Luca Negri

Waterproofing of pools and whirlpools

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La façade Art Nouveau du Grand Hôtel des Îles Borromées

The waterproofing of the new indoor and outdoor pools and whirlpools in the SPA of the Hôtel des Iles Borromeés writes a new chapter in the fascinating history of this prestigious hotel.

In September 1918 a 19-year-old American soldier was wounded in the trenches and spent his convalescence in Stresa.

That boy is called Ernest Hemingway and, fascinated by the beauty of Lake Maggiore, he set part of his novel A Farewell to Arms – A Farewell to Arms, 1929 – there, making the Grand Hôtel des Iles Borromées famous throughout the world.

It is just one of the many connections with history that have built the legend of the great hotel, inaugurated in 1863.

With the opening of the Simplon railway tunnel, Stresa became a privileged destination for elite European tourism and, in 1919, was included in the sixth route of the Orient Express: the one which from London reaches Istanbul through Italy, via Milan, Venice and Trieste.

The Simplon Orient Express soon became the most successful route and getting off at Des Iles gave wealthy travelers their first evocative impact on the Bel Paese.

In over a century and a half of history, the Hôtel des Iles Borromeés has been able to adapt the concept of elegance to the evolution of times and tastes, without distorting its inimitable Art Nouveau style.

The new Spa was inaugurated in 2022, with wellness programs, saunas, Turkish baths, salt rooms, as well as indoor and outdoor swimming pools and hydromassage tubs, all made with the integral waterproofing of the Drytech Tank.

The speed of construction of the Drytech system allowed the Bellani company of Arona to remove the waterproofing activities from the work calendar, delivering the new structure in time for the opening of the grand season.

Drytech Engineering also designed the solution for a sensitive structural detail such as the passage between the internal and external swimming pool, subject to significant temperature variations depending on the season.

Project: Architect Statilio Ubiali, Verdellino

Structure: Eng. Marco Danioni, Dormelletto / Eng. Carlo Sammartini, Cassano Magnago

Testing: Architect Alberto Marzaro, Mercallo

Construction: Bellani, Arona

Drytech Tank: 2,850 m2

Renovation with Ex-Post Drytech Tank, Italy

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Due to a faulty geological survey, no provision was made for waterproofing the basement of this prestigious residential complex, which was rehabilitated by constructing a Ex-post Drytech Tank.

Due to a faulty geological survey, no provision was made for waterproofing the basement of this prestigious residential complex, which was rehabilitated by constructing a Ex-post Drytech Tank.

Unfortunately, after the construction was completed, a peak of the seasonal water table flooded the -2 level, making the garages unusable.

At this point Drytech was involved to restore the underground.

The analysis of the structural and environmental situation by the Engineering has identified the best solution in the construction of a Ex-post Drytech Tank.

The industrial floor built above the gravel filling was therefore demolished. The water table was brought under control with a well-point system.

We then proceeded to lay the cracking elements in the stalls and prepare the stalls / walls and stalls / columns joints with the DRYset Channel.

The numerous crossings produced by the well-points have also been suitably prepared for the waterproofing injection, once the concrete has matured.

The new waterproof concrete slab based on the Drytech recipe was then cast.

To ensure the height of the extrados, it was necessary to create the sealed platform and the industrial floor in a single fresh-on-fresh helicopter jet.

When the concrete has matured, Drytech has perfected the injection of programmed cracks, joints and crossings with DRYflex expansive resin.

Due to its elastic quality, the resin is re-injectable, so it guarantees the possibility of maintaining the system over the years.

The construction of the ex-post Drytech platform made it possible to waterproof the basements and to deliver the properties with the usable garages.

Restoration Project: Drytech Engineering

Waterproofing: Drytech Italy

Waterproofing garages and swimming pools

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Ra Curta residences Project A++, Lugano

Waterproofing the garages and swimming pools of a terraced villa complex, which follows the conformation of the terrain.

The emerging architectural elements of the Ra Curta residences follow the natural morphological elements of the lot, so that the project is strongly rooted and in balance with the context

The translation of the blocks downstream and the different heights lie harmoniously on the natural terrain, guaranteeing maximum privacy and visual channels to the lake.

The 4 blocks that are mirrored, accentuating symmetries and proportions, are crossed by two stairways that become urban connections between the streets of Montagnola.

Large terraces emerge from the ground like horizontal blades, the edges of which are made of different materials that form suspended frames and light eaves.

Particular attention was paid to brightness, while still maintaining a high level of privacy.

Drytech created both the hanging swimming pools and the underground waterproof structures, including the long and elegant access corridor to the private garages of the properties.

Promoter: Tognola Group, Lugano

General contractor: Abacho, Lugano

Project: A++, Lugano

Structure: Casanova Engineering Studio, Pazzallo

Construction: GTL, Gravesano

Drytech Tank: 4,200 m2

Drytech Ex-Post tank for oil plant, Italy

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To protect the ground from leaks in an oil valve park, Drytech built a watertight tank underneath the plant without interrupting its operations.

