United Kingdom

The Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan hospital in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, is the first publically-funded hospital to be built in England or Wales with 100% single room, ensuite facilities to help control infection and improve privacy.

The 107-room, £53.7 million project is the first major build as part of the regeneration of the former Corus steelworks site in Ebbw Vale.  BAM Construction is managing the hospital's development for the Welsh Assembly Government, through its 'Designed for Life' programme. 

Energy efficiency is particularly important for publically-funded buildings which must keep running costs down and minimise any impact on the environment.  The tight timescales for construction also need to be taken into account as the local population eagerly await their new hospital, and materials need to be able to withstand the heavy, sustained traffic of such a busy environment.

Dow Building Solutions supplied 7,000m² of FLOORMATE™ 500-A extruded polystyrene insulation, enough to cover 20 tennis courts. The insulation is specifically designed for high load bearing floors such as hospitals which not only need to cope with heavy sustained traffic, 24 hours a day, but need products that will remain durable over the building's expected lifespan. 

FLOORMATE 500-A has a nominal compressive strength of 500 kN/m² and a design load (the load which will give maximum compression of 2% over 50 years) of 180 kN/m², one of the highest in the FLOORMATE range. As an added benefit, the 'A' grade version of FLOORMATE is manufactured using recycled CO₂ as a blowing agent.  The product is simple to store on pallets, easy for installers to cut generating very little waste, doesn't break when walked on and has incredibly low water absorption.

FLOORMATE can be installed under or over the slab in groundbearing concrete floors and is suitable for use on suspended beam and block or timber floors. With a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of less than five, it qualifies for BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes insulation specification credits, and is available in three thicknesses, 50mm, 80mm and 120mm.