When the University of Toronto’s CCBR building won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Award in 2006, one of the judges simply noted, “This building says: science matters.”
Tnemec coating systems were specified for an integral area of the development. “Tnemec is known in the industry for these types of installations,” said Tnemec coating consultant David Walker. “The specifier knew that our coating systems could do the job for the critical research areas that required extra protection.”
Series 245 Ultra-Tread S, a polyurethane modified concrete floor topping designed to perform under extreme temperature changes, frequent steam cleaning, wash downs and chemical exposure, was applied to the cage washroom area. Series 286 Deco-Clear CR, a clear, chemical-resistant, modified novolac epoxy, was applied next followed by a coat of Series 295 Clear CRU, an extremely hard clear urethane, to seal the coating system and provide increased abrasion and chemical resistance.
The surgery room floors received a layer of Series 237 Power-Tread, a modified polyamine epoxy, trowel-applied at ¼” thickness, followed by Series 280 Tneme-Glaze, a durable polyamine epoxy used to seal the mortar and build thickness of the surface. Series 291 CRU, an aliphatic urethane finish, was applied as the system’s topcoat for added abrasion resistance and color and gloss retention.
The walls in the critical research area were also coated with two Tnemec systems. The first included Series 218 MortarClad, an epoxy-modified cementitious resurfacer applied to smooth out the wall area, followed by a prime coat of Series 201 Epoxoprime, a polyamine epoxy. Series 273 Stranlok ML, a fiberglass mat-reinforced epoxy coating system, was applied followed by a coat of Series 280 and a topcoat of Series 290 CRU, a chemical-resistant urethane, on the cage wash wall surface.
The remainder of the block walls and cement-board ceilings were coated with Series 130 Envirofill, a waterborne cementitious acrylic filler, and finished with two to three roller-applied coats of Series 113 H.B. Tneme-Tufcoat, a high-performance, waterborne acrylic epoxy. “This facility certainly added to the already impressive university campus,” noted Walker. “We were delighted to be a part of the process.”
The CCBR Building was built for the University of Toronto to support top-level interdisciplinary research in bioengineering and disease.