Projects / 5/8/2024

The Ray Fitness Club at Alster-Schwimmhalle in Hamburg

A complete system to install linoleum and textile floors ultra-rapidly

The Alster-Schwimmhalle sports center in Hamburg (Germany), recently modernized by Baderland Deutschland, also includes The Ray Fitness Club. In this fitness centre 1100 m² of durable linoleum flooring were installed with Mapei eco-sustainable adhesives and products for substrates preparation

Since 1973 the Alster-Schwimmhalle sports centre has been offering the residents of Hamburg the opportunity to take part in various water sports in its swimming pools: an opportunity taken up by more than 20 million people over the course of these 50 years. Recently Baderland Deutschland, the company that manages the centre, decided to extend the range of services and activities on offer by launching a redevelopment and modernisation plan which, apart from the areas dedicated to swimming, led to the creation of a 1600 m² fitness area. The Ray Fitness Club offers views of the pools and cutting-edge equipment for strength training, cardio-fitness and weightlifting.

The linoleum floors in the new fitness areas were bonded with a rapid installation system by Mapei.

Cutting-edge floors in just a short time

For the floors in the fitness area, the client wanted them to be up to the standards of an ultramodern sports centre and resistant to the continuous stresses that sports activities inevitably entail. And this is why it was decided to use linoleum bonded with an installation system that would be able to guarantee high mechanical properties and durability.

But there were also other challenges: the products employed had to be compatible with the various materials used for the substrates (cementitious screeds and asphalt) and installation had to be completed in a short space of time.

Thanks to the system proposed by Mapei GmbH, the Group’s German subsidiary, it was possible to install 1100 m² of linoleum flooring efficiently and safely.

Substrates as the starting point

The first step was to make sure all the substrates were prepared correctly. The surfaces of the existing screeds were ground and all waste and dust was removed with a special vacuum cleaner. The cementitious screeds were then treated with ECO PRIM T PLUS universal acrylic primer, while the asphalt substrates were treated with PRIMER MF slvent-free epoxy primer. The surfaces were then levelled off, using ULTRAPLAN XTRA ultra fast-drying, self-levelling compound for the cementitious substrates and PLANITEX PRO calcium sulphate-based self-levelling compound for the asphalt substrates, which is distributed on the German market by Mapei GmbH.

ULTRAPLAN XTRA levelling compound was used to treat the substrates and ULTRABOND ECO 530 adhesive to bond the linoleum floors.

The most rapid adhesives for resilient and textile materials

Around 680 m² of linoleum flooring was bonded using ULTRABOND ECO 530 adhesive in water dispersion. This product is ideal for installing linoleum sheets and panes up to 4 mm thick internally on all types of absorbent substrates that remain stable in the presence of moisture. It is particularly recommended for surfaces that have to withstand normal and intense traffic and loads in residential, commercial and industrial environments, such as those typically found in gyms, hospitals, shopping centres, airports and offices. Very easy to apply, it has fast and strong initial tack, including when freshly applied, fast leg development and and very low emission of volatile organic compounds (certified EMICODE EC1^Plus⁾.

Apart from the gym, Mapei solutions were also employed in other areas. ULTRABOND ECO TX3, an adhesive with excellent wet grab and, again, very low emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC), was used to install 70 m² of flooring in the corridors and offices of the Alster-Schwimmhalle centre. This product is recommended for bonding flooring that has to withstand normal and intense traffic in residential and commercial environments and may also be used on underfloor heating systems and double-stick installations.

An eco-sustainable and complete system was proposed by Mapei, with the ability to ensure rapid execution of the installation operations and the creation of safe, durable surfaces highly resistant to the stresses and loads associated with sports.