LITTLE LANE EARLY LEARNING CENTRE, MANLY

Our friends over at ARDEX Australia have just completed a fantastic early learning project in Manly Beach. Little Lane Centre is a purpose built, architecturally designed childcare facility located in Manly, NSW. The centre provides a premium service to the area, focusing on children’s early learning and childhood education from 0-5 years.

Unique Elements
The 3-storey building features a commercial kitchen, 14 classrooms, 3 large outdoor learning environments including a roof garden area, and below ground level car park. Specific project stages required a fast turnaround, hence why Systems ARDEX was used on this project.

The outdoor learning and play area, and planter boxes are located over habitual spaces. These critical areas required a reliable and proven waterproofing system to ensure the entire area would remain waterproof for many years to come.

The below ground car park presented a different challenge as the building is situated near proximity to Manly beach. This area is susceptible to continuously changing underground water pressure and water ingress due to the ever-changing tides. A waterproofing system was required that could withstand those pressures while protecting the surrounding environment and structure from damage.

Solution
ARDEX was chosen because of our systems approach. A complete ARDEX waterproofing system was specified to not only provide a quick turnaround, but for reliability as well.

For the outdoor learning and play area, and planter boxes, 1200m² of a system comprising of ARDEX WPM 1000 and ARDEX Root Repell waterproofing membranes was installed. Both waterproofing membrane systems are specially designed for this type of external environment.

ARDEX WPM 1000 is a unique and extremely versatile heat weldable waterproofing membrane. ARDEX Root Repell is designed specifically for areas exposed to soil and plants, containing a root inhibitor that repels root growth without killing the actual root.

Approximately 2800m² of ARDEX WPM 1500 tanking membrane was installed in the below ground car park. ARDEX WPM 1500 is designed specifically for below ground tanking applications and has excellent flexibility, elongation and water migration resistance.

Overall, the ARDEX specification made it easier for the architect, builder, and applicators to purchase, install, and warrant the materials.