Guelph Market Square

In 2007 the City of Guelph wanted to recreate their historic market grounds dating from the 1800s and create a gathering space for people and families. They had recently revamped their City Hall and envisioned a contemporary version of the city’s historic square.

Through $1.1 million in volunteer raised funds, plus federal and provincial government support they created a space featuring an ice rink that transforms into a splash pad and wading pool in the summer. The feature ice rink/splash pad is surrounded by seating, trees and decorative lighting. The space can also be used for movie nights, dances, and other performances all free for the community of Guelph.

The design for the ice rink/splash pad called for black colored concrete. The city wanted a permanent black color with no maintenance.

Solution

CBM Ready-Mix added Kryton's Kryton’s Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) concrete waterproofing admixture to their mix to waterproof the black-color ice rink/splash pad slab. KIM admixture was chosen because it saved the team labor costs and time on the already over budget project over traditional externally applied waterproofing. As well KIM requires no maintenance (versus a liquid
applied coating) and would maintain the black concrete for its useful life, again saving the city time and money.

The project won the 2013 Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Award (CSLA) Regional Honour Award of Excellence.