Passive Purple Specified for Landmark Cambridge Development

Intelligent Membranes products were selected as part of the construction of Unity Campus Phase 2, a major £100 million technology and research campus located in Sawston, South Cambridgeshire.

Delivered by Morgan Sindall Construction and designed by Nicolas Hare Architects, the development provides approximately 90,000 square feet of additional science and technology space across three buildings, helping strengthen Cambridge's position as a global centre for life sciences and innovation.

Supporting Sustainable Construction

The project team adopted an innovative construction approach combining a primary concrete frame with advanced structural timber technologies. Sustainability was a key project driver from the outset, with the development targeting ambitious environmental and carbon reduction goals. Several design decisions contributed to reducing embodied carbon, including the use of timber SIP systems, lower-carbon concrete mixes and waste-reducing reinforcement solutions.

Improving Airtightness Across All Three Buildings

Passive Purple and Airtight White were incorporated throughout Units A1, A2 and B1 to support the project's airtightness and energy performance objectives.

Passive Purple Brush was first applied to joints, fixings and penetrations before the spray application of Passive Purple, creating a continuous airtight membrane across the building envelope. The system was integrated within Innovare Offsite's Psi-FAST construction method, combining offsite-manufactured timber panels with precast concrete elements.

Additional airtightness detailing was achieved around glazing interfaces using Intelligent Membranes Airtight Fleece Tape, helping create robust airtight junctions throughout the building envelope.

Exceptional Airtightness Results

The completed buildings achieved an average airtightness result of just 0.43 ACH (Air Changes per Hour), significantly contributing to the campus's ultra-low energy performance targets.

These results demonstrate how carefully designed airtightness strategies can support highly controlled internal environments, future laboratory requirements and long-term operational efficiency.

To find out more about airtightness, contact us today.