To protect the ground from leaks in an oil valve park, Drytech built a watertight tank underneath the plant without interrupting its operations.

A valve park sorts the crude oil unloaded from tankers to storage tanks.

In the specific case of the plant’s leaks in the ground, it was necessary and urgent to restore it, but without the possibility of interrupting its activity.

It was therefore decided to create an impermeable tank below the system of valves, which had been placed in contact with the ground.

With an almost archaeological approach, the ground beneath the plant was excavated by gradually inserting supports to the pipelines.

Then we proceeded to the casting of the drytech waterproof concrete slab and walls and, when the casting was ripe, the waterproofing injection of DRYflex resin in the programmed cracks, in the construction joints and in the crossings, including the pipe supports, which were left in place.

The intervention, designed and coordinated by Drytech Engineering, restored the system to safety and made it definitively accessible for maintenance.

Waterproofing: Drytech Italia, Como

Ex-post Drytech Tank: 4’000 m²

Waterproofing of the two underground floors

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The superficial grid of the Mendrisio regional hospital brings together the different distribution of spaces

Drytech realised the waterproofing of the two underground floors of the Mendrisio regional hospital, intended for laboratories, outpatients’ departments and operating theatres, and the extension of the underground garage.

The Ospedale Beata Vergine is located in an area on the edge of the historical centre, characterised by the presence of buildings surrounded by majestic gardens.

The positioning of the hospital expansion aims first and foremost to strengthen this ensemble through the definition of a public space: an urban park capable of offering a spatial quality to the buildings that stand on this place.

The main architectural choices of the new wing, such as the porticoed ground floor and the design of the facade, derive largely from the particular condition of a hospital building surrounded by a public space.

The semi-underground rooms, the underground ones and the extension of the garage with 127 parking spaces created under the new square were created with the Drytech Tank system.

The facade seeks an adequate response to the public situation of the building, allowing an open view towards the outside but at the same time closure and appropriate discretion for those looking from outside.

Through the twisting of standard aluminum profiles, a precise identity is given to the building. This surface grid makes the different distribution of spaces unified.

Project: Gaggini Studio D’Architettura, Lugano

Structure: Pianifica, Locarno

Works Management: Direzione Lavori, Lugano

Construction: Barella, Chiasso

Drytech Tank: 3’500 m2

Waterproofing of the private garages

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Architect Diego Fumagalli designed the Gioia Garden residences starting from the classic Milanese palace.

Drytech carried out the waterproofing of the underground level for the private garages of the Gioia Garden residences in Viale Melchiorre Gioia in Milan.

Architect Diego Fumagalli designed the Gioia Garden 1 and 2 residences starting from the stylistic features of the classic Milanese palace with which they border.

He created an architectural continuity made up of citations and references, which harmonizes the relationship between the two buildings, enhancing their formal differences.

Starting from this connection, the buildings in via Melchiorre Gioia 177/179 develop their own architectural identity, fitting perfectly into the context.

At the point of contact between the two buildings, the height of the volumes was respected and, in Gioia Garden 1 and 2, the string courses of the residential levels are barely mentioned, to conceal the slight differences in the height of the floors compared to the historic building.

Once continuity with the existing one has been established, the architecture of the new building unfolds all its character: with the articulation of the facade through the volumes of the terraces and the deep recesses of the winter gardens; with the hanging gardens dotting the building at different levels; with the three additional floors, progressively set back from the main facade.

The tallest volume itself contains a further reference, taking up the horizontal shutters that characterize nineteenth-century architecture.

Due to the presence of the aquifer and the proximity to the Naviglio della Martesana, all the underground structures, including garages, were built with a 2,753 m2 Drytech Tank.

Project: Architect Diego Fumagalli, Milan

Structure: STG engineering, Milan

Construction: Domus Service CO, Milan

Drytech Tank: 2,753 m2

Waterproofing of kitchens and gymnasium

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A classroom of the Bedano Elementary School designed by the architect Vezzoli

Drytech carried out the waterproofing of the technical and service rooms, the kitchens and the basement gymnasium of the Primary School in Bedano.

There is an additional emotional involvement in designing and building a school. There is a sense of future that invests us with further responsibility.

There is the evocative power of memories: the first day of school and then all the other first times at school that determined what we would become.

Architect Vezzoli designed a structure composed of two perpendicular bodies: one dedicated to classrooms and service spaces and the other to the gym, with a gallery for the public.

The corner between the two bodies forms a space characterized by a large lawn, delimited on the third side by the steps of a grandstand that emerges from the greenery, creating a continuum with the surrounding nature.
It is the contemporary and organic version of the school courtyard, perfectly inserted into the context of the hill on the slopes of which the school complex stands.

Set in the profile of the slope, the building is partly underground and was built with the Drytech Tank.
On the ground floor of the main building there is space for the management, administrative offices, the canteen for around 60 students, the after-school club and the large entrance hall with access to the gym.

On the two upper floors there are the classrooms, set up to encourage maximum flexibility in the organization of the class, depending on the different activities.

