Arkan Plaza fountain waterproofing, Sheikh Zayed
The fountain basins at Arkan Plaza, beside Aeon Towers in Sheikh Zayed, were lined in pure polyurea. The water sits over the building, so the lining has to be right before the basin is filled.
01 · Project overview
What is this fountain?
Arkan Plaza is in Sheikh Zayed, on the west side of Cairo. Aeon Towers rise over the gardens, and the fountains sit in that landscape. They are not a decorative paint job. They are basins that stay full, in hard sun, above the rooms and the parking under them.
The lining is pure polyurea, Krypton’s Polyurea Rayston, sprayed hot. A grey membrane goes down first. A turquoise finish then covers the basin that people will see once it is filled. The waterproofing is the polyurea. The colour is the face on top of it.
| Project | Arkan Plaza fountains |
|---|---|
| Place | Sheikh Zayed, Giza, Egypt |
| Buildings | Aeon Towers |
| Scope | Fountain basins |
| System | Hot-spray pure polyurea |
| Product | Polyurea Rayston |
02 · The challenge
What does a fountain over a building ask?
A fountain never dries. Water stands in it, jets break the surface, and the sun in Sheikh Zayed heats the shell every afternoon. Under that water is a deck over occupied space. A leak does not stay in the garden. It finds the ceiling below.
The basin is a box of corners, steps and outlets. Those are the lines that open if the lining is jointed. The outlets in the floor have to be inside the membrane, not cut through it afterwards.
03 · The solution
Why pure polyurea here?
Hot-spray pure polyurea was trusted because it builds a thick elastic film in one pass and gels before it can run off a vertical face. That is how a fountain, with walls and a floor and a crowd of outlets, gets one lining instead of a sheet with laps.
Polyurea Rayston is aromatic. The sun will move the colour of the bare resin even while the strength holds. The turquoise finish on the basin is there so the water people look at is not the colour of an aromatic film left in the open.
04 · Application
How the lining is built
The concrete is prepared before any resin. Polyurea Rayston wants a support that is flat, compact and cohesive. Pull-off should be at least 1.4 N/mm2. Cracks are cut out and filled. Moisture in the concrete stays under 4 percent, and the concrete temperature belongs between 10 and 40 degrees C. If the slab is damp behind, two coats of epoxy primer go on, the second blinded with quartz. On a fountain deck over a building, that bond is what stops a blister when the shell heats up.
The spray is hot. Resin about 65 degrees C, isocyanate about 75 degrees C, hose about 65 degrees C, and at least 140 bar at the gun. The usual build is 1.5 to 2.0 kg per square metre, about 1.5 to 2 mm. Gel time is about 4 seconds at 25 degrees C. Those figures are the product’s typical data, not a thickness measured in this basin.
Outlets and internal corners are closed in the same pass. A second pass, where a corner needs it, should follow within about two hours. Typical elongation is 324 percent and tensile strength is 16.2 MPa, so the film can follow the concrete as the sun moves it. The fountain stays empty until the hardness has climbed. Light contact is a matter of hours. Filling is a matter of days.
05 · Results
What this fountain has to stand behind
The basins at Arkan Plaza hold water in public view, beside Aeon Towers, over the building. The standard is simple. The lining is continuous at the outlets and the corners, the colour people see is the finish coat, and the deck underneath stays dry.
CE marking to EN 1504-2 and European Technical Assessment 16/0148 belong to Polyurea Rayston as a product. They are not a test carried out in this fountain.
06 · Products
Which product carries the water?
Polyurea Rayston
Hot-spray pure polyurea. Typical build 1.5 to 2 mm. Elongation 324 percent. The lining of the fountain basins.
07 · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why pure polyurea in a fountain?
A fountain stays wet. Corners, steps and outlets are where a jointed lining opens. Hot-spray pure polyurea gels in seconds and wraps those details in one film.
How thick is the spray?
Polyurea Rayston is normally sprayed at 1.5 to 2.0 kg per square metre, about 1.5 to 2 mm. That is the datasheet build, not a gauge reading from this fountain.
Will the colour stay in the Sheikh Zayed sun?
The pure polyurea is aromatic, so sunlight can shift its colour while the strength stays. The basin finish is a separate coat over the membrane.
How fast does it set?
It gels in about 4 seconds at 25 degrees C and is tack-free in seconds. Full hardness still takes days. The fountain should not be filled before that cure.
What moisture can the concrete have?
Support moisture should be under 4 percent, with the concrete between 10 and 40 degrees C. Wetter concrete gets an epoxy primer blinded with quartz.
08 · Photos
The basins
From the grey membrane to the filled fountain.
