On Friday, June 9, 2023, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) kicked off the construction and renovation of the North Building of its headquarters in Santiago, Chile, a structure that will meet high sustainability standards, inclusion, productivity, transformation, quality of life and work, among others, which are a faithful reflection of the values and aspirations of ECLAC, the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals.
This new construction will be added to the already renowned main building of the institution, considered by experts as a landmark of modern Latin American architecture and one of the main references of this movement worldwide during the 20th century.
The laying ceremony of the first stone of the North Building was led by the Executive Secretary of the organization, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, who was accompanied by the Deputy Executive Secretary for Administration and Analysis of Programs of the Commission, Raúl García-Buchaca, and the officials in charge of the project belonging to the Administration Division and the General Services Unit of ECLAC. Representatives of the private companies in charge of the construction, technical inspection and architecture of the work -L&D, C&D and VAAR & Ipiña-Nieto, respectively- as well as the Construye 2025 program of the Production Development Corporation (CORFO) also participated. of the Government of Chile, the Association of Women in Construction, and all the staff of ECLAC.
The new building will be unique of its kind, since it incorporates various innovations, including energy savings through efficient and automated technologies, also becoming a source of clean energy generation through the installation of a 2,600 mt photovoltaic plant.2 on its roof made up of solar panels that will have an annual electrical production capacity of approximately 475,888 kWh (kilowatt hours). This will imply a consumption 50% lower than that of the old construction and supposes an extra 19% of the consumption that the renovated North Building will have. In this way it will be the first “Net-Zero” building of the organization, that is, it will produce more energy than it will consume.
Likewise, the work will incorporate special anti-seismic construction techniques that will comply with the demanding regulations existing in Chile (a country known for its tendency to suffer high-intensity earthquakes); an interior design that considers the removal of physical barriers that prevent people with disabilities from making free use of work spaces; cleaning and reuse of 100% of wastewater for use in irrigation, along with minimizing sanitary waste; as well as the use of sustainable local materials that reduce the carbon footprint of the project, such as: black slag in the concrete mix (waste from metallurgical processes, thus avoiding the extraction of aggregates from natural environments), recycled steel, insulation based on organic wood fibers (wool), linoleum floors made from renewable materials, and special care in the final disposal of construction waste in order to produce the minimum of contamination, among other characteristics. All this tangibly demonstrates to the construction market that it is possible to make the leap towards the circular economy.
Through an arduous and innovative bidding process called the Multistage Request for Proposals with competitive dialogue, the interest of renowned companies was attracted locally, regionally and internationally, and had the benefit of having participants located among the largest construction companies in the world.
“This process included all the mechanisms that ensure transparency, concurrence, and healthy competition among the participants. And this is how ECLAC is honored today to be able to present a very successful example that can be used and replicated by the rest of the entities of the United Nations System,” said José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs at the ceremony.
In fact, on April 14, 2023, the Review Committee and Procurement Experts of the United Nations Secretariat in New York congratulated and expressed its high satisfaction with the award process for this work.
“I want the officials who will work in this new building to be sure that they will have a new house where creativity, collaborative work and the joy of working in facilities with highly innovative construction, inclusion and sustainability will be encouraged. With this first stone, we mark another step on the path towards a sustainable future for the ECLAC complex in Santiago”, added the Executive Secretary of the organization, who deposited a copper capsule in the subsoil with a copy of his words and the summary report of the objectives, methodologies and procedures carried out for the execution of the emblematic project.
