SofTop™ Flooring Delivers Comfort Flooring Solution at Turin University

Situation

The University of Turin in North West Italy is one of the oldest Universities in Europe but continues to play an important role in research and training, ranking 3rd in Italy for Universities covering these activities. As part of a ten-year construction project, a new lecture theatre, “Aula Magna” was built on the site and it required a modern seamless floor finish in keeping with the design of the building.

In total 360 m2 was installed with the Sherwin-Williams SofTop™ SL system and 61 m2 of Resuflor™ HB epoxy floor coatings.

Specialists from Sherwn-Williams worked with the contractor to ensure that the University’s requirement for a comfort floor type finish, which would have sound absorbing characteristics and have a soft touch, were met. This would create a finish which would be very durable and hard yet be soft and comfortable for University footfall traffic. The products being used also needed to have extremely low VOC (volatile organic compound) content and have no smell when being applied.

Solution

The solution to this involved several products from the Sherwin-Williams range of industrial floor coatings.  Following preparation of the concrete base, the specification called for Resuprime™ ST pure epoxy resin primer to be applied at 400 gr/sqm and broadcasted with a 0.3-0.5 silica quartz to enhance inter-coat adhesion with the SofTop™ SL polyurethane self-levelling coating.

For areas which could not be coated with a self-levelling system, such as ramp areas, steps, and under seated areas,  a 2-coat application of Resuflor™ HB in Slate Grey was specified at 600gr/sqm for the first coat and 800gr/sqm for the 2nd coat.  Areas which will not receive much foot traffic, were to receive one coat SofTop™ SL in RAL 7038 at 300gr/sqm, which is equivalent to a thickness of 3um.

Finally, the specification called for an application of Resupen™ WB Slate Grey applied at 75gr/sqm. This is a water based polyurethane coating which provides a tough UV stable finish.

SofTop™ floors provide extreme durability and robustness, yet retain a soft and comfortable finish which is modern and attractive for diverse applications.  The SofTop™ SL used at Turin University is typically installed at 2-4 mm thickness and is recommended for industrial and commercial areas subject to normal traffic. The system has a high wear resistance, high chemical resistance, good sound absorbing properties, and medium resistance to shocks, meeting the University’s requirements.

Outcome

The contractor reported - ‘That the execution in very cold conditions was a challenge but was fulfilled within the desired timeframe and with the high quality of standard required. The new Aula Magna floor exceeded our expectations and we have promoted the Sherwin Williams SofTop™ system for two other universities in Italy. In total 360 m2 of the SofTop™ SL system and 61 m2 of the Resuflor™ HB epoxy floor coating were installed, and both products have complimented the modern build of the Aula Magna lecture theatre’.