Aura Tower No.1 Swimming Pool and Infinity Channel

As the largest city in the state of Jalisco, Guadalajara, the "most Mexican of the Mexican cities," is renowned for it's high-tech economy as well as being a major trade and tourist destination centre of which the bustling municipality, Zapopan, is the busiest and most popular among tourists and developers.

The vibrant housing market in Zapopan is booming in response to tourist and local residents' demand, particularly in high end, luxury residences. The Aura Tower No. 1 is one such development. A significant part of the Aura Tower luxury experience is the swimming pool, bordered with an infinity channel, an aesthetic drainage system. During the rainy season, with opening day fast approaching, this newly built swimming pool was discovered to have 1,400 meters (4,500 linear feet) of cracks that leaked below into the power room and first level of the underground parkade. In order to prepare for occupancy, the developer needed a long-term waterproofing system that would stop severe ongoing leakage so that the pool would be ready for residents on opening day.

Solution

The owners chose Kryton's Krystol Concrete Waterproofing System to tank the existing pool. The world's only permanent, in-depth, surface-applied waterproofing system, the Krystol Concrete Waterproofing System is a cementitious, chemically reactive treatment that stops concrete cracks in their tracks and turns existing concrete into a permanent and powerful waterproof barrier.

Because of the extensive cracks, the contractor first ground off the asphalt membrane of the pool, chiseled it out and then packed all the joints and cracks with Krystol Plug, Krystol T1 and Krystol Crack Repair System. They then applied two slurry coats of Krystol T1 & T2 Waterproofing System to completely tank the structure.

When applied to concrete, crystalline chemicals diffuse deep into concrete and become a permanent part of the structure. Millions of needle-like crystals begin to grow and spread throughout the concrete, self-sealing cracks and permanently blocking the movement of water in all directions. These crystals then remain dormant until another crack forms, at which time they will react with incoming water to self-seal the crack and maintaining a watertight seal.

Krystol protects concrete and steel reinforcements from water and waterborne contaminants, even against significant hydrostatic pressure. The tanking system is guaranteed to succeed where other concrete patching systems and epoxy crack injections fail.

Krystol can be applied to the positive or negative side of the structure, which made it ideal for treating areas at the Aura Tower that were difficult or impossible to reach such as the below grade power room and parking level 1.

Nine members of the contractor's team worked onsite around the clock for three weeks to complete the job ahead of schedule. Two days after completion, the pool was flood tested and all leakage was stopped. No further cracking or leakage has occurred since.

"The Krystol Concrete Waterproofing System exceeded our expectations," said architect, Juan Pablo Salvidea. "The application was very effective." The project team was so impressed with the results of the crack repair system that they have since implemented Kryton's award winning concrete admixture, Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) and the Krystol Waterstop System, as the waterproofing application of choice to tank the swimming pool at the Aura Tower No. 2 currently under construction.

The Aura Tower No. 1 had 1,400 meters (4,500 linear feet) of cracks that were repaired with over 1000 kilograms (2200 lbs) of Krystol T1 & T2 Waterproofing System.