Rehabilitation of the orphanage Elisa Andreoli, Oruro
The orphanage ”Hogar Elisa Andreoli” hosts socially marginalised boys and girls between 0 to 6 years old. The religious order “Serve di Maria” manages the structure supported by the Italian ONLUS “La Gotita Onlus”. The working, living and climate conditions of the site are extremely complex. The city of Oruro is sit-uated at approximately 3700 meters above sea level where the temperature range reaches 40 ° C during the day and -20 ° C at night. Conventional materials and construction techniques, considered ‘modern’ from the local community, react inadequately to the extreme climate of the Bolivian upland. In fact the majority of new constructions are built with inappropriate materials such as the corrugated metal for the roof and air-bricks for the vertical partitions, without any kind of insulation and finishing. This trend led to the unpleasant loss of vernacular construction techniques, that are no longer passed on from generation to generation, flattening the local cultural heritage and lowering the quality of living conditions. The orphanage existing structure is a typical example of this phenomenon. The precarious materials used and the little attention to details contributed to the structure’s decay, built twelve years before. Furthermore the complexity of the original geometry reduces the income of natural light in classrooms and corridors and is one of the major causes of rainwater infiltration. The structural decay, which extends across 1.500 m2 of the building, damaging major sections of the orphanage, compromised the quality, health and safety of it’s living spaces. Rainwater infiltration along the roof’s perimeter, contributed to the suspended ceiling’s rotting, damaging the already precarious electrical system and accelerating the floor’s decay. The project’s strategy revolved around the simplification of the geometry of the building, facilitating the construction of new roofing and reducing potential infiltrations. The project was realised in participation with a number of public and private institutions of the city of Oruro
The strategy adopted by ARCò improved the living conditions of the orphanage, simplifying the building’s geometry and bringing innovative materials and construction techniques for the city of Oruro.
The green roof highly improved the insulation of the existing structure. The new skylights, implemented on 40% of the covering surface, increased the income of natural light, helping preserve solar heat within the in-terior spaces of the orphanage. During the feasibility study alternative construction materials were consid-ered to replace common materials which have little impact on the local climatic conditions. Finally the use of a green roof was proposed due to its positive qualities (thermic and acoustic insulation, oxygen production and lowering CO2 emission through plant’s photosynthesis). The green roof was initially conceived to cover a large portion of the roof. However, due to a difficult financial situation, it was reduced to 10% of the overall covering surface. The main aim was to create a successful precedent that local authorities could accept and reproduce using available tools and materials that would properly respond to the region’s climate and culture. The local participation contributed to the project’s realisation. The Municipality of Oruro donated the land and the plants. Generous private donations allowed the replacement of the electrical and the lighting system. The tough work and financial effort made by the general constructor resolved in good quality finishes such as the newly painted interior spaces, that were highly damaged by rainwater infiltrations. The green roof’s construction was developed through a collaboration with the Technical University of Agricultural Science and Technologies and Architecture of Oruro, where students actively participated in the roof’s construction in exchange of a series of lectures by ARCò on green roofs. This participatory process produced the realisation of a green roof with unconventional materials. For the drainage layer, 400.000 plastic caps replaced the commonly used expanded clay, unavailable around the project’s area. These are normal plastic caps which partially retain rainwater to nourish the garden, putting very little weight on the underlying structure. The plastic caps were gathered thanks to a collective collecting effort promoted by Oruro’s schools and churches. The final project increased the covering surface of 200m2, improving the complex joints of the roof’s slopes. The new cover straighten the irregular original geometry, creating new strips which alternate skylights to green roofs, increasing the overall height of the exterior walls. The works lasted four months, each stage was coordinated to avoid the rain season of the Bolivian upland.
