High Crest School in West London, England

Aerogel helped create a compelling school extension including classrooms, internet cafe and a dance studio.

Kalwall^® light-diffusing insulated walls filled with LUMIRA^® aerogel were used on the south façade of the buildings to house additional classrooms, a new combined assembly hall/performance area, a dance studio, and an internet café and study area. This material is four times better than insulating glass units and is equivalent to a solid wall. It means that architects can achieve the highest energy saving while introducing large areas of daylight through surfaces which might otherwise be solid and opaque.

Technical details:

• Kalwall panels: 70 millimeters thick
• U-value: 0.28 (W/m².K)
• Solar factor: 0.11
• Light transmission: 12%

• Owner: Buckinghamshire County Council
• Architect: Jacobs UK (Architecture) Ltd
• Partner: Structura UK