Smart Concrete

Mount Anvil and One Housing Group partnered to build a new luxury development, featuring studio apartments as well as one -, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments. These living spaces were designed to be surrounded by private gardens and water features in the heart of fashionable Clerkenwell, England.The plans for this new development called for 274 units within 10 stories set atop of 4,500 m2 (48,438 ft2) of commercial space, including room for basements and parking.To provide permanent protection against water for the space surrounding the basements and parking, Mount Anvil and One Housing Group’s construction team were looking for a long-term concrete waterproofing solution.

Once known as a local police station, Westbourne Place was eventually converted into a lavish building with an add-on in the rear. Developed by Redrow, the building retained a number of details from its original design, such as high ceilings and period features. It even remains connected to what was once the police station’s parade ground and is now a scenic and serene courtyard.Still, the building itself is anything but stuck in the past. Redrow’s conversion gave the Westbourne Place more modern features as well. These include fully fitted contemporary kitchen units and engineered oak flooring. All of which benefit the 49 luxury suites there. Those who reside in any one of them will not only enjoy those features in a one-, two-, or three-bedroom unit but will also enjoy the advantage of living within the heart of West London next to multiple transit, taxi, and cycling areas.Of course, to make any of this possible, Redrow needed to restore Westbourne Place efficiently. For that to happen, it was vital that they find a concrete waterproofing solution that would be low-maintenance, set no limits on concrete pouring, and have an easy installation process.SolutionWhen considering a solution that fit all those requirements, the contractor for Westbourne Place decided on KIM as their desired form of concrete waterproofing. As a result, they used 1,000 m3 (35,315 ft3) of KIM-treated concrete to waterproof the building’s basement parkade’s slab and walls. That allowed the contractor to build straight up to the property line and to save on the cost of application. It also allowed the KIM-treated concrete to self-seal if any minor cracks occurred in the concrete and to block water from passing through the concrete, reducing the need for maintenance.For further waterproofing protection, the contractor applied Krytonite Swelling Waterstop and Krystol Waterstop Treatment to all the construction joints and details. With this dual-protection waterstop system, the contractor could ensure that no leaks would occur and that water would not be able to infiltrate the concrete and corrode the steel rebar within. Moreover, this system and KIM will work for the life of the structure, providing permanent protection.

Facing concerns about the durability of the concrete and the reliability of the water supply, CONAGUA’s construction team sought solutions that would ensure the durability of their concrete. That led them to sourcing KIM and Hard-Cem admixtures to provide quality waterproofing and abrasion and erosion resistance.With KIM, the construction team’s concrete would reap the benefits of having an award-winning waterproofing admixture that’s been certified by NSF to be safe with potable water. The concrete would become permanently watertight and safe from any waterborne contaminants. And it would all be thanks to KIM’s unique Krystol® technology. Designed to disperse throughout the concrete mix during batching, this technology would imbue the concrete with the ability to chemically react in the presence of water and unhydrated cement particles. As a result, even the slightest presence of water would allow the concrete to react to form solid interlocking crystals, which would fill up the capillary pores and micro-cracks of the concrete. That would ensure that the water would not be able to pass through the concrete and that the concrete itself could self-seal hairline cracks even under heavy hydrostatic pressure.