PENETRON ADMIX treated all concrete used in the saltwater tanks at the new AquaRio Aquarium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ensuring waterproof and durable concrete structures. The new aquarium officially opened on November 9th.
The new aquarium, along with the adjacent – and also recently inaugurated – Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow), is the focal point of Rio’s Porto Gamboa waterfront revitalization program. This urban renewal effort also includes extensive residential and commercial construction projects.
Located in a repurposed cold-storage warehouse, AquaRio – Aquário Marinho do Rio de Janeiro – occupies 22,000 square meters (236,800 square feet) spread over five floors and a basement. It is the largest marine aquarium in South America (4.5 million liters / 1.19 million gallons of salt water). Its 28 tanks, spanning two stories, provide a home to 8,000 creatures from 350 different species. The largest tank at AquaRio, the Oceanic and Diving Enclosure, is 7 meters (23 feet) deep and you can dive with fish, sharks, sea turtles and stingrays!
In order to waterproof and increase the durability of the water tanks, all concrete used in the tank structures was treated with PENETRON ADMIX, which is easy to integrate into the concrete. The construction joints in the new concrete were permanently sealed with PENEBAR SW-55 waterstop.
PENETRON crystalline technology is the optimal solution to enhance resistance of the concrete to chloride penetration and it provides an environmentally friendly solution for the massive dimensions of the aquarium structures.
Rio home for the fishes: Main saltwater tank of AquaRio during construction showing the underwater walkway – and concrete treated with PENETRON ADMIX to maximize resistance to chloride penetration.
