Haskell delivered innovative construction solutions for a religious temple in Colombia.

Innovations in construction aren’t limited to manufacturing facilities. When Haskell began collaborating with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to design and construct new temples around the world, it might’ve seemed like a major departure from our manufacturing expertise. But the temple construction projects, like the one we built in Barranquilla, Colombia, utilized many of the same innovative principles that Haskell practices across all of our markets.

High-quality design and materials were key to customer satisfaction.

For this particular 6.7-acre campus, the Church required construction of three separate buildings: a 24,756-square-foot, three-story Temple; a 25,800 SF housing building, and a 3,444 SF mechanical structure to house the chillers, transformers, and generators needed for operations. Initial construction on the Temple was similar to that of Haskell’s industrial projects, including cast-in-place concrete walls, concrete floor slabs, and a concrete tower structure. The ancillary buildings were constructed from post and beam concrete with block wall infill and concrete floor slabs.

Once the initial structures were in place, the interior and exterior finishes became a primary focus of our team, with extra emphasis on quality. LDS Temples are highly detailed buildings that require precise coordination between the different systems and finishes. Local contractors were trained to understand the high complexity of the design drawings. These details included the highest level of drywall finish, Level 5, as well as a very elaborate painting process, a Portuguese limestone facade, custom chandeliers, art glass installations, bronze railings, and a vibrant landscape.

An emphasis was also placed on local subcontractor collaboration.

Nearly all of the work on this project was performed by Colombian owned and operated companies. All the millwork, and much of the furniture, was fabricated in Bogotá using Colombian Mahogany. All decorative metal handrails were fabricated by a local shop in Armenia, Colombia, using traditional methods of fabrication. All interior and exterior stone was sourced and installed by a local stone company based in Bogotá.

Advanced technology and communication helped Haskell complete this project six months ahead of schedule.

As is the case on many of Haskell’s other projects, our design team used Building Information Modeling (BIM) to identify and mitigate design clashes prior to construction. This greatly reduced the number of changes needed during construction, saving our client time and money. Additionally, Haskell’s high level of organized communication between our internal teams in the office and in the field, as well as all with of our regional subcontractors, enabled us to quickly mitigate challenges during project execution.Because of technology, communication, and careful planning, this Temple was completed six months ahead of schedule and $10M under budget.