One of the most renowned names in automobile racing, Ferrari is also putting its stamp on the architecture of the new headquarters for the sports management group: the Gestione Sportiva building in Maranello, Italy. PENETRON waterproofing technology will help keep the construction project on solid footing, as the lower floors will face hydrostatic pressure from the site’s high water table.
The construction project was just recently launched and, when completed in 2014, the low-slung, modernist design of the new Ferrari Gestione Sportiva building (GES) will reflect the unique style of the Ferrari brand. The ultra-modern complex will house all key activities of the Ferrari racing team, including workshops, technical offices and administrative offices. The five main departments – Quality Control, Gearbox Assembly, Engine Assembly, Vehicle Assembly and Electronics – that will be housed in the GES building will also be joined by the general deposit, box preparation, washing areas, remote garage, KERS, FIA test bench, pit stop area and systems testing teams. The size of this organization underlines the complexity of developing, building and maintaining a successful racing car today.
Once the assembly, tuning and testing of the Ferrari Formula One racing cars is carried out in the new GES facility, the race cars are then tested in the adjacent state-of-the-art wind tunnel and on the Fiorano racing and testing track.
Keeping the Workshops Dry
Designed by HL-PP Ingenieure International, a European architectural and engineering firm located in Munich, Germany, the Gestione Sportiva building site was faced with a relatively high water table, which was problematic for the expansive belowground levels. The key working areas located on these two floors needed to be secure, and a dependable waterproofing solution was required.
“The location of the new building in an area with a high water table brought the design team and PENETRON Italia together to address any potential water and corrosion issues,” explains Christopher Chen, Director of The PENETRON Group.
PENETRON ADMIX was identified by the project designers as the ideal waterproofing admixture to resist the levels of water pressure encountered at the construction site. As a “permeability-reducing admixture for hydrostatic conditions (PRAH),” as defined in the “Report on Chemical Admixtures for Concrete” (ACI 212.3R-10 / January 2011, published by the American Concrete Institute), PENETRON ADMIX has been used successfully around the world for watertight tanks, foundations and containment structures. With cast-in-place concrete for structural support and groundwater control, PENETRON ADMIX was used to treat over 9,000m2 (almost 100,000 square feet) of concrete at the Maranello site.
“The Ferrari brand has long been recognized as a pinnacle in their field, exuding performance, cutting edge technology and innovation,” notes Robert Revera, President and CEO of The PENETRON Group. “PENETRON is pleased to bring its own industry-leading technology to the Ferrari GES project.”
