Bayer pigments used in historical restoration
Bayer pigments used in historical restoration
Keywords Bayer, Pigments, Germany
Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics has used iron oxide pigments,supplied by Bayer, the international chemicals and healthcare company, in the restoration of its new government department.
Shortly after the decision was taken to reinstate Berlin as the capital of reunified Germany, work began on refurbishing a large number of neglected old buildings from various periods. The Federal Ministry chose a complex of buildings and this is where Bayer's pigments technology helped to comply with historical building regulations.
The German authorities responsible for historical buildings set stringent restoration requirements as previous work had resulted in a number of construction and stylistic errors. The cost of the project, which started in 1995, was put at EUR 250 million.
German company, Rekostein GmbH, supplied 2,500 sq. metres of high quality terrazzo slabs for the public areas of the building complex. The colour specified was created using compact pigments from Bayer's Bayferrox1 range,which allow the creation of virtually any shade.
The consistently high quality claimed of the pigments – even after years of use – permits perfect matching in extension of repair projects.
Before the restoration project started, seven colour shades were developed in accordance with the requirements of the historical buildings commission. Bayer's iron oxide pigments were homogenised with the dry cement in a mixer. After adding water and other aggregates, the matrix was mixed to a defined specification.
The aggregate used to create the terrazzo effect – primarily dolomite with a particle size of two to ten millimetres – was added to the concrete separately. The unfinished blocks, weighing an average of six tonnes were then compacted and dried.
Before being laid, each slab was ground, polished and sealed to reduce pore volume and minimise the area vulnerable to abrasion.
Details available from: Bayer plc, Tel: +44 (0) 1635 563410, Fax: +44 (0)1635 563513, e-mail: michael.george.mg1@bayer.co.uk
