Braço de Prata residential complex, Lisbon (Portugal)

Braço de Prata is a commanding, new luxury residential complex currently undergoing completion situated north of Lisbon, between the districts of Alfama and Parque das Nações. Designed by Renzo Piano, it has been built following the redevelopment and conversion of a former armaments factory.

The complex extends over an area of nine hectares and is made up of 12 buildings, and features 499 luxury apartments, around 7,000 m² of service facilities, office space and more than 19,000 m² of retail outlets.

The intention of Renzo Piano, who worked together with the Portuguese design studio CPU, was to create a new quarter along the banks of the River Tago that encircles a central piazza, combining traditional Portuguese features – such as ceramic tiles on the façades of the buildings – with more modern constructive techniques typically found in contemporary architecture.

The idea was also to create spaces to be enjoyed by all the local residents, with restaurants, bars and shops along the banks of the river.

Mapei participated in this important project by supplying a thermal insulation system, waterproofing products and coating products for the walls.

THERMAL INSULATION

After carrying out a series of tests, MAPETHERM SYSTEM was chosen for the external thermal insulation of the buildings. Going into detail, MAPETHERM AR1 one-component, cementitious adhesive and mortar, which has high bonding strength and a low level of viscosity that ensures excellent workability, was used to bond and smooth the insulating panels for the external thermal insulation systems. Thanks to its high level of thixotropy, MAPETHERM AR1 may be applied on vertical surfaces without sagging and without letting even large-size insulating panels slip.

The surfaces of the walls were finished off with the SILANCOLOR cycle, which consists of an undercoat of siloxane coloured SILANCOLOR BASE COAT, with good defect-covering and filling properties, SILANCOLOR TONACHINO siloxane plaster and, lastly, water-repellent, transpirant siloxane SILANCOLOR PAINT PLUS, which has a good level of resistance to mould and algae.

WATERPROOFING SOLUTIONS

MAPELASTIC, an elastic two-component cementitious mortar for waterproofing balconies, terraces, bathrooms and swimming pools, was used for the waterproofing of the balconies.

For roof waterproofing, in order to combine the design requirement of fire resistance with aesthetic appeal, Mapei supplied PURTOP FR, a two-component, solvent-free, hybrid polyurea membrane to be sprayed using a high-pressure bi-mixer pump. With the application of PURTOP FR it was possible to guarantee a waterproof and perfectly fire-resistant system.

AQUAFLEX ROOF PREMIUM, a ready-to-use water-based polyurethane membrane with excellent waterproofing, elasticity and fire resistance properties, was applied onto the PURTOP FR layer to give the covering the desired aesthetic result without losing its fire-resistance. It was thus possible to satisfy all the requests related to the project.

The Mapei solutions worked exceptionally well and the works director chose Mapei as sole supplier for the next stages of the project.