Luca Negri

Waterproofing of basement and fountains

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Aerial view of the Polis multipurpose centre in Pregassona.

Drytech has created the waterproofing of the basement of the Polis Centre with the Drytech Tank and the surfaces of the fountains with the Drycoat architectural coating.

The plan of Polis Multifunctional Center in Pregassona is a double L that welcomes and embraces, enhancing the sense of openness towards the outside. An architecture that is both symbolic and functional, which guides routes, creates aggregations and integrates the Center into the urban fabric.

The structure was designed by Studio Mario Campi, winner of the international competition in 2008. The subsequent development of the work was managed by the architect Rosario Galgano, until the inauguration in 2021.

The complex is an important resource of the social services network for the elderly in the Lugano area.

On the lower level, the nursery, with its own outdoor play area, overlooks the courtyard, which contributes to the intergenerational and interconnected character of the Polis Centre.

The opposite wing instead houses the structures for the functionality of the centre: radiology, underground car parks, supplier entrance, technical rooms, etc.

This level, partially buried in the profile of the hill, is made with the waterproof  Drytech Tank structure.

Drytech also created the waterproof covering of the courtyard pools, with the continuous Drycoat covering in two colors obtained from the mixture of quartz sands (not from paints) and therefore resistant to continuous exposure to atmospheric agents, without chromatic degradation.

The complex, like every new building in the city, complies with the Minergie energy standard, significantly reducing energy needs. Furthermore, the Polis Center is unique for the self-production of electricity, through an integrated photovoltaic system (BIPV) which exploits both the horizontal surfaces of the roof and those of the facades, equipped with a further 1,600 meters2 of photovoltaic panels.

Project: Studio Mario Campi

Executive project: Architect Rosario Galgano, Lugano

Structure: Afry Engineering, Rivera

Construction: Consortium Garzoni – Rizzani De Eccher

Drytech Tank: 2’900 m2

Waterproofing pump shafts inside the slab

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Drytech has designed a special waterproof pump shaft that allows companies to create pumping points inside the bed.

Drytech has developed a system for waterproofing pump shafts that allows contractors to position the bailing out points directly inside the slab.

The special waterproof wells are manufactured in the workshop in Bedano, Switzerland, and shipped to the construction site, wherever in the world they may be, where they are prepared by the Drytech technician.

This is the case of the construction site opened directly in the North Sea, where 36 pump wells were installed, subsequently sealed and incorporated into the bed.

Once its function is exhausted, the Drytech pump well is waterproofed both externally and internally.

Once the casting is complete, the joint between the well and the bed is injected with DRYflex expansive resin, which seals the element by pressure, wrapping around the entire thickness of the bed.

Any water flows inside the well are instead rendered harmless by the lid sealed with gaskets both on the circumference of the well and on each of the sealing bolts.

The use of the Drytech System resulted in a saving of several weeks on the time required for the construction of the waterproof basement.

Waterproofing: Drytech Italy

Waterproofing of Vira-Mezzovico aqueduct

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The main façade of the Vira-Mezzovico Aqueduct.

The waterproofing of the new Vira-Mezzovico aqueduct basin was carried out with a complete Drytech Tank, including a waterproof slab.

The new water storage and supply basin is part of the General Plan of the Aqueduct of the Municipality of Vira-Mezzovico.

Set into the mountain slope to minimize its visual impact, the Drytech concrete structure is entirely waterproof, both to the water present in the ground and to that collected in the internal basins. Even the slabs, covered by the lawn, are in Drytech Tank, therefore also resistant to root development.

The perfect correspondence between structure and function of the Drytech Tank makes it not only a solid barrier to water (the waterproofing is as thick as the structure), but also a durable system, because it is predisposed to extraordinarily practical maintenance. To the point that, specifically, any intervention does not require emptying the reservoirs or even interrupting the service.

The modernization plan of Aqueduct of Vira-Mezzovico also affected the water network, renewed for flow and efficiency in all its twenty kilometers of underground pipes.

Drytech Engineering collaborated already in the design phase with Lucchini & Canepa Engineering, for all aspects relating to the waterproofing of the structure.

Structure: Lucchini & Canepa Engineering, Lugano

Construction: Implenia Switzerland, Bioggio

Waterproofing the double underground gymnasium

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

Waterproofing the double underground gymnasium, designed by architects Baserga and Mozzetti in fair-faced concrete.

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 the underground garage

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The beautiful building designed by Gieffe Studio has a north-facing façade with completely windows

Waterproofing the underground garage of a beautiful building with a completely windowed north façade.
Rules are made (also) to be broken.

The choice of Gieffe Studio’s project is dictated by the shape of the site and made possible by the performance of modern thermal insulation systems and materials.

The three-family villa is set in a sloping plot facing north-west, with a 270° view of the Cassarate valley, which ranges from the Denti della Vecchia to Lake Lugano.

Gieffe Studio has therefore designed ultra-panoramic window walls for the living areas, recessed and re-oriented with respect to the front of the building, thus guaranteeing the interiors natural lighting and correct sun protection in all seasons and favoring the view of the mountains on the north façade and of the lake on the west.

At street level there is the garage, connected to the floors by an internal lift, and built with a 700 m2 Drytech Tank. The main entrance is located on the south side, at the height of the third floor.

