The Mira Hotel, Podium Gardens

Undergoing a $65 million USD transformation, The Mira Hotel in Hong Kong is now an indulgence for both leisure and business travellers. With its hip interiors, innovative cuisine, crisp amenities and passionate service culture, the hotel has created a new benchmark in Hong Kong’s hospitality landscape.

One part of this newly renovated hotel was the Podium Gardens. This was the developer’s first time to use a concrete crystalline admixture product in a construction project. Since the exposed, treated area of the Podium Gardens and fountains was above the new deluxe rooms of the hotel, a reliable and permanent waterproofing system was required.

Apart from the traditional cementitious waterproofing membrane, the client requested for an additional layer of waterproof screeding. The renovation period reserved for the waterproofing portion and decoration work was very tight, especially since the team had to work during the rainy season. Only a waterproofing material that could be applied on a damp substrate could accomodate the wet site condition.

Solution

The Podium Gardens utilized a cement-sand screeding with Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) admixture, covering a 1,200 square meter (13, 000 square feet) area and Krystol Waterstop system (KWS) for the joints between the new and old parapet wall.

Kryton's Krystol waterproofing systems rely on a revolutionary crystalline technology that turns porous concrete into an impermeable barrier. The result is a structure with reduced cracking, self-sealing and waterproofing abilities which provides a powerful defence against water damage and corrosion of reinforcing steel. Krystol becomes an integral part of the concrete matrix. When combined with water, Krystol reacts with un-hydrated cement particles to form millions of needle-like crystals. Over time, these crystals grow, filling the naturally occurring pores and voids in concrete, and permanently blocking the pathways for water and waterborne contaminants.

KIM screeding acted as a protective layer for the cementitious membrane as well as an important barrier to prevent any penetration of water into the substrate. If not protected, the cementitious membrane would deteriorate quickly due to inevitable dry-wet cycle conditions. Traditional waterproofing material such as PVC, sheet membrane, PU, etc. could not be applied on the damp surface since the construction was held during the rainy season.

KIM not only provides an impenetrable barrier against water intrusion, it can be applied directly on a damp substrate making it the ideal solution for this project. Upon inspection of the completed areas, the team concluded that there was no water seepage even during heavy rain and typhoons.