The Park Lane Ala Moana is an ultra-luxurious, low-rise set of condominiums located in Honolulu, HI. Nestled on 7.3 acres, the multimillion-dollar complex houses seven buildings with 217 units ranging in size from 1,600 sq. ft. to more than 6,500 sq. ft. per condo. The upscale development features resort-style amenities that include oversized unit balconies, private pools and garages, a luxury spa, a wine room, entertainment facilities, a gym, a library, lounges for all owners and guests, a 300-piece private art collection, extensive tropical landscaping and much more.
Park Lane Ala Moana is a prime real-estate property located on the grounds of the Ala Moana Shopping Center, the largest retail complex in the state of Hawaii. Park Lane Ala Moana also presently houses the highest recorded price in Hawaii for a condominium, which sold for $23.5 million (USD). A condominium complex of Park Lane Ala Moana’s magnitude and elegance required detailed work, constant coordination, a dedicated team, and high-quality products during its construction. MAPEI was on hand to help achieve the project’s ultra-luxurious design.
MAPEI products on the jobsite
Over the course of two years, crews from installer A-American Custom Flooring and contractor Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc. worked together to install numerous MAPEI products in order to match the various substrates and specified installation needs.
“This project included almost every type of installation you can think of,” said Stephen Pazienza, MAPEI’s coordinator on the project. “It was a completely new build. There was waterproofing and prep work. The crews worked on masonry and on concrete. They worked on the building facades and installed cladding. They installed ceramic and stone tiles, wooden flooring, resilient, and carpet.
“There was a total of 1,535,000 sq.ft. [142,606 m2] quoted for this project,” Pazienza said. “It ended up being 980,000 sq. ft. [91,045 m2] of tile, stone, pavers and cladding; 375,000 sq.ft. [34, 39 m2] of wood flooring; 175,000 sq.ft. [16,258 m2] of carpet; and 25,000 sq.ft. [2,323 m2] of resilient and rubber flooring.”
Achieving zero-tolerance thresholds
During the period of building in Honolulu, many Honolulu architects and designers were specifying luxury high-rise projects that focused on “zero-tolerance” transitions for all finish work. This zero-tolerance-transition design scheme created challenges for interior and exterior walls and flooring, requiring that all transitions had no change of plane from material to material. Height transitions from tile, wood, carpet and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and amenities had to be benchmarked to the same specifics. Even if thresholds were used, the heights of all of the thresholds had to remain at zero transition.
To ensure a high-quality appearance and truly flat floor, MAPEI’s self-leveling products became the major products for providing and adjusting height transitions. Novoplan 1, Novoplan 2 Plus and Ultraplan 1 Plus underlayments were used for the bulk of the self-leveling work in conjunction with Primer L, Primer T and ECO Prim Grip. When needed, Planiprep SC skimcoating compound was used to skimcoat over the self-leveling materials for resilient- and wood-flooring installations.
Hawaii’s climate and the jobsite’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean meant that moisture mitigation was a must to ensure stability for the LEED-certified wood flooring, carpet and resilient-/rubber-flooring installation.
Planiseal VS was the main moisture mitigation product for all areas of wood- and resilient-flooring installations; for bedroom carpeting, Primer WE was used as an approved moisture mitigator in order to save on costs. Mapecem Quickpatch was also applied and used as a pre-moisture floor patch. In addition, Mapelastic AquaDefense waterproofing membrane was used with Reinforcing Fabric for bathrooms, showers, kitchens, patios, spa facilities, landscaping and balconies.
Setting the stone
Granirapid and Kerabond T/Keralastic Systems mortars were used to install various types of natural stone on the vertical exterior facades, providing necessary bond strength and rapid setup in specific areas. For all terrace and retaining-wall installations, Mapelastic cementitious membrane was used to help create the large “Puka Lava” volcanic-stone look.
Other product installation included Ultracolor Plus FA, Keracolor S (sanded) and Keracolor U (unsanded) for grouting tile, and Mapesil T sealant for caulking and expansion joints. Mapecem 102 mortar was used to build exterior concrete ways and landings to fix depressions; Planitop X and Planitop XS repair mortars were used for structural repairs and Planicrete W setting compound was used to adhere limestone to elevator-cab doors. For the pool-deck installation, Ultraflex LFT and Keracolor S were used to set the pool coping. In addition, Adesilex P10 Mosaic & Glass Tile mortar was used to set glass-tile mosaics within the spa area.
To complete the tile installations, crews cleaned the tile using UltraCare Epoxy Grout Haze Remover and UltraCare Heavy-Duty Stone, Tile & Grout Cleaner. They then sealed the tile with UltraCare Penetrating Stone, Tile & Grout Sealer, a natural-looking, water-based penetrating sealer for maximum protection against staining.
For wood-flooring installation, Ultrabond ECO 980, Ultrabond ECO 985 and Ultrabond ECO 995 adhesives were used, along with Ultrabond ECO 810 adhesive for carpet tile, Ultrabond ECO 360 adhesive for resilient flooring and Ultrabond ECO 711 adhesive for vinyl flooring in maintenance areas.
MAPEI’s quality, reputation and warranty standards have been used around the world, and are now part of Park Lane Ala Moana, one of the most unique and luxurious residences in Hawaii. MAPEI is proud to be a part of this living entity and historic development that stands at the gateway of famed Waikiki Beach.
