Reconstructing a community

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    Project update 2011 "Post-earthquake reconstruction, Tarapacá, Chile": Reconstruction of the church and its steeple is an important reference point in the whole town.

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    Project update 2011 "Post-earthquake reconstruction, Tarapacá, Chile": The town is characterized by continuous façade housing which configures the public space of the streets.

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    Project update 2011 "Post-earthquake reconstruction, Tarapacá, Chile": The emphasis of the reconstruction was on housing as a heritage weaving.

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    Project update 2011 "Post-earthquake reconstruction, Tarapacá, Chile": Housing is suitable for the dry climate, with daily thermal oscillation of more than 25°C.

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    Project update 2011 "Post-earthquake reconstruction, Tarapacá, Chile": The majority of houses were constructed in the 18th Century with principal materials of adobe and quincha.

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    Project update 2011 "Post-earthquake reconstruction, Tarapacá, Chile": Recovery of housing needed to be sustainable, efficient and durable but allow construction with dignity and respect for the local heritage.

The homes of some 81 families have been reconstructed following the devastating earthquake of June 2005. The approach addressed the constraints of a limited budget and urgency of the community, while improving traditional adobe building systems. The June 2005 earthquake destroyed most of the village of San Lorenzo in the arid northern province of Tarapacá, Chile. Re-construction was carried out between 2006 and 2008.

Last updated: June 09, 2011 Tarapacá, Chile

Since the town is located in a cultural heritage zone protected by the Chilean National Monument Council, reconstruction needed to reflect the patrimonial style and retain the traditional construction systems of the villages.

The earthquake had collapsed adobe buildings of masonry, stone, concrete block and mud mortar, and its impact had been exacerbated by neglected maintenance of housing structures, fatigued materials due to age and deficient construction techniques. Adobe masonry had been treated as if it possessed the structural properties of (stronger) masonry block, poor soils had undermined foundations and were unable to bear the weight of stone structures.

The traditional adobe homes were replaced by 81 low-cost structures that were fast to build and used local materials. The structures were fabricated from a simple metal frame construction with cement block walls, giving support to the quincha façades made of wood and clay (debris). Each family defined the layout and dimensions of their house according to their specific needs.

The project recovered housing construction systems that are sustainable, efficient, strong and durable – allowing reconstruction with dignity and respect for local heritage. The approach addressed the constraints of a limited budget, urgency of the community while improving traditional adobe building systems.

Accolades and transferability

The project received the first Gubbio Prize awarded in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2009. The prize promotes the diffusion of theoretical advances and best practice in the field of heritage protection and urban renewal. The post-earthquake reconstruction project also received funding from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Regional (FNDR) to produce an educational book that detailed the approach used to (re-)build identity in the community. The reconstruction has also been featured in articles in D+A Magazine (Diseño + Arquitectura Latinoamerica) and T y C Magazine (Tecnología y Construcción).