BIP Computers / Alberto Mozo

Architect: Alberto Mozo
Collaborators: Francisca Cifuentes, Mauricio Leal, Luis Fernandez
Location: Suecia & Bilbao, Providencia, Santiago, Chile
Client: Nicolas Moens de Hase
Site Area: 1654 sqm
Constructed Area: 623 sqm
Project Year: 2006
Construction Year: 2007
Structure Ingeneer: Juan Lopez Ingeneers
Electric project: Gaston Villarroel
Services: Jaime Uribe
Structure: Arauco & Constructora Las Torcazas
Finishing: Constructora Cuatro Vientos
Materials: Laminated Wood, Pino Radiata, Glass
Photographs: Cristobal Palma

This office-building is erected between two old houses, year 1936, which were renovated and are not under protection by any low of historical conservation.

The project mantained 80% of the previouly constructed and of the total constructed surface of 1.174 m2 , including the building, these houses represent a 44%.The whole occupies a place which permits the construction of a 12 floor building and this determines a high value of the ground, on the other hand depreciate the value of any construction which does not carry that altitude.

With these premises and with the objective of giving an economic value to a new building of 3 floors, a laminated wooden structure was choosen, avoiding a contrary demolition with a future sale of the place.

The laminated wood offers the unavoidable operation of disarming and opens the possibility of a lift-up at another place, the design of this building permits this, and if this is not so, being wood, its beams could be transformed in doors and later a door serves as a table-top. This condition of value in Architecture and Townplanning is what I personally call ” Transitive”.

Other advantages which were incorporated to the design of this structure are : the election of the same section of a straight beam, for the complete building, permitting to laminate the wood rapidly, just in nine days, and that this section was chosen from a Catalogue of the Empresa Arauco, 9 x 34,2 cm , a measure which considers an efficiency in the cut of the tree.

Finally , it is important to mention that the utilized wood is an incentive for reaforestation , for it belongs to the type of wood of a forest which is renewable and is the material of construction which less carbon emissions produce for the consideration of our climate changes.