Article Date: 23rd January 2012

Dulux Trade Paints Used To Brighten £1.5m Passivhaus Office

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Dulux Trade Paints for Passivhaus Office

Dulux Trade coatings have been used in a pioneering project for Interserve Construction Limited at Watermead Business Park, Leicestershire. A range of high performance paints, including Dulux Trade Diamond Matt Light & Space and Diamond Eggshell, were used on the interior of the building, which is one of only three Passivhaus offices in the country.

Interserve’s new regional £1.5 million office was designed by CPMG architects of Nottingham, and constructed by Interserve in partnership with the park developer, Raynsway Properties. As part of the Passivhaus standard, a number of specific measures were included in the design of the project, such as earth tubes, increased levels of insulation and airtightness and an ultra-efficient Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery plant, all of which help contribute to the building’s overall Zero Carbon energy performance. To complement these elements, the project team also required a range of paints that would further boost the environmental credentials of the office space.

Jason Smith from paint contractors, Swirlforce, who worked on the Interserve office, explains: “Working in partnership with the Dulux Trade Specification Account Manager, Janet Robertson and Interserve, we developed a bespoke collection of coatings to meet the exacting needs of the project. One specific requirement, for example, was to maximise natural light within the building, so it was a natural choice to recommend the Dulux Trade Light & Space colour range.”

The first of its kind, the Dulux Trade Light & Space colour range is created through a unique combination of innovative optical brighteners, highly reflective paint components and cleaner tinting recipes. In comparison to conventional emulsion paints, the collection absorbs an average of 50 per cent less light, enhancing luminance and making rooms feel bigger, brighter and less gloomy. For the Interserve project, Dulux Trade Light & Space was used in White.

“To ensure the benefits of Light & Space were realised for as long as possible, we used the Diamond Matt formulation, meaning it can be cleaned and scrubbed without burnishing, it looks good for longer,” added Jason.

As it is up to ten times more durable and ten times more stain resistant than standard vinyl silk emulsions, Dulux Trade Light & Space Diamond Matt can help increase maintenance cycles and ensure a strong return on investment.

Alongside maximising natural light within the office environment, a further necessity was to ensure safety and security within the building. Jason continues: “As the building plant areas are exposed steel work and timber, the project team wanted to build in extra fire protection measures into the heat recovery plant room. As such, we used Dulux Trade Pyroshield Durable Matt.”

Pyroshield Durable Matt is a water-based finish, specially formulated to inhibit the spread of flames on previously painted surfaces. Using Pyroshield, substrates can be upgraded to achieve Class 0 rating (as defined by British Standard BS476).

Further Dulux Trade coatings were also used throughout the landmark project, including the Dulux Trade Metalshield range for the office’s exposed steel roof trusses and Dulux Trade Diamond Satinwood for all trims, including skirting and architraves.

Concluding, Gordon Kew, Director, Regional Building at Interserve, who led the project, said: “Our previous offices were becoming increasingly outdated and were also performing poorly on energy usage. As such, when we came to designing our new facilities, sustainability was a primary focus. We are delighted with the finished building, and the Dulux Trade coatings have played a part in us achieving our overall vision of a modern, bright and energy efficient office.”

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