Media Release

Future is Here: PENETRON Makes “Tomorrow Museum” Impermeable

Brazil

PENETRON technology provides an impermeable solution to the challenge of building on land surrounded by water. Problem solved for Rio di Janeiro’s uniquely designed new Museu do Amanhã, which was inaugurated in December and will give visitors a look into the future.

The Museu do Amanhã (”Tomorrow Museum”) is a science museum that uses immersive audiovisual environments, interactive installations, and games to enable visitors to examine the past and imagine possible futures – in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

A key project for the redevelopment of the Porto Maravilha seaport area of Rio di Janeiro, the Museum of Tomorrow features 15,000 m2 (162,000 square feet) of exhibition space on two floors connected by ramps. In addition to the main exhibition areas, the museum features an innovation laboratory experience, an observatory that maps our planet, and a bar, restaurant and museum shop. Designed by the well-known Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the building has 30,000 m2 (323,000 square feet) of outdoor area with gardens, a reflecting pool, and biking and recreation areas. The museum was built to meet LEED certification guidelines, monitored by the Green Building Council Brazil.

“This high profile project is part of the huge city renovation effort the Brazilian government has funded in preparation for the Summer 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio,” adds Jozef Van Beeck, Director, International Sales & Marketing of The PENETRON Group. “Along with the adjacent Art Museum – also a PENETRON project – it’s going to be a huge tourist attraction and a boost for the port.”

The museum complex dominates the Mauá Pier in the Porto Maravilha seaport, which is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on three sides. This is why the Museu do Amanhã project managers specified an absolutely waterproof solution for the ground floor structures and the outdoor reflecting pool in front of the museum building.

The below-ground structures, the foundation slab of the museum, and the outdoor reflecting pool were treated with PENETRON ADMIX to ensure a durable and impermeable concrete matrix. The resulting construction joints (over 800 m / 2,624 feet) were permanently sealed with PENEBAR SW-55 waterstop.

“As recent results have proven concrete treated with PENETRON ADMIX can last up to 60 years longer than conventional concrete, it’s entirely fitting that Rio’s new Tomorrow Museum is built on PENETRON technology,” adds Robert Revera, President and CEO of The PENETRON Group. “

The final stages of construction for the Museu do Amanhã in Rio di Janeiro

Going up: Construction work early in summer 2015 showing the final stages of construction for the Museu do Amanhã in Rio di Janeiro.


Back to Media Releases