Projects
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12/30/2024
The thousand faces of culture
Art collections, schools, monuments… Lots of projects with a common denominator: the quality and reliability of Mapei systems
Mapei’s versatile solutions played a key role in lots of restoration and construction projects that involved cultural and art places worldwide. From grouting the stone paving of Rotterdam’s Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen to restoring Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and Michelangelo’s David plinth, Mapei products ensured durability and compatibility with original materials. These projects highlight Mapei’s commitment to quality, reliability, and adaptability across cultural landmarks and contemporary spaces.
Square in front of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
The Depot houses the art collection of the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, the first in the world to be fully accessible to the public, continuously enriched since 1849. It houses 151,000 works of art, 88,000 of which are drawings and prints.
The stone paving of the square in front of this storage facility recently underwent a renovation that saw the removal of the mortar previously used to grout the joints with a sealant. Mapei Nederland, the Group's local subsidiary, proposed three products that were tested on site before MAPEFLEX PU50 SLwas selected, a fluid polyurethane sealant with a low modulus of elasticity, chosen in the colour shade best suited to match the colour of the flooring. MAPEFLEX PU50 SL was used on a total surface area of 3800 m2.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence (Italy)
The restoration of the South Apsidal Dome known as the “Madonna's Dome” inside the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence Cathedral, involved securing the structural discontinuities present both on the dome of the apsidal chapel and in all the internal surfaces of the chapel itself, including the stone elements and the gallery. The intervention, carried out by Cooperativa Archeologia di Firenze, involved the consolidation and priming of the wall substrates with CONSOLIDANTE 8020 in the first phase.
Next, the cracks and discontinuities in the intrados of the dome were repaired by filling them with MAPE-ANTIQUE NHL ECO STRUTTURALE*, a cement-free, mortar for breathable render and masonry work, based on pure natural hydraulic lime and recycled material. MAPE-ANTIQUE NHL ECO RASANTE CIVILE*, a fine-grained, breathable mortar made from pure natural hydraulic lime, was then used to smooth and finish the surfaces.
Products from the MAPE-ANTIQUE line were used to restore the South Apsidal Dome in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
Plinth of Michelangelo's David, Florence (Italy)
The statue of David, located in Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, is one of three copies of Michelangelo's famous masterpiece. Made in bronze, in 1873 it was placed in the centre of the square which is visited by thousands of tourists every year. It stands above a marble plinth that underwent restoration in 2019. MAPESIL LM, a neutral silicone sealant with very low emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and a low modulus of elasticity, was used to seal the joints of the marble slabs. This product is especially recommended for stone materials, even in the case of non-absorbent substrates, because it deters surface bleeding or the migration of plasticising agents which would stain the substrate.
MAPESIL LM neutral silicone sealant was used to seal the joints of the marble slabs of the plinth of Michelangelo's David in Florence.
Museum of Ice Cream, Singapore
For the past few years, Singapore has had a new attraction for tourists and citizens alike: the MOIC (Museum Of Ice Cream) built in an old colonial building of 5500 m2. The museum offers 14 multi-sensory and interactive installations on pink resin and other floors that characterize the interior design. They were created using a Mapei system to obtain seamless surfaces with high mechanical strength. The system included the use of PRIMER SN to treat the substrates, MAPEFLOOR I 302 SL and MAPEFLOOR I 312 epoxy formulations. MAPECOLOR PASTE SP, distributed in Singapore by Mapei Far East, made possible to obtain the color shade requested by the designers.
The pink resin floors in the Museum of Ice Cream in Singapore were created by using MAPEFLOOR I 302 SL and MAPEFLOOR I 312 epoxy formulations
Children’s Cultural Palace, Da Nang (Vietnam)
The Children's Cultural Palace in Da Nang, opened in 2016, is a multifunctional centre for children and young people and a cultural and tourist landmark in the Vietnamese city. With an architecture inspired by the game Tangram, it includes a library, a theatre, classrooms and spaces for art, sports, recreational and educational activities. It covers an area of 33,000 m2, 7000 of which are dedicated to park and green areas. A system from the MAPECOAT TNS line was chosen to renovate a 980 m2 multi-sport concrete court, which made it possible to create high-performance surfaces in a short time. The system involved the use of MAPECOAT I 600W epoxy primer, MAPECOAT TNS WHITE BASE COAT, MAPECOAT TNS FINISH 1 coating and MAPECOAT TNS COLOR coating. MAPECOAT TNS LINE was used to mark the playing lines.
Inside the Children’s Cultural Palace in Da Nang, a system from the MAPECOAT TNS line was chosen to renovate the multi-sport concrete court and create high-performance surfaces in a short time.
*CO2 emissions measured throughout the life cycle of products from
the Zero line in 2024 using Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) methodology, verified and certified with EPDs, have
been offset through the acquisition
of certified carbon credits in support
of forestry protection projects. A commitment to the planet, to people and
to biodiversity.
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