St. Mark's Basilica in Venice is an architectural masterpiece and the city's landmark. In recent years, however, it has been repeatedly threatened by flooding. A system of glass barriers, anchored using fischer’s injection mortar FIS EM Plus in combination with fischer’s FIS A anchor rods, will protect St. Mark's Basilica from damage caused by tidal waves and flooding in the future.
In recent years, the water in Venice rose to 1.87 meters above sea level and this salt water penetrated the crypt of the cathedral, causing static problems and damaging floor mosaics and masonry. The salts, which are components of building materials like limestone and marble, are dissolved by the moisture and penetrate the structure, then remain on the surface of the component as an unsightly coating. When the water evaporates, the salts crystallise and increase in volume, leading to cavities in the rock that cause flaking, cracks and spalling.
The 1.2 meter glass protective wall of St. Mark's Basilica is made of thermally tempered, multi-layered glass and is attached to a structure made of AISI 316 stainless steel. fischer’s FIS EM Plus injection mortar was used together with FIS A anchor rods to secure the stainless steel rails in the concrete foundation.
This chemical fastening system guarantees permanently secure anchoring in concrete as well as subsequent reinforcement connections in accordance with European Technical Assessments (ETAs) and ICC approval for the USA and Far Eastern countries. Additionally, the mortar offers a service life of 100 years in the ETA and 120 years according to the Stuttgart engineering office IEA. FIS EM Plus is approved for seismic applications in performance categories C1 and C2 (ETA) or A to F according to ICC-ESR. It is also the safe choice in water-filled boreholes and in the event of a fire breaking out, with fire resistance R240.
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