Romanov, Zaandam | Green jacket of ultra-thin insulation and aesthetic shell

Apartment building Romanov in Zaandam is literally and figuratively shrouded in a green jacket. Behind the striking facade, largely clad with facade panels in three shades of green, is an innovative and complete insulation system. For this Recticel Insulation entered into a long-term relationship with various construction partners.

Recticel originally specialized in polyurethane and has been in the insulation business for nearly seventy years. Founded in Belgium, the company now offers a comprehensive range of polyurethane and PIR insulation boards. "Our products are constantly evolving," says Benedikt van Roosmalen, commercial director for the Netherlands at Recticel. "One of the latest technical breakthroughs involves an insulation board that meets fire class B. We also developed a thermal insulation board with a thermal conductivity of only 0.019 W/mK."

Complete and innovative concept

For Romanov's exterior wall insulation, Recticel Insulation applied a 140mm insulation board with groove and click system, with a thermal conductivity of 0.022 W/mK. Van Roosmalen: "This thin insulation board, our so-called Powerwall^®, is characterized by a high degree of dimensional stability and fire safety. Combined with the right facade cladding, the insulation board meets the highest fire resistance requirements." The Powerwall^® is part of Isofinish, a complete and innovative concept for high-quality exterior wall insulation and finishing. Recticel Insulation developed this concept in close cooperation with other well-known brands in the building industry, such as Borgh for the mounting system and Eternit for the cladding.

The facades are executed in three shades of green.

Shell, insulation, battens, finishing

Van Roosmalen explains the construction of the insulation system: "The basis is formed by a continuous insulation shell. In the case of Romanov, this insulation is attached to the concrete inner leaf. Just clear of this insulation shell we place the battens. Single layer, so horizontally or vertically, but certainly not crosswise. This saves labor and material. Thanks to Borgh's innovative anchoring system, the battening is free of the insulation. As a result, there are no ribs caused by condensation, poor ventilation or otherwise. The number of anchors is thereby calculated per situation: the number of horizontal anchors for, in particular, correct batten spacing and the number of diagonal anchors for the weight of the facade cladding." Rule, horizontal anchor and diagonal anchor together form a "truss," a rigid structural unit against which the Eternit cladding is fixed.

Efficient, flexible and sustainable

"Isofinish is quick to install," continues Van Roosmalen. "During the construction of Romanov, this went so fast that the construction crew had trouble staying ahead of the facade installers. Besides the limited number of anchors, the advantage of Isofinish is that you have freedom in the location of the anchors, provided they are in line with the rule. This makes the system cost-effective and flexible. You don't have to put more anchors than necessary. With Isofinish, Romanov has an optimally ventilated, sustainable facade that also delivers significant energy savings."

Isofinish is suitable for both renovation and new construction projects where the facade finish is different from brickwork. For example, Recticel Insulation also applied Isofinish in the renovation of 131 apartments in Nijmegen and the new construction project the Aubade in Zaandam.

Training

In the new Romanov building, Recticel Insulation's role went beyond producing and supplying the insulation system. For example, together with Borgh, they offered support to the installation team. Van Roosmalen: "During a meeting we trained the team in the proper processing of Isofinish. Among other things, we did this on the basis of a test set-up of the facade. The participants received a certificate at the end of the meeting. This is how we ensure that the system proves itself as a solution." Recticel does not always provide this training. Instruction at the start of a project, which is common practice, also proves to be an effective method. Meanwhile, the installation of the exterior wall insulation and finishing has been completed. Together with Borgh, Eternit and the installation team, Van Roosmalen looks back on a positive and very smooth project.