'Our country holds enormous potential for active roofs'

As a result of urbanization, space to build on the ground is becoming increasingly scarce. However, existing and new roofs of industrial buildings, office buildings, apartment buildings, shopping centers and parking lots are crying out to be built on. FOAMGLAS® responds to this with safe and durable thermal insulation solutions for active roofs. 

Intensive or extensive green roofs, water storage, solar energy roofs, parking lots and sports and gaming facilities are just a few of the applications that can be excellently realized on our building roofs. "By creating activity roofs on existing as well as new roofs, the available space is used more intelligently," said Frank Vanhove, Managing Director Benelux at FOAMGLAS®. "Moreover, this makes buildings more attractive. Not only to the eye, but also as an investment. The location of many inner-city roofs is very attractive and the views are often lush. By using the roofs as parking lots, meeting places or sports and play facilities, the space on the ground remains available for other (useful) purposes, while still allowing users to benefit from all the functions. Moreover, by constructing a green or blue roof, great ecological benefits can be achieved." Green and blue roofs offer a great opportunity for urban greening, he emphasizes. "Roofs improve the microclimate, handle water effectively and reduce the heating of the building below. This increases space comfort, while also saving on air conditioning."

Combination of interesting properties

Roofs used as active roofs require a construction that can withstand high compressive strengths. In addition, water tightness, vapor tightness and thermal conductivity must be ensured, which the FOAMGLAS® thermal insulation material provides perfectly. The basis of FOAMGLAS® is recycled glass. "We have been placing high emphasis on the use of secondary raw materials since 1993," explains Vanhove. "The recycled glass is melted under high temperature (1,250°C) by us and ground into a very fine powder, which is then mixed with a small amount of carbon. The mixture is expanded in high-quality molds and in a furnace, creating a block of foamed glass (FOAMGLAS®) with unique properties." Thanks to its closed cell structure, FOAMGLAS® is completely water- and vapor-proof, he explains. "In addition, the thermal insulation material belongs to the highest fire class A1, which means that FOAMGLAS® is non-combustible and also does not contribute to the spread of fire. The material can withstand high loads without risk of deformation. Loads of up to 160 tons per square meter are no problem at all. Because the insulation forms a hard and stable layer under the waterproofing system, the risk of damage is minimized." FOAMGLAS® has an expected service life of over 100 years, he explains. "It is also important that the insulation value of 0.036 W/m²K does not deteriorate during the service life."

Easy to process

Especially for active roofs, FOAMGLAS® offers materials in three densities. Application on the flat roof is according to the warm roof principle. The FOAMGLAS® insulation is bonded to the wood, concrete or metal/steel supporting structure with hot bitumen or cold adhesive. Then the desired roof waterproofing material can be laid on top. From bitumen to plastic (EPDM), Vanhove explains. "FOAMGLAS® is supplied in rigid slabs with a standard size of 600 x 450 mm and a thickness of 50 to 200 mm (from one layer). In addition, capped FOAMGLAS® board boards are available, which are coated on both sides with a mineral glass fleece. These boards have a standard size of 1200 x 600 mm and a thickness of 40 to 180 mm." The glass foam boards are easy to process (sanding, sawing and milling), making them very suitable for other applications as well. "For example, there is even a company that uses the sheets to build indoor play mounds from."

Free advice

FOAMGLAS® is ideally suited for complex and challenging projects, where the demands are high. Excellent reference projects in this context are the A-pier at Schiphol Airport, EMA in Amsterdam, the library building at TU Delft and various data centers in and around Amsterdam. "In our projects, we like to take an advisory role, from design to execution, where we work together with the architect, contractor and client and entirely without obligation to find the best solution for each project," says Vanhove. "Here we look not only at waterproofing, density and finishing, but at all parts of the roof. After all, to ensure an optimally functioning roof with a long lifespan, all layers must be properly matched. Our practical tests can be of added value here. Moreover, we closely supervise the assembly of the systems so that the client receives exactly the roof and the performance we promised at the front."