Solano^®: providing a new kind of roofing for Vénissieux Aquatic Centre

The Intermunicipal Aquatic Centre of Vénissieux, Lyon and Saint-Fons (France) was destroyed by a terrible fire in November 2010. It would be several years before the rebuilt centre re-opened its doors to the public, but in July 2015 swimmers could once again take to the water under an impressive roof made of Solano^®, an organic coated steel produced by ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products.

Vénissieux Aquatic Centre now offers four swimming pools, one Olympic-sized, a fitness area with a hammam steam room and sauna, changing-rooms and offices, all in pleasant surroundings and featuring a massive roof comprising glued laminated timber (glulam) beams and Aqualteo system waterproof supports in white Solano^® organic coated steel.

The Lyon-based firm of architects Xanadu was responsible for project design. Sandrine Gonon and Iwan Ponsonnet, architects at Xanadu, fill us in on the background: “Reconstruction of the Aquatic Centre focused on three key aspects: urban-scale architecture with a spacious interior, an iconic design that mimics the shape of a wave, and high-tech equipment. The layout of the existing pools created the space that drove design choices. We opted for a glulam structure because of the large roof spans. We then had to find a material that could meet the requirements dictated by the volume and specific shape of the building, while at the same time complying with acoustic and technical waterproofing constraints.”

The solution for high-humidity environments

The solution eventually adopted was Aqualteo from Bacacier, which can be used to make insulating roofs in ribbed sheet steel with a waterproof coating. The roofing created using this system, comprising corrugated sheets with perforated webs, ensures good acoustic absorption in buildings with very high humidity levels, such as aquatic centres or industrial laundries.

“This ambitious job spanning some 6,000 m² required us to consider products that met the standards laid down for this type of very humid building,” explains David Derycke, Bacacier’s Sales Director. “Aqualteo is a custom solution that necessitates the use of several materials. We opted for ArcelorMittal’s double-sided Solano^® organic coated steel because it offered all the guarantees required for an aquatic centre.”

Tried-and-tested coating

The Aqualteo solution was approved for this project in March 2014 and delivery began the following July.

Maxime Vienne, Bacacier’s Technical Director: “The Solano^® product was tested during corrosion studies in order to obtain the guarantees required by the competent authorities. ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products provided us with technical support through the research unit Advanced Coatings & Construction Solutions, which identified the solution that made it possible for Bacacier to guarantee the material to the waterproofer client. In the case of the Vénissieux centre, an environmental survey was completed to accurately determine the interior atmosphere of the pool. A project-specific guarantee could therefore be passed on to the waterproofing company, Service Industrie Étanchéité (S.I.E.), which was responsible for implementing the solution. S.I.E. was then able to offer the end client a guarantee covering labour and the specific process.”

The use of Solano^® in the Aqualteo solution meant that all technical requirements and deadlines could be met. An alternative material for this application is Granite^® HDX, another attractive organic coated steel in the ArcelorMittal range.