Mapei Football Center: construction works

The facility, built in 14 months, tells the story of Mapei in all its areas. The Mapei Football Center was built using products from the company’s extensive range of products and systems.

Both the roof and the underground areas of the main building, for example, were waterproofed using Polyglass systems. While for the roof over the spectator stand the choice went to the maximum in elasticity offered by PURTOP waterproofing systems.

The MAPEPLAN T line was used to waterproof the roofs. Made by Polyglass, a subsidiary of the Mapei Group, MAPEPLAN T is a line of synthetic waterproofing membranes which, thanks to exclusive “multi-extrusion coating” technology, is also able to supply high performance FPO/TPO membranes and features high level of durability, excellent workability and good weldability. The main roof was made using the high reflectance “cool roof” system, consisting of the following layers: POLYVAP FIX vapour barrier, with POLYVAP FIX AL in the more critical areas, PUR/PIR insulating panels and membrane.

MAPEPLAN T Af BRoof (t2) membrane was bonded with MAPEPLAN ADS 100 and MAPEPLAN ADS 310 adhesives. The terraces were waterproofed with MAPEPLAN T B. All the waterproofing operations were completed by using accessories belongining to the MAPEPLAN T line.

To waterproof the retaining walls of the main building and the spectator stand, Polyglass products were used: POLYPRIMER HP 45 PROFESSIONAL bituminous primer, EASY LIFT plastostyrene waterproofing membrane, POLYFOND KIT DRAIN protection and drainage system. The waterproofing system and the POLYFOND KIT DRAIN vertical drainage system were protected with HDPE geocomposite.

The MAPEFLOOR System and ULTRATOP System lines, on the other hand, in combination with TOPCEM screeds were used to finish off the internal areas of the sports centre. And what else other than KERAFLEX MAXI S1 and KERAPOXY to install and grout ceramic tiling and MAPELASTIC to waterproof the bathrooms.

TOPCEM PRONTO pre-blended, ready-to-use mortar with normal setting and controlled shrinkage, TOPCEM quick drying mortars and MAPECRETE LI HARDENER consolidator were used to make the screeds.

To finish off the seamless flooring in the reception rooms and in other areas of the building, the architect opted for the ULTRATOP SYSTEM, with a special bespoke pattern dedicated to Sassuolo Calcio.

The systems used for the other areas of internal flooring more subject to wear, and where a higher degree of non-slip finish was required, were MAPEFLOOR I 320 SL CONCEPT self-levelling, abrasion-resistant epoxy coating with a coloured granular effect finish and the multi-layered MAPEFLOOR SYSTEM 32 for industrial floors, which has high resistance to chemicals, including aggressive chemicals. It is also resistant to wear caused by wheeled vehicles and has a non-slip finish. The MAPESILENT system was applied to guarantee a good level of acoustic comfort, which consisted of MAPESILENT COMFORT sheet, MAPESILENT BAND and MAPESILENT TAPE.

To install the ceramic tiles in various areas, the products chosen were KERAFLEX MAXI S1 and ELASTOCOLOR adhesives and KERAPOXY and ULTRACOLOR PLUS grouts for joints.  The last two products guarantees the highest level of resistance to cleaning cycles and ensures surfaces maintain a high level of hygiene.

Products from the DURSILITE line were used to finish off the surface of internal walls, available in an extensive range of colours from the Mapei Master Collection.

For the drainage system for the pitch the products used were MAPESOIL 100 stabilising agent and MAPESOIL VD hydraulic binder. Aggregates and MALTAVISTA mortar by VAGA (a Mapei Group’s subsidiary) were also used for the sub-bases of the football pitches.

The MAPECOAT TNS RACE TRACK system was used to coat the surfaces of the stands and the pedestrian areas (MAPECOAT TNS PRIMER EPW – MAPECOAT TNS RACE TRACK – MAPECOAT TNS PROTECTION).

Lastly, the showers in the changing rooms were dressed with mosaic from the Tanticolori Verde collection (size of tiles 20x20x4 mm) by Mosaico+, a subsidiary of Mapei Group.

A new synthetic grass pitch has been installed at the Mapei Football Center in Sassuolo (Central Italy). It is made from the latest generation of synthetic turf and has a cutting-edge drainage system that complies with widely used design specifications, particularly when having to operate in highly anthropized urban settings a long way from sources of aggregates.

The pitch was installed on new, virgin land situated along the old bed of the River Secchia characterised, from a geological point of view, by river deposits of mainly gravel mixed with highly plastic, enlarged particles of loose clay. Preliminary work needed to be carried out to create sufficient drainage for the pitch, which consisted in removing the top soil, removing the existing soil from around the organic matrix and shaping the ground to form a crown. Non-woven geotextile fabric was then laid on the area of prepared ground, along with a special, flat synthetic strengthening geomesh made from extruded, bidirectional polypropylene which, thanks to its high level of tensile strength and the way it interacts with the ground, increases the load-bearing capacity of the area and, more importantly, improves load distribution.

What is more, the combination of non-woven geofabric and bidirectional geomesh forms a geocomposite that has particular strengthening properties and also acts as a separation filter, typical of non-woven fabrics.

The next step was to apply a layer around 20 cm thick of 0–35 mm road base material (recycled material may also be potentially employed), of which around the top 15 cm were stabilised with MAPESOIL 100 fibre-reinforced stabilising agent.

Once the ground had been shaped and then treated with MAPESOIL technology, a high-performance draining under-mat made from SBR and thermoplastic polymer binder with horizontal drainage was laid on the surface and, to complete the work, artificial turf of the latest generation with high-performance, ennobled elastomeric rubber infill was laid.

This means that water now flows away just below the playing surface, that is, through the pervious under-mat, and is carried down the slope of the crown to concrete channels installed along the long sides of the pitch.

What makes the stratigraphic layout used for this type of pitch so innovative is that there was no need to excavate more than 3,500 m³ of soil from an area of new land and there was no need to add a large amount of raw aggregates or install a network of drainage pipes. An important factor to consider is that, if a traditional solution with vertical drainage had been adopted, it would have required more than 400 truck journeys going through the nearby city of Sassuolo to dispose of the topsoil and to bring freshly-excavated material from quarries to make the drainage layers.

MAPESOIL technology, on the other hand, in combination with the geomesh positioned at the bottom of the structure of the pitch, helped to greatly reduce the amount of excavation work and the amount of aggregates that would have been required, while at the same time increased the load-bearing capacity of the area where the intervention took place and improved the functionality of the playing surface.