2012 Nested Carenaries Pilot Project, Open City Ritoque, Chile
Design: Defne Sunguroğlu Hensel.
Engineering: Guillem Baraut Bover, BOMA Inpasa Barcelona, Spain.
Master Mason: Øyvind Buset, Oslo, Norway.
Construction Team: Defne Sunguroğlu Hensel, Øyvind Buset, David Jolly Monge, Oscar Andrade, Carolina Almarza, Fernando Briones, Randi Fjeldtvedt, Javiera Galeas, Camila Gonzales, Michael U. Hensel, Astrid Christine Johnsen, Carla Landaeta Jeria, Elisabetha Maniga, Diego Millan, Paula Minte, Macarena Morales, Navid Navid, Fabian Olivares, Matias Penrroz, Soledad Prado, Carlos Trancoso.
Financed by: Research Center for Architecture and Tectonics, Oslo, Norway.
Endorsed by: The Embassy of Chile in Norway, the Norwegian Association of Masons and Bricklayers.
Award: Excellence in the use of Brick, Byggutengrenser, Norway.
The design of the Nested Catenary landmark for the cemetery of the Open City Ritoque in Chile consists of interconnected shells that are nested to form a vault between two cavity walls. The design also involved a strategy of branching as a principle to span and to create nested spaces. The design was limited to twelve sub-shells in creating the overall shell articulating a volume of 162m³. Each sub-shell has a thickness of 55mm. The span is 7 meter in both directions with a height of 3.3 meter. A total of 1000 bricks were used, with a total weight of approx. 2800 kg including mortar. Since the completion of construction the structure has experienced earthquakes up to 7,6 on the Richter scale.
