Chilean architects Surco Studio have completed a rusted steel and concrete entrance and administration block for a school in Chile that was severely damaged by an earthquake.

Sheets of weathered steel overhang the concrete exterior walls to frame the entrance to the building, which leads in towards the school's reception, as well as to new classrooms.

Located at a crossroads in the city of Linares, the school is named Liceo María Auxiliadora and the new building displays a statue of the Virgin Mary in the window above its wooden entrance.

Exposed concrete walls also feature inside the two-storey building, while large areas of glazing separate rooms from the double-height foyer.

Other projects we've featured in Chile this year include a house made from prefabricated modules and a library filled with daylight.

See all our stories about Chile »

Photography is by the architects.

Here's some more explanation from Surco Studio:

Administration Curricular Building Liceo María Auxiliadora de Linares

The project is part of the reconstruction of a building belonging to “María Auxiliadora High School” who was seriously damaged by the earthquake of 27 / F. It was located on the corner facing the main square of Linares, Seventh Region,Chile, in an important position within the city.

The opportunity to rebuild on the same site enabled with the sort proposed building a facility that grew without apparent order program according to the years; In this way was concentrated in the new building all the administrative and curricular program, before dispersed in school, as well as wards of agents and the main entrance to the school, thus replacing poor access and a few classrooms, for a more public one condition under its own logic to where it belongs.

Moreover, the building seeks, through architecture, a reading of the next emblematic elements that may influence your decision, where a rusty steel pediment stands up to the patina of brick Cathedral of the city and, on the opposite axis, a deciduous plant wall accompanies the green of the Plaza de Armas. The intersection of the two fronts forms a double height access that holds a picture of the virgin becoming a kind of urban cave.

Thus, the corner has been dematerialized in access with double eaves height, welcoming to pedestrians and mediating between the scale of the city and the gymnasium. On the other hand is looking to continue with the axes of existing buildings hiding, somehow, the trapezoidal layout of the city of Linares, which prevents the pursuit of orthogonality at the apex.

The double-height access to and qualified in turn penetrates inside the building, creating multiple views among the various levels and venues, also becoming the gateway to the former chapel.

The solution also had to fit a limited budget for government funds allocated to reconstruction work, for which completion tasks eliminated, making the expression of each raw material, concrete, steel and wood, along with the design structural building, equip themselves with the work atmosphere and thus the final image.

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Name of the work: Administration Curricular Building Liceo María Auxiliadora de Linares.
Authors: Surco. Juan Paulo and Felipe Alarcon Carreno
Location: Linares, Maule Region, Chile.

Promoter: Hosted by the Ministry of Education Reconstruction Plan. "Breakdown Plan 1"
Land: 367.7 m2
Constructed area: 735.4 m2

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Year of project: 2011
Year of construction: 2011
Predominant materials: Reinforced concrete in sight, Steel, Glass DVH, Corten steel and radiata pine wood.
Photographer: SURco.

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