EPS Wall Insulation Helps New Summit House Reach “Peak” Performance
In June 2021, the highly anticipated $66 million Pikes Peak Summit House (featuring its world-famous hot donuts) will open its doors to the public after three years of construction. Once recognized as the highest ongoing construction site in North America at 14,115 feet above sea level, the revitalization of the sky-high mountaintop attraction presented a unique set of opportunities and challenges, including adhering to the terms of the world’s most rigorous proven performance standard for buildings – the Living Building Challenge (LBC).
EPS wall insulation holds the key to uncompromising performance “petals”
To become a certified Living Building, the new Summit House must score high marks across seven performance areas, also known as “petals,” including the notoriously dogmatic “materials petal” and “energy petal.” To meet LBC designations, the project team turned to expanded polystyrene (EPS) wall insulation from Insulfoam.
The eco-friendly material has a clean composition and is one of the few types of building insulations that doesn’t contain any one of tens of thousands of materials, chemicals or elements on the infamous “Red List.” According to Eden Brukman, vice president of the acclaimed International Living Future Institute, “the Red List provides people with a shifted mindset that is going to really impact the way we think about products,” and deems it “a shining light on where the industry needs to go.”
In application, EPS also supports ci—insulation that is continuous across all structural members without thermal bridges other than fasteners and service openings. Creating ci across exterior
walls remains one of the most important steps project designers can take to manage energy consumption. What’s more, because EPS delivers constant, high R-values ranging from 3.6 to 4.2 per inch, the Summit House team was able to achieve a R-40 designation in a single layer of material.
EPS to provide long-term support at 14,115 feet above sea level
Upon its grand opening next month, the 38,000 square foot Summit House will be both the first project in Colorado and the first building at over 14,000 feet in altitude to achieve the prestigious LBC certification. EPS wall insulation from Insulfoam will have played an integral role in this epic designation. Ultimately, EPS’ clean composition paired with its inherently high R-value will help relieve the structure’s footprint on its surrounding environment.
Learn more about Insulfoam’s commitment to environmental stewardship by visiting https://www.insulfoam.com/green-building-with-eps/.
