PRESERVING HERITAGE THROUGH

CONTEMPORARY SOLUTIONS

The Santa Rosa de Lima was first established in the eighteenth century as a home for orphaned girls. The school has continued operations into the twenty-first century and expanded its resources to meet the social needs of the day. As such, the school includes a mix of modern facilities constructed in recent decades and traditional ones, such as the Loyalty Building, which is classified as a cultural heritage site.

We endeavored to restore the entire building taking great care to preserve as much of the historical architecture as possible. One of the most serious challenges was the introduction of a new structural system at the roof level. Due to serious water leakage, the new roof had to be completed prior to the restoration of the inner parts of the building. A unique structural design was developed where the top slab is now hung by the roof, a contemporary solution to heritage preservation.

Renovation of the main building was also part of the project scope aside from the heritage restoration. With the customized strategy proposed, a double-sized playground is gained and the fire egress system is optimized, which was a long standing issue for the school for the past decades.