When Aston University wanted to convert its old arts centre into a £6.5m state-of-the-art laboratory and research facility, Associated Architects appended a new fully glazed building behind the 1920s neoclassical frontage. The result is quite bizarre – Poundbury meets Po-mo. Knauf and the architect specified Earthwool Rainscreen slab insulation for the 3000m2,BREEAM Excellent, bio-mass heated European Bioenergy Research Institute. AA’s Alan Miller says the visible insulation ‘has attracted a lot of interest’. Not half as much as the building has, Mr Miller!