Challenge

In April 2016, the world-renowned London School of Economics announced that Grafton Architects were to design their next major project. Built by Mace Group, the Marshall Building at 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields includes an extensive two-storey, mixed-use basement that will house plant areas, squash courts, changing facilities and a sports hall.

The basement spanned a total of over 2,250m2 and presented a challenging project for Newton Specialist Contractor Cast Contracting Ltd (CCL), who was appointed to design, supply and install the waterproofing by principal contractor Mace Group in late 2019.

Solution

CCL recommended the Newton CDM System to provide a completely dry and guaranteed solution on such a high-profile project. Otherwise known as Type C waterproofing, the CDM System is the safest and most reliable form of waterproofing.

Prior to the installation of the Newton CDM System, CCL applied Newton 906 Lime Inhibitor to the new slab to prevent free lime from the concrete affecting the drainage membranes. Newton 103-S, a Type A liquid waterproofing membrane, was also applied internally to many of the concrete surfaces as a barrier to water.

Once the preparations were complete, Newton 520 eco membrane was installed on over 2,250m2 of floor space and over 520m2 of Newton 508 membrane was installed to the walls to create the Newton CDM System. A drainage system of Newton Basedrain channels also directs any water captured by the membranes to the point of discharge, and the whole system was sealed with Newton OverTape.

Outcome

Despite the challenges CCL faced on this project, such as the required dedicated delivery slots and working to an extremely tight program of work, they were praised on the quality and speed of their installation, which was completed well within the time limit.

The Newton recycling service was also a great success, with a total of 115kg of HDPE waste recycled, preventing over 132kg of CO2 emissions.