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W-Hotel, Saton

ONLY POSSIBLE IF YOU TRY

PROJECT TIME:

LOCATION:

PRODUCT:

CLIENT:

ARCHITECT & DESIGNER:

2012

Sathon Rd, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok

InSitu Sculptures

Ritta Co. Ltd

P Landscape Co. Ltd

Design

W-Hotel Saton

W-Hotel Saton project in Bangkok includes three giant sculptures with Thai symbolic meaning designed by P Landscape Co. Ltd. on the swimming pool deck. The selection of materials for this 100 meters’ cross-section exceeding 5 meters high and 5 meters across, is critical.

Additional loading on top of the pool deck must be lightweight, least affected by chlorinated water of the adjacent pool water, durable and can subject to the outdoor environment.

GRC Come to Help – Alkaline Resistance Glassfiber Reinforced Concrete is a natural choice. The difficulty is that being a one piece of artwork, the traditional method of GRC product replication can be expansive. GRC production starts by making a sample of the real product for approval. Then a duplicating mould of wood, and fibreglass were copied from the prototype and duplicated into production moulds.

GRC Thailand Solution

With our extensive knowledge and experience in GRC, we proposed to the customer to make the product on site. The first massive sculpture in Thailand made with in-situ GRC.

Details, Details, Details:

GRC expansion ratio is not the same as concrete or steel structural support. Flex anchor is fitted throughout the support frame at 60cm or less spacing, to allow the GRC to move independently. The larger of the two sculptures 36m and 45m divides the sections of up to 7 m long.

We use fire retarder Polystyrene Foam to laminate the steel cage with undercut for flex anchor GRC support and 10mm spacing between sections. The high-density synthetic disk is space within 60cm along the full length of the skirting to allow the sculpture to expand freely in all dimensions. Three layers of PS foam build up a support structure to afford spraying on top of GRC.

To ensure proper manufacturing of overhand areas, GRCT made a different laminate sample using higher cement ratio with the addition of admixes and additives to improve slurry adhesion when applying to the overhang area using trowel layering. Since the dimension is extensive and the thick layer of GRC will have the problem of adhering, there is a need to apply in three consecutive days to finish some section. The different layer bonding method is made into a sample and sends these to independent university to test under BS-EN1170 and ASTM PCI Appendix F. The result is more than satisfactory.

The test pieces were 250 mm by 50 mm and 10 mm thick bend nearly 7 cm before reaching MOR. This impressive result excites Professor Chuchai of King Mongkut’s to submit a joint paper with GRC Thailand to the International GRC Conference in September 2011 in Istanbul.

On Time Delivery

It is of no easy task to work outdoor under the strong sunlight and sudden downpour of Bangkok. All the produced GRC with an external spray mix dispensing machine and the whole section will be finished on the same day to achieve our standard. So night work is imminent. In the end, the results speak for itself, and the sculptures stand tall in the clear blue sky.