National Heritage, Projects, and Renovations Kalam and the Engineering Mechanism have entrusted CIMSA with the restoration of the Casa del Labrador after detecting deterioration in its structure, which was aggravated as a result of the storm “Filomena.”
This Site of Cultural Interest is an original structure from 1790 located in the Royal Location of Aranjuez. It was conceived as a country house for the monarch Carlos IV and is one of the best neoclassical complexes in Spain. It was declared a National Monument in 1931, and it is located in the Prince’s Garden, a natural area that was declared a World Heritage Cultural Landscape by UNESCO in 2001.
An exceptional construction and restoration project
The work began with remote monitoring through a website to control possible cracks, collapses of perimeter walls, piezometric levels, humidity, ambient temperature, and structural vibrations.
The most complex phase in the entire process was the consolidation and strengthening of the building’s foundation. To do this, 150 mm diameter micropiles reinforced with steel pipe, injected with an IR injection system and measuring 15 meters long, were made, crossing the existing foundation with a diamond drill bit to prevent movements and vibrations in the building.
In the areas that were inaccessible to machinery and equipment, such as the two staircases leading to the upper floor, cement and microcement injections were carried out through a TAM hose pipe with instrumented low-flow pumps and parameter control.
For drilling all the units, the ELEMEX system was used for compressed air with absolute safety for the building; it wasn’t possible to use water for drilling due to the structure’s delicate situation. The use of compressed air for underpinnings can increase the risk of cracking and movements in the structure; the use of the Elemex system eliminated this risk making it possible to drill safely, without any incidents in the building.
More information at Revista De Arte.
