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First ICFs used in Chile

March 2005. A school 200 km northwest of Santiago became the first building constructed with insulated concrete forms in Chile.

A school located 200 km northwest of Santiago is the first building to be constructed with insulated concrete forms in Chile. Mario Letelier, who opened a Formtech distributorship the previous year in the country, is responsible for bringing the forms to the attention of this traditional construction community.

Mr. Letelier, president of Wall Systems-Chile, introduced architect Hector Castro Hill to Formtech ICFs at the ExpoConstruccion in Santiago. A few months later, when his firm was awarded a contract for the first stage of a government-subsidized school project, he contacted Mr. Letelier.

Mr. Castro Hill had to find an affordable way to complete the project before the start of the new school year in March 2005. He researched new systems that would allow speedy construction at a low cost, and in October 2004 he confirmed his decision that Formtech fit the requirement. Once drawings and permits were finalized, construction began in late January 2005 by a local builder.

Mr. Letelier provided customer support, instructing the crew using videos and brochures and meeting several times with the architect and builder. He followed up with visits to the site to ensure the product was installed properly. Although the workers were unfamiliar with ICFs, Mr. Letelier said they were interested and eager to work with the technology and found the forms light, easy and fast to work with. The ICF walls of the school project were up in just seven days, and the project was completed on time for the new school year.

The private school is located in the city of Villa Alemana, in a low-income neighbourhood, and serves approximately 250 learning disabled children aged 5 to 9. The school will be 1,289.4 square metres when all phases are complete. A second Formtech ICF building was under construction at the time, a private residence of 240 square metres in Piedra Roja, a development in the foothills of Santiago.

Acceptance of a new building system into a conservative industry will take much time and effort, Mr. Letelier said, but his promotion of the technology in this earthquake-prone country had begun to pay off.