Insulation
Kingspan Thermaroof TR27 & GreenGuard GG300 installed into Jean Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Kingspan Thermaroof TR27 & GreenGuard GG300 installed into Jean Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi

The Project

The museum was born out of an intergovernmental agreement between Abu Dhabi and France and is only the second in the Louvre family to be built. Situated just 500 metres from the Saadiyat Island coast, U.A.E., Louvre Abu Dhabi is the latest project to benefit from Kingspan Insulation’s range of high-performance roofing products.

Location:
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Project Use:
Museum
Year Completed:
2017
Architect:
Jean Nouvel
LOUVRE ABU DHABI- JEAN NOUVEL DESIGN 27-2

Appointed architects Jean Nouvel designed a museum that combined regional traditions with modern architecture, with the aim of bringing a universal museum to life. During 2012, Architects at Jean Nouvel were tasked to pull together the architectural envelope specification for Louvre Abu Dhabi. 

Our Solution:

The building’s flat roof was to utilise a build-up comprising a membrane system with Polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation and a vapour barrier over the concrete deck. The PIR insulation was detailed to be an FM approved, high-performance rigid thermoset PIR insulation core faced on both sides with a coated glass tissue. To comply with Estidama regulations, it should also be manufactured with a blowing agent that has zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and low Global Warming Potential (GWP). The only flat roofing insulation available in the local market to wholely match this specification was Kingspan Thermaroof TR27.

Similarly to its sister, Musée du Louvre, the roof of Louvre Abu Dhabi is the feature most recognisable by its visitors. As such, heavy emphasis within the specification was also placed upon quality assurance and a guarantee for the roofing system. Kingspan Insulation LLC was able to provide this for the insulation, as Kingspan Thermaroof TR27 is manufactured to the highest standards under a management system certified to ISO: 9001:2008 (Quality management systems. Requirements).

The U-value for the roof was above the Estidama regulation of 0.30 W/m2.K, at 0.21 W/m2.K, and was easily achieved through the use of 110 mm Kingspan Thermaroof TR27.

Sections of the flat roof were required to be landscaped with crushed stone laid within screed, a feature aimed to represent Arabian architecture and control light and temperature within the building. This called for an additional specification — the roofing system was to be overlaid with a polystyrene insulation, which would create a platform for the feature and subsequently would need to hold the weight of the crushed stone. To achieve this, 280 mm thick Kingspan Styrozone N300 was installed. The final U-value for the roof in these areas reached 0.08 W/m2.K, which far exceeds the regulations stipulated in Abu Dhabi.

Kingspan GreenGuard GG300 is a high-performance rigid extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulant, which is manufactured using a blowing agent that has zero ODP and low GWP, again complying with the requirements of Estidama. It has a compressive strength of 300 kPa, and therefore, could certainly take the weight of the proposed roof build-up.

Product Used in the Louvre Abu Dhabi

Kingspan Therma Board

Therma
Kingspan GreenGuard GG300 Insulation Board

Kingspan GreenGuard

Contact Information

Kingspan Insulation Middle East

Kingspan Insulation operates across the Middle East, Africa and Indian Subcontinent. Contact us to find your local representative. For any inquiries send an email to info@kingspaninsulation.ae

Head Office - Dubai

Dubai: P.O. Box 113826, Dubai Investment Park 2

Tel: +971 4 889 1000

Fax: +971 4 883 8515