CPD Specifier May 2015 issue January 2014 | Page 9

Roofs

As the National Theatre prepares to raise the
curtain on its 50th anniversary season, Kemper
System has ensured that its Grade II listed
building continues to perform by providing
the waterproofing membrane for a major
refurbishment project.
Famously described by Prince Charles as a
‘clever way of building a nuclear power station in
the middle of London without anyone objecting’,
the National Theatre is almost as famous for
its architecture as it is for the quality of the
productions it stages. Located on the South
Bank of the Thames, it’s a pretty hard building
to overlook, whatever your opinion of its modern
concrete structure, and has been Grade II
listed since 1994. For the team that manages
the building, therefore, there is a significant
responsibility to maintain the structure as a piece
of national heritage, a public building and a busy
workplace.

Kemperol takes
central stage at
the National Theatre

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
One of the architectural features that make the
National Theatre such an unconventional design
are the distinctive terraced balconies that form its
rectangular concrete silhouette. These provide
both public walkways and roofs for offices below
so when their original asphalt surfaces started
failing, resulting in leaks, a solution needed to be
found quickly. The re-waterproofing was carried
out as part of the National Theatre’s £80 million
refurbishment programme but one of the main
specification criteria was finding a way to complete
the works without an 䁉