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Rain, ice, steam. Water can literally degrade a building to such an extent it becomes unhealthy and unsafe to use. If you are lucky, water damage might only include cracks, building bloom and mold; if you are less fortunate, the list of problems might touch compromised wall insulation and rusting reinforcing rods. The need to protect a building against water damage is clearly a vital factor in extending the life of a structure. Mapei’s solution is a series of mineral finishes with artificially created binders formed by chemically modifying natural base elements. For example, the Silexcolor line has a modified potassium silicate binder that is created by dissolving silicates in water at high pressures and temperatures. The strength of this binder lies in its ability to attach itself as a single body onto the wall in what is known as a “silicatization process” sparked off by the carbon dioxide in the air and the base-nature of the wall. The base molecule for the Silancolor line is quartz crystal that is modified to “fuse” its inorganic and organic components. The result is a product combining the hardness and impregnability of quartz, with the water-repellent properties of the organic part. When applied as a finish, a micro-perforated membrane mesh is formed that is tight enough to prevent the passage of water, but large enough to allow vapor through. Silexcolor and Silancolor coats have been used on the new campus for Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), one of the country’s leading public universities. The design, produced by UNStudio with support from DP Architects, uses curving lines that wrap the façades, highlighting these with brightly-colored bands - green, red and lilac - that recall the local plant life. To achieve this, Silancolor AC Paint (water-repellent acrylic-siloxane paint), Silancolor Paint, Silexcolor Paint, Silancolor Primer and Silexcolor Primer were used.
MAPEI
Via Cafiero, 22 - I - 20158 Milano
Tel. +39 02 376731
E-mail: [email protected] - www.mapei.it
