The waterproofing works on the roof top of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp (KMSKA), Belgium have been completed. 1,665 m2 of the white RENOLIT ALKORBRIGHT membrane, perfectly cut to size to be installed around 198 different-sized triangular skylights. A complex task with a magnificent result: a roof that is a true masterpiece and allows natural light to enter the museum’s rooms.
Sant Celoni, Barcelona, 7th April 2020 – The restoration work on the roof of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp (KMSKA), Belgium, has been completed by RENOLIT, a leading company in the field of waterproofing roofing, with the RENOLIT ALKORPLAN roofing membrane line. The result could only be a masterpiece of architecture and design for this 19th century neoclassical building, where about 7600 works of Flemish art are housed, including paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints. It can be said that today the roof of the museum is already a work of art in itself, thanks to the 198 triangular skylights fully waterproofed with 1,665 m2 of RENOLIT ALKORBRIGHT white membrane, cut to size to perfectly cover every surface. The Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts is scheduled to re-open in 2021.
The ambitious project to renovate and expand the Royal Museum of Fine Arts was conceived to transform the former internal courtyards into a new vertical museum area. Thanks to the construction of an area dedicated to contemporary art within the ancient walls of the building, the museum now houses two artistic worlds that are distant from each other yet equally fascinating.
It was to protect these precious masterpieces that a solution was sought that could offer the exhibition rooms as much indirect and northern light as possible. So, the Claus en Kaan firm of architects thought up an ingenious design for the roof. In addition to being of great aesthetic impact, the 198 triangular roof skylights are built to allow the northern light to enter the museum’s rooms. In fact, the north facing windows allow indirect lighting, thus avoiding any compromise between visual experience and conservation of the art on display.
Hence, the architects’ choice of the RENOLIT ALKORBRIGHT system, entirely white, flexible and with a SRI equal to 115. These characteristics allow the sun’s rays to be reflected to the maximum, an effective way of improving the quantity of indirect light coming through the windows and provide additional internal lighting. The membrane also helps to reduce excessive heat in the building during the summer and, as a result, energy  consumption due to air conditioning.
Another advantage of RENOLIT ALKORBRIGHT is, without a doubt, its flexibility. It was a difficult task for the ADCO team of installers who were responsible for renovating the roof of this new building. It took time and considerable technical skills. All 198 skylights were prefabricated off-site, one by one. Then the 198 triangular wooden constructions were covered with RENOLIT ALKORPLUS81002, a self-adhesive bituminous vapour control layer. To assure a perfectly waterproof and neat finish RENOLIT ALKORPLUS metal sheet profiles were secured to the edges. Lastly, each triangle was covered with the RENOLIT ALKORBRIGHT membrane. 1,665 m2 of membrane cut to size into different small sections, to perfectly fit the skylights, which are also of different sizes.
A flat roof always slopes slightly to allow rainwater to drain off. That is why three different sizes of skylight were used. Even a slight slope would have interrupted the optical effect of a straight line formed by all the peaks of the skylights.
A truly magnificent result which was obtained also thanks to the contribution of RENOLIT, which offered its solutions to make this roof a true work of art.
About RENOLIT WATERPROOFING ROOFING
Acquired in 2006 and part of the German RENOLIT Group, RENOLIT WATERPROOFING is the benchmark for the manufacture of durable, versatile and certified high-quality synthetic membranes for waterproofing roofs and coverings, for swimming pools and civil engineering. With its site in Sant Celoni, north of Barcelona, the business unit has about 350 employees, an annual production of one million membrane rolls and a turnover that will reach 130 million Euro this year, 45% of which is represented by the roofing division.
Reliability, impeccable aesthetics, energy savings, sustainability, ease of installation and high durability are the strengths of RENOLIT ALKORPLAN waterproof membranes. The wide range of products, the flexible approach focused on customer needs, strong know-how and all round on-site technical assistance, characterise the approach and work of the roofing division, with the aim of providing satisfactory coverage solutions for every specific issue.
About the Company
The RENOLIT Group is a multinational company specialising in membranes, films and other high quality plastic products. With more than 30 locations in over 20 countries and sales of 1.031 billion Euro in 2018, the company with headquarters in Worms (Germany) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plastic materials. More than 4,700 employees contribute every day to developing and growing the know-how gained in over 70 years of business.
