The Shard Tower

FOAMGLAS® Tapered T4+ (Slab)

Design Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Executive Architects: Adamson Associates, London

Main Contractor: Mace; Roofing Contractor AC PLC

Construction: 2012

Application: Warm Roof - FOAMGLAS® Tapered T4+ (Slab )

Finish: Bitumen membranes

FOAMGLAS® provided the ultimate solution for the roof maintenance platform of The Shard at level 75.

Its light-weight and high compressive strength enable regular maintenance to be carried out without risk of surface damage.

At 310 m, Shard Tower is one of Western Europe’s tallest buildings; exposed to extremes of temperature & the revolutionary structure sways up to 50 cm in high winds.

The building maintenance platform on level 75 is

located directly above the viewing galleries, and essentially forms the Shard’s roof. To shed water, the flat metal platform required an insulation with a tapered top surface.

In this extremely exposed location, and with significant

loads upon the platform, a truly reliable solution was needed. FOAMGLAS® insulation combines compressive strength, long-term insulation performance.

Using their "in house" CAD systems, FOAMGLAS® designed a bespoke Tapered Insulation system. Taking full advantage of its low coefficient of expansion, and to eliminate thermal bridging, FOAMGLAS® and its membranes were adhesive bonded onto the metal structure. The unique ability of FOAMGLAS® to withstand high compressive loads ensures regular maintenance work can be safely carried out without damage to the insulation or the membranes.

Adamson Architects commented on this project: "FOAMGLAS® has proved itself to be the ultimate solution for the difficult loadbearing areas of the Shard. Specifying cellular glass insulation ensured complete integrity and performance in key areas of the Shard Tower".