The Marshall Building, London School of Economics

When the London School of Economics (LSE) sought an architect for The Marshall Building, it held an international competition to select a contemporary design that matches its global academic reputation.

The winning design by Grafton Architects features striking pale stone rainscreen cladding that contrasts with the red bricks of surrounding buildings on Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

At 10 storeys high, the building needed to conform with the changes to building regulations which ban the use of combustible materials on all buildings over 18m in England and Wales. As a result, Grafton Architects specified Knauf Insulation’s Rocksilk® RainScreen Slab for the three external wall build-ups.

Rocksilk® RainScreen Slab is BBA certified for use at any height and the broadest range of thicknesses and build-ups on the market. It has the best possible Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification, is manufactured from Rock Mineral Wool and has a thermal conductivity of 0.034 W/mK.

With U-values of 0.14 Wm2K, 0.20 Wm2K, and 0.21 Wm2K required for the different rainscreen wall build-ups, sub-contractor I&S Construction consulted Knauf Insulation’s Technical Support Team about the right depth of insulation. After conducting U-value calculations, 150mm Rocksilk® RainScreen Slab was recommended for all three build-ups.

As well as fire safety and thermal performance, Rocksilk® RainScreen Slab has excellent sound absorption properties.

It is manufactured with ECOSE® Technology, Knauf Insulation's unique bio-based binder that contains no added formaldehyde or phenol. It is made from natural raw materials that are rapidly renewable and is 70% less energy-intensive to manufacture than traditional binder, so it is more environmentally friendly.

Products made with ECOSE® Technology are also soft to touch and easy to handle. They generate low levels of dust and VOCs and have been awarded the Eurofins Gold Certificate for Indoor Air Comfort.

Thanks to Knauf Insulation’s Rocksilk® RainScreen Slab, the Marshall Building will provide students and academics at LSE with a comfortable and quiet environment to facilitate their world-class academic work.