La Calinésie, a water park opening in 2021 in Libourne, offers plenty of space for education, wellness and entertainment, with sustainable architecture. The construction, influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, required special attention to waterproofing operations and the use of the water resources of Lake Dagueys.
La Calinésie: An oasis of fun, well-being and ecology in the heart of Libourne
Opened in May 2021, La Calinésie is a new aquatic park in Libourne, a town near Bordeaux, in France. Over an area of 35,000 m2 the park provides visitors with areas for educational activities, wellbeing and fun and games for young and old alike. The park, with its original and sustainable architectural lines, was designed by the French firm AP-MA Architecture. There are four different areas at La Calinésie: the lagoon dedicated to sports with a 25 m, 8-lane swimming pool and stands for 485 spectators for national competitions; the pool also has a mobile bottom so that the depth of the water can be varied. The play area has water features with beaches, water cannons and a brightly-lit, 75 m waterslide for the more daring visitors. The relaxation area is an invitation to wellbeing thanks to its saunas, Turkish baths and Nordic baths. The external summer lagoon offers 500 m2 of fun and powerful emotions: waterslides, water features and a sports area complete this space, all enclosed within a unique, natural setting on the shores of Lake Dagueys.
Similarly to many sites, La Calinésie also had setbacks because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Organisation was really important. The site opened shortly before the lockdown in March 2020. Luckily, we only had to suspend work for one month and we were able to start up again pretty quickly despite the stringent health measures”, explained Quentin Belloncle, Director of the main contractor CMB. Specialised in swimming pools and technical sites with ceramic tiles and natural stone, the company created various systems to prepare and waterproof the substrates before bonding and grouting 6,900 m2 of tiles.
MAPELASTIC membrane, MAPENET 150 mesh and MAPEBAND TPE 170 tape were used to waterproof the substrates of the pools.
Ceramic tiles play a leading role
Bonding slurries admixed with fibres (made from PLANICRETE LATEX and MAPEPLUS FIBRE, which are manufactured and distributed on the French market by Mapei France) enabled the screeds and micro concrete slabs for the slopes on the bottom of the swimming pools, the children’s pools, the footbaths and showers to be created. The product chosen to level off the surfaces was PLANITOP 400F rapid-set, low-dust mortar which is also manufactured and distributed on the French market by Mapei France.
“On this site, waterproofing was a crucial issue, particularly because of the specific conditions in various points and the elements that needed to be sealed. And our technicians have all the experience required to choose the most appropriate products, whatever the circumstances”, continued Quentin Belloncle. In fact, different solutions were chosen for the swimming pool, the beaches, the showers and the changing rooms.
All the swimming pools and areas immersed in water were treated with MAPELASTIC cementitious waterproofing mortar combined with MAPENET 150 glass fibre strengthening mesh. The expansion joints were waterproofed with MAPEBAND TPE 170 tape.
Some cracks were sealed with EPORIP epoxy adhesive with added quartz sand, while the product chosen to waterproof the gaps and spaces between the elements was MAPEPROOF SWELL hydro-expanding sealant.
All the damp areas in the beaches around the pools, changing rooms, showers and bathrooms were waterproofed with MAPELASTIC AQUADEFENSE ready-to-use, ultra-quick drying, flexible liquid membrane and MAPEBAND PE 120 PVC tape, which is suitable for waterproofing systems made using liquid membranes.
KERAFLEX improved cementitious adhesive with extended open time was chosen to install the porcelain tiles, while to install the mosaic and grout the joints in the damp areas (including saunas and Turkish baths), the product chosen was KERAPOXY CQ adhesive and grout because of its acid-resistant and bacteriostatic properties. For the dry areas, grouting was carried out using ULTRACOLOR PLUS high-performance cementitious mortar. The expansion joints were sealed with MAPESIL AC silicone sealant combined with PRIMER FD, primer specifically developed for use with silicone sealants.
MAPELASTIC membrane, MAPENET 150 mesh and MAPEBAND TPE 170 tape were used to waterproof the substrates of the pools.
A close bond with Lake Dagueys
“The natural context was very important in the design and construction of the aquatic park” so Priscilla Rivaud, Director of Communication at La Cali told us. “We wanted it to be built near the lake because our aim was to use water from Lake Dagueys to feed the storage tanks. This strategy enabled us to save 50,000 m³ of water per year. The main challenge when creating this kind of complex is how to manage energy consumption. We are now able to optimize the various sources of energy, such as electricity and gas, by carefully using a number of different sources (such as biomass, solar energy and LED lighting) and, above all, by managing the water thanks to our various filter systems. There is no doubt that tourism in the area has benefited enormously thanks to the presence of a centre like La Calinesie.”
KERAPOXY CQ was used to install the mosaics in the pools and grout the joints.
Project information
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Interior and exterior, pools
Subcategory
Aquatic Centre
Application
Supply of the products necessary for the preparation of the supports, waterproofing, gluing of the gluing the tiles and making the joints
Espaces réalisés par CMB avec les solutions MAPEI :
1 piscine sportive à fond mobile (525 m²)
1 bassin d'apprentissage-récupération (168 m²)
Salle de sport avec gradins et hall d'entrée
1 bassin ludique (200 m²)
1 pataugeoire animée (40 m²)
1 bassin de balnéothérapie et de relaxation (50 m²)
3 bains thématiques
1 hammam et 1 sauna
Douches et douches de massage
Vestiaires et sanitaires
Terrasse de la piscine
Locaux divers : 2 salles de massage, tisanerie, locaux de back-office
6 900 m² de carrelage posés
Start and finish date
2020/2021
Application Type
Surface preparation, Tile & stone installation systems, Waterproofing systems
Client
La Cali (Communauté d'Agglomération du Libournais)
Architects
AP-MA Architectures, ACTION ARCHI
Specialists involved
DEKRA INDUSTRIAL, SEBAT, SOJA INGENIERIE
Credits
Quentin Belloncle, Géraldine Bruneel
MAPEI Coordination
Laurie Saintenac
