membrane has the potential to save lives and reduce costly fire damage, while providing an environmentally-friendly breakthrough solution that delivers a hi-tech breather membrane for building at a competitive cost.
Adding superior flame retardant performance (up to Class B). to the renowned properties of DuPont™ Tyvek®, such as reliable long-term weather protection, effective vapour diffusion, greater energy efficiency and interior comfort, DuPont™ Tyvek® FireCurb® Housewrap potentially limits or stops the spread of fire through the external envelope using an innovative technology to reduce the flammability of polymer based substrates.
DuPont™ Tyvek® FireCurb™ has a fire rating of class B-s1,d0 according to EN13501-1.
This solution does not involve the use of any halogens, rather it employs a phosphorous containing agent to promote the formation of a ‘char’ layer at the surface when it is in contact with an ignition source. This thin layer of carbonized polymer is highly resistant to burning and forms a barrier, slowing the release of flammable materials into the flame. Starved of fuel, the flame spreads over the membrane more slowly or not at all. The flame retardant flexible building membranes based on DuPont™ Tyvek® FireCurb™ technology also produce less smoke when the membrane does burn; another advantage for both firefighters and people attempting to flee a burning building.
Cliff Murphy, Site Manager at Clancy Construction comments, "DuPont™ Tyvek® FireCurb™ Housewrap was chosen to meet the building regulations in regards to the spread of fire and was the only product on the market to meet all of our needs. I found the product easier to work with than any of the current alternatives on the UK & Irish markets and would highly recommend it. What’s more the superiority of the product combined with ease of installation, availability of stock and the technical support from DuPont makes me inclined to use DuPont™ Tyvek® products where appropriate on all projects going forward."
To learn more about DuPont™ Tyvek® FireCurb™ technology, visit http://www.FlameRetardant.tyvek.com
