Penetron Goes for a Swim at the Haikou Shangri-La Hotel

When a swimming pool is a luxury hotel’s most popular spot, the construction engineer looks to ensure a durable structure. The Haikou Shangri-La Hotel in Haikou, China was officially opened in June 2020 and Penetron ensured that the expansive outdoor pool is waterproof for decades to come.

Located in Haikou, the capital and largest city (population: 2 million) of the island province of Hainan, the Haikou Shangri-La Hotel lies directly off the coast of the Qiongzhou Strait, which connects the South China Sea and the Beibu Gulf.

Adjacent to the Hainan International Exhibition Center at the western end of the city, the Haikou Shangri-La Hotel features 318 rooms, three restaurants and bars, as well as indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
 

Meeting High Construction Standards

“When the local Penetron team was contacted by the project engineers, it quickly became clear they had very high construction standards for the hotel’s outdoor swimming pool,” explains Jozef Van Beeck, Director of International Sales & Marketing for The Penetron Group. “They required not only a robust waterproofing solution but also a product that was completely safe in a pool environment.”

All Penetron products are non-toxic and contain no VOCs (NSF 61-certified for potable water applications). After a demonstration on the performance of PENETRON ADMIX, the crystalline admixture was specified for the entire concrete structure of the outdoor swimming pool. When added to the mix, PENETRON ADMIX reacts with the moisture in the concrete, generating an impermeable crystalline network that becomes an integral part of the concrete matrix.

“One of the key benefits of PENETRON ADMIX is the ability to self-heal hairline cracks,” adds Jozef Van Beeck. “Where chlorine-laden water could enter through cracks and penetrate deeply into permeable concrete causing corrosion and related deterioration, PENETRON ADMIX-treated concrete is impermeable, stopping water and harmful elements from entering the concrete, thus preventing any damage from occurring – for the life of the concrete.”
 

Best for Reducing Permeability

As described in the “Report on Chemical Admixtures for Concrete” published by the American Concrete Institute (ACI): Permeability-Reducing Admixtures for Hydrostatic conditions (PRAHs), i.e. crystalline admixtures like PENETRON ADMIX, resist water penetration against hydrostatic pressure and have proven to be the most effective PRAH products with clear advantages over hydrophobic materials based on other technologies that cannot withstand hydrostatic pressures (i.e. “Permeability-Reducing Admixtures for Non-hydrostatic conditions,” or PRANs).

“The post-construction inspection revealed that the concrete pool structures are completely waterproof,” adds Jozef Van Beeck. “Penetron technology, which is used in residential and competitive swimming pools around the world, worked perfectly for the Shangri-La Hotel.”