Project: Architect Egidio Vezzoli, Bedano

Structure: K.ing Civil Engineering, Agno

Construction: Giovanni Quadri, Cadempino

Drytech Tank: 2,500 m2

CPC Gym, Chiasso

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The CPC double gym in Chiasso is the victory of lightness over weight, interaction over separation, flexibility over rigidity.

The CPC double gym in Chiasso is the victory of lightness over weight, interaction over separation, flexibility over rigidity.

The duality between the podium and the covering volume of the room is defined by a detachment, produced by a punctual support on all four sides.

Through this suspension, the monolithic volume appears very light, to the point of seeming to be held back – rather than supported – by the four lateral Vs.

The detachment connects the interior space with the urban and natural elements that surround the gym. An interaction that places it in the context of the school and cultural campus, weaving various relationships with the peculiar elements of the place.

The building reacts to different situations and topographical differences. To the north it has an access terrace, in relation to the school buildings and access from the public car park. To the south, a flight of steps in relation to the small garden.

A delimitation of the road field and the existing square to the east. Finally, it is at the same level as the m.a.x Museum and the Spazio Officina, sharing their public vocation.

The podium is a Drytech tank. The insulation of the internal facades is protected by an exposed wooden strip in the lower part and by an acoustic paneling in the upper part.

From an energy point of view, the building meets the criteria of the Minergie standard.

Client: Canton Ticino logistics section

Project: Architetti Nicola Baserga e Christian Mozzetti, Muralto

Structure: Ingegneri Andrea e Eugenio Pedrazzini, Lugano

Construction: Mafledil, Osogna

Drytech Tank: 2’128 m²

Waterproofing for sauna, Turkish bath, indoor pool and whirlpool

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The new pavilion of the Rivabella Residence in Magliaso

Drytech waterproofing for sauna, Turkish bath, indoor pool and whirlpool at the Rivabella Residence in Magliaso.

Inaugurated 30 years ago on the shore of Ceresio, the Rivabella residence in Magliaso has been equipped with a new and very modern wing which, together with the historic buildings, forms a spectacular courtyard overlooking the lake.

The new pavilion appears extraordinarily light, almost suspended by virtue of the retreat of the podium, camouflaged by the shadow cast by the upper volume and by the large windowed walls of the common areas, which make it permeable to the background.

Water represents an equally central element in the architecture of the residence. In addition to the lake, which naturally orients and catalyzes the views, in the center of the lawn there is a small lake with a water garden, water lilies and fountains.

The ground floor houses the large restaurant room, the gym, the physiotherapy and the wellness centre, with the spa equipped with Kneipp path, salt room, massage centre, and then the waterproof structures created with the Drytech Tank: sauna, bathroom Turkish, indoor swimming pool and hydromassage.

The Residence is organized to guarantee guests the possibility of maintaining their habits and independence.

The attention to the personal history and individuality of the residents also includes the possibility of choosing the furnishings of the rooms and suites, even using their own furniture.

Due to its exhibitions and concerts, the Rivabella Residence has become a cultural reference, to the point that its Art Gallery is the main exhibition center in the region. This cultural offer is accompanied by a notable concert season which, in the summer, has this fascinating corner of the lake as its backdrop.

Project: Luca Gazzaniga Architects, Lugano

Structure: Ing. Galli & Associati, Cadempino

Construction: Garzoni, Lugano

Photo: Enrico Cano, Lugano

Drytech Tank: 380 m2

Lee Tunnel, London

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The Lee Tunnel is one of the two pipelines that convey an average of 39 million tons per year of wastewater, coming from 35 sewer pipes, built in the Victorian era as part of the network that still serves London, after 150 years.

The Lee Tunnel is one of the two pipelines that convey an average of 39 million tons per year of wastewater, coming from 35 sewer pipes, built in the Victorian era as part of the network that still serves London, after 150 years.

The works began in September 2010 at the Beckton treatment plant, with the construction of the first of the four 80-meter wells, waterproofed by laying DRYset channels in the joints, then sealed with DRYflex resin injections.

The sections of the 120-meter-long milling machine were then lowered through the shaft, which in 2012 began excavating the connection tunnels, with a diameter of 7 meters.

The infrastructure is part of the strategic plan to improve and ensure the health of the Thames waters. The system routes discharges from London’s largest surplus sewer to Mills Abbey Pumping Station in Stratford, which handles 40 per cent of the total waste.

The four miles of tunnel were built beneath the Borough of Newham, from Abbey Mills to Beckton. The new tunnel helps prevent more than 16 million tonnes of sewage mixed with rainwater from overflowing into the River Lee each year, capturing and transferring it to Beckton’s sewage treatment facilities, which are in turn being expanded by 60 per year. one hundred to cope with the increase in volumes handled.

This is the deepest tunnel ever built in London. This involved excavating in conditions of high groundwater pressures, along four miles of extraordinarily abrasive soil and without lateral vent pipes.

Owner: Thames Water Utilities, London

Structure: Engineer Emmanuel Costes, London 

Construction: Morgan Vinci Bachy JV, London

Waterproofing: Drytech UK, London