Escuela Odessa, Río Claro, Edwards y Soffia Arquitectos
Planta general / general floor plan
The selected modules offered multiple advantages in respect to the others: they were units completely assembled, externally clad with plates of steel and pre- painted aluminium, whose assembly system - on six axes - facilitated ground transport. The interior of the rooms, with carpeting or with linoleum floor, vinyl or Formica veneer on the walls, blackboards, lighting incorporated on the raised ceiling, emergency lights and exit doors, hermetically-sealed-double glazing aluminium frame windows, also enabled that the chosen product had the highest international standards for schools. Nevertheless, the fact that they came ready assembled complicated the marine transport, given that only few ship in the world could handle them. Next, the inscription and selection of the schools that would have this help, started. The Committee visited one by one the devastated areas to expose the project to the local authorities, so that the next step would be for them to apply to the reconstruction of the damaged establishments. The School’s for Chile answer was that it depending on the type and intensity of the damage.
The AOA member architects that volunteered in different projects, along with the Architecture Central Office of Schools for Chile that was formed, directed and coordinated by the architect Carlos Alberto Urzúa, achieved in finishing in record time the design of all the projects, that were then bided by the Construction Director of the Committee, architect Juan García. As such, the member offices of Infante, Vial, Ihnen Architects, José Domingo Peñafiel Architects, Turner Architects, Edwards and Soffia Architects, Víctor Lobos Architects, Carlos Alberto Urzúa Architects and Alemparte, Barreda, Wedeles, Besançon Associated Architects, mobilized its respective teams for the reconstruction of the schools.
Against time
The greatest challenge of the teams involved, was to design and build at the same time… and against time. In fact, only nine months after the earthquake the titanic labour was completed of repairing and erecting a total of 320 school projects, in between the Metropolitan and the Eighth region, that encompasses 800 kilometres of the country.
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