The rationalist design is made organic by the warm travertine stone cladding and the changing reflection of the mountains and the sky that is projected onto the large windows and the elegant glass railings.
The cut and the different tones of the stones lighten the large continuous wall on the mountain side, harmoniously inserting the volume into the gentle slope of the land.

Project: Gieffe Studio, Lugano

Structure: Eng. Lucini Cesare, Paradiso

Construction: Gtl, Gravesano

Drytech Tank: 700 m2

Waterproofing of the London sewage system

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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.

Drytech realised the waterproofing of one of the main pipes of the London sewage system with the Drytech Tank system.

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

Waterproofing of the stage pit of the La Scala theatre

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As part of the renovation and expansion of the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan designed by architect Mario Botta, the waterproofing of the scenic pit was carried out, with 850 m² of stalls and 2,500 of walls.

Drytech carried out the waterproofing of the colossal stage pit of the La Scala theatre in Milan, reducing the Gantt diagram by 90 days compared to a traditional waterproofing system.

As part of the renovation and extension of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan designed by architect Mario Botta, the waterproofing of the stage pit was carried out, with a Drytech Tank of 850 m² of stalls and 2,500 m² of walls.

The Drytech Tank System was chosen because it made it possible to waterproof the tie rods of the unloaded floor.

It also saved about 90 days of work for the entire calendar of works because the waterproofing activities are independent and parallel to those of the construction site and are in fact removed from the Gantt chart.

A further saving of time and resources derives from the fact that the elevations of the Drytech tank are thrown directly against the micropiles, making the lining and the wall coincide.

The new stage tower rises 38 meters and the stage pit is 18 meters deep. The new structure behind the stage allows you to manage the sets of 3 shows at the same time.

Sophisticated stage machines allow you to completely change the show in just 6 minutes.

Client: Comune di Milano, Milano

Project: Mario Botta Architetto, Lugano

Structure: BMS Progetti, Milano

Construction: Consorzio Cooperative Costruzioni, Bologna

Drytech Tank: 3,350 m²

Waterproofing basement garage

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A brutalist structure in red concrete makes the historic seat of the municipality of Bioggio contemporary. Architects Bronner and Bruno.

Waterproofing of the basement garage of the brutalist red concrete structure that makes the historic seat of the town hall of Bioggio contemporary.

Work of the architects Lorenzo Bronner and Luciana Bruno, the intervention added a large external staircase to the eastern façade, incorporated into a thin reinforced concrete frame that recalls the Venetian red of the nineteenth-century building.

A perfect connection between past and present, reiterated and at the same time modernized by the deep frames that define the window spaces. The constant module of the openings on the facades of the original body becomes asymmetrical and intermittent on the new facade, yet recognizable in the grid hinted at by the occasional openings.

The clear stringcourses of the original body connect to the frames of the glass walls that incorporate the new external staircase, establishing a further connection between the stylistic features of the two architectures.

In continuity with the concrete wall, the architects Bronner and Bruno designed a podium in which the large basement garage for police vehicles is located. The podium slab is covered with a large grassy surface that interacts with the brutalist façade.

Two external staircases in the same color as the structure allow access to the entrance level. The footboards of the steps were waterproofed with the Drycoat covering which, thanks to the flexibility of the quartz colour, made the stairs perfectly in tone and integrated with the rest of the intervention.

Project: Bronner+Bruno Architetti, Bioggio

Structure: Engineering Studio Reali Guscetti, Quinto

Construction: Taddei, Viganello

Drytech Tank: 600 m2

Waterproofing of the Allianz Isozaki skyscraper

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The Isozaki Tower in the CityLife district, inspired by Costantin Brancusi's endless column, has become one of the symbols of the city of Milan.

Drytech designed the waterproofing of all structures below the design water table of the Allianz Isozaki skyscraper in Milan.

Therefore, the fireproof tanks, the plant tunnels, the polyphores and the basements were built with the Drytech Tank System.

The Isozaki Tower, inspired by Constantin Brancusi’s endless column, has become one of the symbols of the city. Designed by the Japanese architect Arada Isozaki together with the Italian architect Andrea Maffei, the skyscraper is the headquarters of Allianz in Italy.

The building, which can accommodate up to 3,800 people, is the tallest skyscraper in Italy by number of floors (50) and according to the highest occupied floor criterion (with its 207 m).

Property: CityLife s.p.a., Milano

Project: Architect Arata Isozaki, Tokyo / Architect Andrea Maffei, Milano

Structure: Prof. Marco Mola, Ing. Michele Cap, Milano / Ing. Francesco Iorio, Bergamo

Works management: In.Pro srl, Torino

Drytech Tank: 7’400 m²

Waterproofing a logistics hub

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Waterproofing a logistics hub realised with the Drytech Tank structure: the Service Centre (DLC) of Walter Meier (Climate Switzerland) AG is a 12,000 square metre storage area that serves efficient and ecologically optimised logistics.

The company is integrating energy efficiency into the new building: the DLC is built according to the Minergie standard and the building services are equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

For example, with the use of a large PICO heat pump for heating and cooling.
A photovoltaic system with 4,200 panels is also installed on the 7,200 square metre roof.

Properties

Property: Walter Meier AG, Schwerzenbach

Project: Frei Architekten AG, Aarau

Structure: Eichenberger AG, Muhen

Costruction: Estermann AG, Geuensee

Waterproofing: 6’095 m2 Drytech Tank