The luxury waterfront apartments at the Residencial Quay in Florianópolis, in the south of Brazil, went on the market in June 2017. All below-ground concrete structures used PENETRON ADMIX to ensure permanent protection against chloride penetration from seawater.
As residential construction moves increasingly into marine environments, exposure to seawater can seriously compromise and deteriorate concrete structures due to aggressive chemicals (such as chloride) and corrosion of the underlying reinforcement steel.
“Adding an integral waterproofing solution can substantially reduce the permeability of normally porous concrete to keep water and waterborne contaminants out of the concrete matrix,” explains Cláudio Neves Ourives, General Manager of PENETRON Brazil. “The relatively high water table of the Residencial Quay construction site and the close proximity of the Atlantic Ocean made PENETRON crystalline products an important part of the design for these luxury apartments.”
The PENETRON Brazil team worked closely with CFL, the project contractor, during the early stages of construction of the Residencial Quay in Florianópolis. With a location directly adjacent to the Jurerê Internacional beach, the original plans called for asphalt and a bituminous membrane to protect the concrete, where the average depth of the basement and parking garage structures is 1.5 m (5 feet) below the water table.
“The project engineers saw our proposal, a waterproof solution without the use of any membranes or topically-applied materials, and quickly realized this was the perfect solution,” adds Cláudio Neves Ourives. “PENETRON technology was used for the parking garage to ensure impermeability of all concrete slabs and below-ground concrete walls.”
“Because the construction site environment is quite aggressive due to groundwater pressure aggravated by the nearby tides, we opted for a solution utilizing chemical additives – in this case, PENETRON ADMIX," said Luiz Callegaro, Project Engineer at CFL. “By mixing it directly into the concrete mix, PENETRON ADMIX was easy to apply and gave us the results we needed at a fair cost.”
PENETRON ADMIX was added to concrete used in the underground garage, an area of 5,500 m2 (60,000 square feet). All concrete joints were permanently sealed with over 300 m (1,000 feet) of PENEBAR SW-55 waterstop. PENETRON ADMIX was also added to concrete in the Residencial Quay swimming pool (30 m x 11 m x 1.40 m deep) and the spa areas.
“The preference for PENETRON ADMIX was a result of prior success with the Porto Alegre project near Rio Guaíba,” adds Cláudio Neves Ourives. "The concrete there also had suffered from the high water table.”
Mr. Callegaro also commented on the PENEBAR SW-55 swellable-type waterstop: "The performance is great. With a 27,000 m2 (290,600 square feet) footprint, including a 6,500 m² (70,000 square feet) basement, retaining walls, eight elevator shafts and several rain sewer reservoirs and vent shafts, the project had a large number of construction joints. Our team followed the guidelines of the PENETRON experts – and today we have a completely waterproof basement.”
“The CFL construction team realized a benefit from a huge reduction in the construction schedule and positive effect on the overall project costs,” concludes Cláudio Neves Ourives.
The Residencial Quay complex features two dozen luxury apartments with amenities that include a wine bar, a bistro restaurant, a swimming pool and lounge, and a fitness spa. The apartments have two to five-bedroom layouts, ranging from 105-655 m2 (1,130-7,000 square feet) in size, with underground parking.
Ready for a dip: PENETRON crystalline technology keeps the aggressive groundwater pressure (aggravated by the nearby tides) out of the concrete used in the Residencial Quay swimming pool.
Safe not soggy: A high water table at the Residencial Quay site and proximity of the Atlantic Ocean made PENETRON crystalline products a key part of the design for these luxury apartments.
