NMITE Skylon Campus

‘Living lab’ created for tomorrow’s sustainability engineers 

The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering’s (NMITE) Skylon campus is unique for many reasons. Created by a cohort of young designers, the campus building is biophilic, an exemplar of advanced timber construction techniques and a ‘living lab’, as well as being an educational space. 

Knauf Insulation products were used in the bespoke, timber frame wall panels constructed offsite by specialists Taylor Lane. 

Experimental and high performing 

The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) is a higher-education provider that has been created from the ground up by its founders, teachers, donors, and a cohort of young designers. Its goal is to give young people a path to becoming integrated engineers that are ‘sustainability conscious’ and ready to find solutions for achieving net zero. 

NMITE needed a campus that facilitated its unconventional style of teaching and reflected the aspirations of the institution. Sustainability was an important goal, as was using biophilic design – used to increase the building occupants’ sense of connection to the natural environment. 

As well as making the campus itself an object for students to learn more about timber construction, NMITE wanted the site to be a ‘living lab’. Sensors would be used to monitor the campus’ structural, acoustic, and thermal performance, with the intention of sharing this data with the industry to develop insights. 

This meant creating a building that was as high performing as it was experimental. 

Educational panel 

Knauf Insulation’s products were used for the pre-fabricated panels supplied for the construction of the building. Taylor Lane built 20 panels using a selection of non-standard materials and techniques specified by NMITE to demonstrate different approaches to students. Although each panel was unique, they all had a 240mm cavity that was insulated with OmniFit® Slab 35. 

The insulated panels were then craned into position before being attached to the building. Some were attached to the cross-laminated timber (CLT) frame, others to steel, so that students could readily observe even more varied approaches to construction. 

Sustainable performance 

OmniFit® Slab 35 is a glass mineral wool slab designed for use in both timber and steel frame constructions. Its thermal conductivity is 0.035 W/mK, and OmniFit® Slabs also provide sound insulation, a crucial feature for a busy workshop and educational space. 

“We chose OmniFit® Slab 35 for this project for several reasons. Its thermal and acoustic performance was important, but we also knew that, in the spirit of the project, we wanted to use materials that were sustainable. Glass mineral wool can be made from recycled glass and has low embodied carbon,” explained Paul Harris, Contracts Director. 

Knauf Insulation’s glass mineral wool is manufactured in the UK at its plant in St Helens. Up to 80% of the glass content comes from recycled glass collected locally and processed in the Veolia plant opposite the factory. About 60,000 tonnes are processed every year, and through smart compression packaging and local production, about 375,000 road miles are saved on transport annually. These factors contribute to glass mineral wool having the lowest levels of embodied carbon of any mainstream insulation material. 

Centre for Advanced Timber Technology 

The campus building is now home to students of the Centre for Advanced Timber Technology (CATT) and the Centre for Automated Manufacturing (CAM).  

“Coming to the campus is a real highlight of the course, I love the unique design and the biophilic features are inspiring,” explained a CAM engineering student. 

NMITE’s vision of an experimental, educational, sustainable, biophilic and functional campus has blossomed, thanks to the work of contractors Speller Metcalfe and Taylor Lane. Knauf Insulation’s OmniFit® Slab 35 has played a small but significant role, providing thermal and acoustic performance using a sustainable material, for an institution dedicated to teaching environmentally conscious engineers.