Cabot Nanogel® sheds a different light on sporting students

Daylight has a high intrinsic value, in psychological, ergonomical and economical terms, This is especially true in countries such as The Netherlands, where sunlight is not always readily available. So, when the architects from CITA were asked to design a new school gymnasium, they were keen to bring in as much daylight in as possible. They selected multi-wall polycarbonate sheet filled with Cabot Nanogel. To allow as much light as possible to get in, whilst at the same time blocking annoying and dangerous reflections and glare. Additional advantages include energy savings, sound isolation and reduced risk of breakage.

Primary school “Vrijenburgpoort” in Barendrecht, The Netherlands is to be equipped with a double gymnasium, which will also be used extensively outside of school hours. “The East-West orientation forced us to pay extra attention to the effects of the sun”, explain George Cornelissen of CITA Architecten (Utrecht, The Netherlands). “The local government did not want to use glass because of light scattering and the risk of blinding the sporters, so we set out to research the alternatives which would produce as much natural light as possible.”

Several options were evaluated. “Opaque plastic sheet and glass in a range of qualities were tested. In the end, the Nanogel filled multiwall sheets offered the best balance of light filtering and transmission. This solution convinced the client that using daylight was indeed possible – which prevented us from having to create a blind façade.”

In this example, the reduction of light scattering and glare was an important criterion, however, warmth and sound insulating properties were also vitally important. Increasingly, architects, investors and home owners pay more attention to the energy consumption of buildings – as they discover that selecting the right building products can make a significant difference. Although this often has to be balanced against comfort – for example when it concerns the availability of daylight in homes or offices – Nanogel developed by Cabot Corporation can solve both problems. Nanogel is a light transmitting aerogel material with excellent sound and energy insulating properties. It is light-weight and will bring the light deep into to the room.

The material is used as a filler in several types of multiwall plastic sheet products. It weighs 60-80 kg/m³ - a considerable weight reduction compared to glass – and light transmission rates of up to 32% can be achieved. U-value is 0.89 (W/m².K) at a thickness of 25 mm.

The sound insulation is remarkable compared to unfilled plastic sheets. The sound levels of rain falling on plastic roofs for example can be reduced by up to 50%. Especially lower frequencies (lower tones) are filtered out.

Furthermore, Nanogel is hydrophobic, so it does not attract water, is resistant to moulds and will not weather. In addition, the safety advantages of plastics compared to glass are evident – a valuable benefit when dealing with children playing football.

For this particular project polycarbonate sheet was used. The multiwall sheets are 2 by 2 metres and have a total thickness of 25 mm.

The Vrijenburgpoort School in Barendrecht was built by Koninklijke Van Waning Aanneming in Capelle aan de IJssel and the glazing was installed by Van Noordenne from Hardinxveld Giessendam.

Nanogel is available in key applications such as light domes, glazing and wall systems offered by six major producers/installers. Besides Polycarbonate sheet, Nanogel is also used in glass fibre reinforced polyester and insulation glass.

Reader enquiries

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Notes for editors

About Nanogel

The Cabot Corporation developed Nanogel as a way of increasing the insulation of thermally inefficient glazing systems. Nanogel is a translucent granular form of silica aerogel. Comprising 97% air and weighing only 60-80g per litre, it is the world’s lightest solid material. Compared with other insulation materials, it provides superior thermal and sound insulation performance as well as better light transmission and diffusion. Using within glazing systems, Nanogel offers architects and designers a revolutionary and unique solution for maximising levels of natural daylight coupled with high energy efficiency. Nanogel is manufactured exclusively by Cabot in Frankfurt, Germany - visit the website at: www.nanogel.com

Nanogel has been cited for being ‘the best translucent insulation for glazing in the world’ by the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Journal Innovation Award 2004 and the ‘Best Innovative Product for Energy Savings’ at Bau 2005, Germany’s leading building and construction exhibition.

About Cabot Corporation

Cabot Corporation (www.cabot-corp.com) is a $1.8 billion global specialty chemical and materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts U.S.A. Cabot's major products are carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, capacitor materials, and cesium formate drilling fluids. Cabot is also a leader in the production of fine, structured, sub-micron particles, comprising carbon, metals and metal oxides developed to enhance the performance of a variety of products, including rubber, adhesives, inks, microelectronics, and plastics. Cabot operates 44 manufacturing plants located in 23 countries around the world.

Nanogel® is a registered trademark of Cabot Corporation.