Waterproof, hard-wearing protection for car park decking.
Background
Parliament House is the seat of the Parliament of Finland and has been the impressive setting for many of the nation’s key political events. Located on Arcadia Hill in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, the exterior of the striking building is composed of red granite and the façade is lined with 14 imposing columns.
Built as a monument to represent Finnish independence and democracy, the building was officially inaugurated in 1931 to accommodate the 200-strong Finnish Parliament. The original building has five floors, each unique, and the main floor is centred round the Session Hall with galleries and seats for the public, media and diplomats. In 1978, a three-part expansion of Parliament House was completed with offices for MP’s added on both sides of the building. The most visible part of the expansion was the semi-circular Building C which is clad in brass sheets. Part of this building includes an underground parking area.
The Solution
During a refurbishment of Building C, the parking deck needed protecting with a waterproof, high strength, friction wearing course. A competitor’s product was initially tested but Cemprotec E-Floor was specified due to enhanced properties. A high performance, water-based, cementitious flooring system, Cemprotec E-Floor is well proven in Finland and further afield, affording excellent resistance to damage from deposits of de-icing salts, abrasion, impact, chloride ion penetration and aggressive chemicals in highly demanding environments.
Cemprotec E-Floor provides exceptional waterproof protection and a slip resistant finish was achieved by casting aggregate into the coating. Parking bays could be colour coded and the high strength finish resists damage from studded tyres. During application of Cemprotec E-Floor, the fact that the product is water-based was also a vital consideration as it releases no hazardous solvents or strong odour, so there was absolutely no disruption to normal routines – an important factor at Parliament House. In addition, Cemprotec E-Floor is CE marked to EN 1504-2 which includes fire testing to the demanding Euroclass fire rating, for which the top result of A2FL-s1 has been attained.
Client
Parliament of Finland
Contractor
Distributor
Project Profile - Parliament House