Water Containment

Museo Del Centro Cultural Polyforum
Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico

BACKGROUND
Due to high demand from the community the Cultural Institute of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico worked with local fine arts and cultural community members to create the MUSEO DEL CENTRO CULTURAL POLYFORUM (Cultural Museum).

Located in the Bajio heart, the city of Leon (population of about 800 000) is situated in a fertile river valley. Found in the city center, the Museum will act as a cultural development center for citizens by providing education, fine arts and by focusing on preservation of the Mexican culture.

Before building began in Spring 2005, the architectural firm Nuno, McGregor, De Buen Arquitectos needed to ensure that the buildings' below grade water containment tanks would be water tight so that they could supply the museum with clean water.

SOLUTION
8 Years prior to the museum project, Nuno, McGregor, De Buen Arquitectos specified Kryton's Krystol Internal Membrane™ (KIM) for a similar project, which to this day remains problem and leak free. He chose KIM™ because of its superior waterproofing and corrosion protection properties. Certified safe for contact with potable water by NSF International, KIM provides an ideal waterproofing alternative for water supply projects.

When added to a concrete mix, KIM cures to form crystals that fill the spaces between concrete particles, providing permanent protection against leakage from any direction. KIM also reacts with incoming water to self-seal small concrete cracks and eliminates the corrosion of reinforcing steel by blocking the penetration of water that may carry harmful chemicals.

Incorporating KIM at the planning stage eliminates the need to leave room outside the structure for membrane application, and is beneficial when doing negative side waterproofing.

The containment tank portion of the building was poured using KIM. Constructora Cifsa expect to be finished building the museum February 2006.

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