Projects / 1/8/2025

A new look for the theatre from interiors to façades

Waterproofers, adhesives and coatings to renovate this building. The Sandro Pertini Civic Theatre in Bresso is the first example in Italy to benefit from NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) funding for society, family and services.

The Sandro Pertini Civic Theatre in Bresso, Italy, has reopened after a 1.4 million Euro renovation funded by the Next Generation EU program. The project encompassed comprehensive renovation, including façade restoration, waterproofing and new coatings for the façades. Mapei products played a pivotal role in completing this refurbishment, ensuring a modern, inclusive facility for the community.

A complete refurbishment enabled the Sandro Pertini Civic Theatre in Bresso, near Milan, to reopen its doors after being closed for more than five years. In the autumn of 2018, the structure, which was built in 1967, had been declared inaccessible due to safety reasons. Last May the Mayor of Bresso, Simone Cairo, declared the theatre open again to the public – with seating for 240 people – after a year of work which included a renovation of the interiors and installation of new plant systems, the construction of an external lift, and renovation work on the façades.

The theatre is now accessible to all the residents: there are no obstacles for people with disabilities and an LVE (Loges Vet Evolution) tactile and hearing system has been installed to help those with poor eyesight. 1.4 million euro was spent on the refurbishment, 1 million of which came from the Next Generation EU fund. Bresso is the first city in the metropolitan area of Milan to have completed a “Come_In” project as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Programme for the integrated urban plan which targets social structures for families, the local community and service sectors.

The renovation of the Sandro Pertini Civic Theatre included the renovation of the interiors.

Refurbishing the exteriors

The renovation of the external stairways and corridors

Where required, the screeds were rebuilt using TOPCEM PRONTO ready to use, quick-drying mortar before treating the surfaces with PRIMER 3296 consolidator and adhesion promoter and MAPEFINISH cementitious mortar to finish off the concrete substrates.

To seal the surface porosity of the substrate, it was treated with a coat of PRIMER SN fillerized adhesion promoter which was then broadcast with QUARTZ 0.5 while still fresh.

Before applying PRIMER SN, the areas where the residual moisture content of the substrate was more than 4% were treated with TRIBLOCK P epoxy-cementitious primer.

Around the areas with metal parts, the substrates were sanded down to remove any old paint. The metal surfaces were treated wit MAPEDECK PRIMER 200 two-component polyurethane primer.

The next step was to apply PURTOP EASY one-component polyurethane waterproofing membrane which, after just a few hours, forms a seamless elastic coating with excellent crack-bridging capacity.

PURTOP EASY was applied in a 1.5 mm thick coat after mixing it with PURTOP ADY, an admixture that enables to apply only one single coat of the product while improving the mechanical properties of the membrane. The joints between the horizontal and vertical surfaces were filled with MAPEFLEX PU 45 high modulus, rapid-hardening, thixotropic polyurethane sealant.

MAPECOAT TNS EXTREME system was selected as a finish for the project. After priming the surfaces with MAPECOAT PRIMER EPW epoxy primer, a coat of MAPECOAT TNS EXTREME was applied over the exterior floors, a rapid-drying, long-lasting epoxy-acrylic topcoating for surfaces with vehicle access. The final step was to apply MAPECOAT TNS EXTREME SF, a coloured epoxy-acrylic topcoating.

Renovation works included preparing and waterproofing the substrates of the external stairs and corridors before finishing them with the MAPECOAT TNS EXTREME system.

Renovating the façades

Where necessary, the concrete on the external surfaces of the building was repaired with PLANITOP SMOOTH & REPAIR ZERO* cementitious mortar, after protecting the steel reinforcement rods with MAPEFER 1K ZERO* anti-corrosion cementitious mortar.

The next step was to apply SILANCOLOR CLEANER PLUS detergent before skimming the surfaces with MAPETHERM AR1 GG cementitious mortar, with MAPENET 150 alkali-resistant glass fibre mesh embedded in the mortar. The surfaces were then treated with QUARZOLITE BASE COAT pigmented acrylic undercoat, filler and adhesion promoter followed by QUARZOLITE TONACHINO PRO S acrylic-siloxane textured coating.

Interior floors and walls

The interior spaces of the theatre were completely overhauled and equipped with safety systems. Rubber flooring was applied on all the internal surfaces with ULTRABOND ECO V4SP universal adhesive with extended open time.

All the internal walls were coated with DURSILITE MATT washable water-based wall paint.

Project information

Sandro Pertini Theatre, Bresso (Province of Milan, Italy)

Period of construction: 1967

Period of the Mapei intervention: 2024

Intervention by Mapei: supplying products for waterproofing substrates, renovating and coating facades, installing rubber floors, coating interior walls

Owner: Bresso City Council

Design: Fortunato Businaro, Bresso City Council

Main contractor: Multimanutenzione S.r.l.

Works direction: Fortunato Businaro

Mapei coordinator: Andrea Serafin, Davide Dido, Marco Cattuzzo, Fabio Bergamaschi, Mapei SpA (Italy)