The Concepción Chile Temple was the second temple built in Chile by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The structure is built on a base-isolated foundation to improve performance in the high seismic region of Chile.
Ensign Engineering worked closely with Unlimited Designs providing structural design for precast and glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) façade. Today the reinforced concrete structure looks out over the Biobío River, standing as a beautiful and safe religious space for the community to enjoy.
The Ensign team provided structural oversight and design for the Concepción project. The majority of the exterior is comprised of beautiful, precast concrete designed to look like cut stone. The precast façade was designed to stack vertically and transfer gravity loads into either steel angles, or the concrete foundation itself.
In many places, the steel angles support more than 10 meters of precast. The precast is attached to the concrete structure with “split-tail” clips. These custom-designed clips withstand out-of-plane forces and provide flexibility during installation.
The tower steeple and entry archway are steel support structures with GFRC façades. The unique GFRC geometry and installation sequence required close coordination with the contractor throughout design and construction.