Old fountains – new lease of life

Contractors preserve Babelsberg Palace’s historical water features

After a sleepy existence of almost 100 years, the numerous fountains in the park surrounding Babelsberg Palace have been brought back to life. During the course of an elaborate, complex development process, the client – the Berlin-Brandenburg Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation – had the park’s irrigation system restored. In order to preserve the listed fountains, the structures had to be protected from the elements and penetrating moisture using a long-lasting waterproofing system. Triflex BTS-P ticked all of these boxes.

The element water plays a key role in Babelsberg Park near Potsdam. Various springs, streams and fountains line the 124-hectare green space that forms part of Babelsberg Palace, which was the summer residence of Emperor Wilhelm I and his wife Augusta. It was built in two stages from 1835 onwards. Today, the palace built in the English Gothic style is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and is used as a museum and an exhibition venue.

Heritage preserved

The numerous water features are supplied by means of a 20-km long cast-iron pipeline network that dates back to the year 1843 and was largely decommissioned more than 100 years ago. The Foundation provided a master plan with a seven-figure budget for the renovation and reactivation work to ensure that the water features in Babelsberg Palace Park brim with water again. To sustainably safeguard the historical fountains’ continued existence, long-lasting waterproofing was requested in line with monument conservation. Since the palace was being completely renovated over several months, only a system solution that can be implemented in changeable weather was considered.

Long-lasting fountain waterproofing

The “Jubilee Fountain”, “Eagle Fountain” and “Gothic Fountain” are just some of the fine-sounding names of the water features, which are installed in different locations within the sprawling palace park. Their architecture is characterised by complex components and rich decorative features. With an area of 80 m2 and inner walls measuring 90 cm tall, the City Fountain posed the biggest challenge for the contractors. To achieve the renovation goals, a system solution that securely integrates all the details (such as inflows and outflows, the curves and the fountain shafts) in the waterproofing was required. The repair work, meanwhile, was to be possible without any need for structural changes so as to preserve the historical nature of the Emperor’s fountains. Since the water is drained in winter, a solution that also provides effective protection against penetrating moisture and is capable of withstanding potential mechanical damage during the cold season was required.

A solution resistant to hydrolysis

Triflex BTS-P ticked all these boxes. The waterproofing system, which has been tried and tested in practice, is completely fleece-reinforced and is unaffected by potential structural movements. Thanks to the system’s high resistance to hydrolysis, the building structure can be used in standing water applications. The liquid-applied resin integrates even geometrically complex upturns, round components or intricate elements in the surface waterproofing seamlessly and jointlessly. An additional coating ensures that the surface is capable of withstanding severe chemical and mechanical loads. The weather-resistant system can be applied to almost all substrates and materials. It is also vapour-permeable and, as it has a low surface weight of less than 10 kg/m2, is suitable for application on old coverings too. So there is absolutely no need to remove the existing covering.

Waterproof down to the smallest detail

The contractors carried out the waterproofing work on six fountains in Babelsberg Park one step at a time. After abrading the substrate, they primed the surface with Triflex Cryl Primer 276. The numerous details (such as the fountain shaft upturns, the curves inside the fountain basins and the spouting sculptures) were waterproofed with fleece-reinforced Triflex ProDetail. Since it offers full-surface adhesion to the substrate, it is impermeable and therefore offers long-lasting protection against penetrating moisture. It is resistant to hydrolysis too. The Triflex ProTerra system, which is also fleece-reinforced, was used for surface waterproofing. Firstly, the resin was generously applied, then the Triflex special fleece, taking care to remove any air bubbles, and finally a second layer of the two-component waterproofing product. The system component is resistant to media present in air and rainwater – and thus ensures extremely resistant waterproofing. Triflex ProFloor was applied as a protective and wearing layer. The renovation specialists used Triflex Cryl Finish 205 with a fine quartz sand dressing for finishing purposes.