The Costanera Center in Santiago, Chile which will include the tallest building in South America has been on the boards for some time, and an opening date of 2012 has finally been announced! Located in the Providencia region of the country’s capital, the mixed-use development will include four buildings of varying height surrounding a mall. One of those buildings will reach 300 meters, which will make it the tallest building in South America. The whole complex is aiming for LEED Gold certification, and will utilize various sustainable design strategies.
The slow economy put a halt to the construction progress, which started in 2008, for the mixed-use commercial development. With financing now under control, a press release from Cencosud, the developer, says the mall will open in November 2011 and the rest of the towers, including the tallest, Torre Costanera, will open by November 2012. Originally designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, the development is now under the control of Alemparte & Barreda Architects. The Center will include a shopping mall with restaurants and a cinema, two hotels, two shopping markets and office space.
Aiming for LEED Gold certification for the entire complex, the extensive sustainable design strategies include a green roof over the entire mall complex, the use of recycled steel, energy efficient design, and use of water from the nearby canal to provide cooling for the complex. The water will also be processed and returned back into the canal clean or maybe even cleaner. During construction, the project is expected to control dust and gas emissions as well as monitor noise pollution.
+ Cencousud Shopping Centers
Via Treehugger
It says nothing about the terrible impact that this project will have on the vehicle circulation, already saturated in the area. With daily traffic jams now lasting for hours around the (still in construction)complex, the opening will make it at least 30% worse. The main investor, Horst Paulmann, known for his greediness, refused to pay for the minimum necessary congestion mitigation works, blaming the past and present governments for the soon-will-come collapse. Several organizations are calling a Boiccot to this man.