Minera Codelco (Div. Salvador) – Rajo Inca

Award Criteria

Architectural Excellence

The El Salvador Division of Codelco is located in the pre-mountain range of the Atacama Region, Province of Chañaral and Commune of Diego de Almagro, 198 km northeast of the city of Copiapó, regional capital. The camp is located at 2,400 meters above sea level.

These facilities are meant to house the personnel who will perform the necessary works for ore exploitation at a processing rate close to 37 ktpd, for a period of 40 years.

One of the main challenges was to install an operation camp in very limited time, providing 1,200 beds in just 6 months of construction. It was in an area near the town, so we had to be careful not to disturb the normal functioning of the inhabitants. There were restrictions in terms of schedules, noise, accommodation of construction personnel, etc.

The project was carried out under a lump sum contract and had to consider that, apart from construction, Tecno Fast should operate it for 18 months.

Technical Innovation & Sustainability

to take advantage of the space of the room, adapt the bathrooms and their artifacts The project was defined with high criteria of energy and water savings in order to minimize the environmental impact on the salt lake where the camp is located, which is the city of El Salvador in the north of the country.

The main feature was the design of minimalist rooms, meeting the relevant regulations, enabling the right relationship between the m2 built and the number of rooms.

We had to develop specialized equipment for good user comfort. The optimization of rooms allowed greater efficiency in the logistics of the project since the design also contemplated the use of truck ramps.

Cost Effectiveness

The project was designed as a temporary project, so the connections between modules and sanitary networks are visible, which allows significant savings in urbanization.

Another relevant point is that the buildings were structurally designed to be mounted on wooden foundations, even those of 2 floors, which allows a fast, economical assembly and, in the future, a less invasive disassembly and demobilization.

The bedrooms used in the project are efficient in terms of transport and logistics, since truck ramps can be used to the maximum and excessive transport costs avoided.