Monumental Construction Mirador Cabo Corrientes: One city inside another

By 30 agosto, 2017newa Reports
Mirador Cabo Corrientes 2

Horacio Kamiñetzky

On a privileged ground of 10,000 m², with 550 apartments, 271 parking spaces,

45 retail shops, swimming pool, gym, gardens and gigantic patios, stands this

Residential complex, the pride of Mar del Plata city, the largest tourist city

of Argentina, on the Atlantic ocean coast. An emblematic product of the feverish towers construction that hatched in the city during the decade of the 70s, Mirador Cabo Corrientes changed the ejido’s urban phsonomy but never got outdated. Since years has been incorporating advanced technologies that brought it closer to the group of called “intelligent buildings”.

This marplatense building is made up of four towers of 17 stories each, arranged in a radial shape and two garage basements. Each tower has a group of three elevators with 19 stops each.

The Consortium is of such magnitude that it has it’s own administration, devoted exclusively to its managment.

“The Mirador Cabo Corrientes has been changing, and the Owner Council

have always been distinguished by  being very active, since their members are very much motivated to  making continuous improvements” says Eliana Pérez, current administrator of something that goes beyond the concept of a building, we’d rather say an urban minicenter.

The design  of this quite original construction belongs to the clever imagination of Architect Débora di Veroli which was built in 1970. Full of tourists in the summer season the “Cabo” turns into a city – tells the administrator- of 4000 population living together. This population population decreases in Winter when only  parmanent  occupants remain challenging the cold of the

“Atlantic Pearl” one of the ways it is called  Mar del Plata.

Mr. Juan Luciano Coluccio owner of ETICA S.RL. an elevator Company takes part of the  interview. Mr. Coluccio has, since 1996, the great responsibility of keeping the 12 elevator system of this community in perfect operation. “During the summer, each elevator makes between 2,700 and 3,000 trips daily trips. With such a flow there were summers, before updating the elevators, in which we had to leave a permanent guard in the building to solve problems arising from such an intensive use.

All this changed drastically after updating the elevator systems and since then there was no need to make use of those human resources.

 

“I want to point out that 18 years after being installed, the Automac A6600 controls continue to operate as the first day. It was just neccesary to change some peripheral elements due to natural wear . Doing a simple calculation, each elevator has in January some 90,000 starts and at the end of the year each one   reaches 450,000. If we think that it is about 12 lifts, in 18 years, millions are the starts that these controls have performed.

They have served 550 departments with their inhabitants, removals, suppliers, painters and masons. And yet, the elevators are still running smoothly. Then we can talk about a

good material and an effective preventive maintenance”.

Juan Coluccio began in 1996 to provide the maintenance of Mirador Cabo Corrientes when It had already been submitted to a profound process of building improvement and a value enhancement, and he took responsability on the elevators update.

“Fortunately, and for the good of the building, says Coluccio, a professional multidisciplinary  directors board took the responsability of the building oh their shoulders.

We started by improving the performance of all the existing mechanical part, to put into operation safety systems that were canceled and start up elevators that had been unemployed  for a long time.

We worked on the original equipment:

The controls were two-speed,  branded EDA and over the years most of their systems had suffered important wear and tear. We put in condition that  controls and driving machines, which still remain the original, branded Jone, with Sicem engines. Years later, we began to update the elevators, installing automac electronic controls, model A6600, which were the state of the art at that time.

Having projected the future of the building, we asked them to prepare the commands thinking of future automatic doors and with a supervisor in the ground level reception with the aim of having the complete building with a high technology.

Because the importance of the job to do, we planed the work in stages: We began updating  two elevators per year and soon, assesing the good result, the process was  accelerated.

The next step was installing automatic doors in the cabins and then  in the ground floor.

Three years ago we started to replace the 192 floor doors by stainless steel Fermator automatic doors, customized and provided  by H. Trimarchi s.r.L.  As a sample only one was installed in each tower for people could see them and give their opinión”.

“And also for the owners could see how the money required to them was used in the job “ adds Eliana Pérez.

“Obviously it was easier for us to make the effort all at once in every tower , says Coluccio,  but the other three towers  would have felt put off, without seeing the improvements. ”

“We will now to be completing by August Towers 1 and 2, and we expect to be completing Tower 4 by the middle  of november.

Tower 4 fnalizada. Tower 3 was completed last year.

We have been implementing a long-term work plan, which

Is being fulfilled in time and form “.

Juan Coluccio points out  that the elevators of the Mirador

Cabo Corrientes was already  inspected by the Municipality on seven occasions:

  • “Not only they inspected the Maintenance Book, also carried out the statutory technical inspections with all their relevant protocols and tests. “
  • “By the end of the year we hope to see this significant work completed. This will increase the value of the properties and will bring to the owners and users in general much more safety” says Eliana Pérez.
  • “This building is not common,” adds Juan Coluccio. Is not only a landmark of the construction of Mar del Plata, but the first owners consortium in certifying IRAM Standard 65006 awarded for the administrative excellence and the expenses collection system.

People pass by the front of this building, but doesn’ t guess the organizational world that moves inside”.

Eliana Pérez points out that the concern to apply for IRAM standards dates from meetings on 1994 and That since that time they have been working to be able to get to certification. The current management follows the steps of the previous Directing Councils, in the sense of adding value to the assets of the Mirador  on a permanent basis.

The administrator is gratful for the suppliers support  who accompany her all the time, seriously and and with compliment.

A bit of history

The Mirador Cabo Corrientes building is the only argentine building built over a cape.

In front of the  the rocky outcrop of Cabo Corrientes, which is the culmination of the Tandilia foothill on the Mar del Plata coast , there was until late 60’s a large irregular piece of land  with a Surface  of a 9347 m². The  property was purchased by Domingo Fiorentini, a construction businessman ,who planed there  a complex of vacation houses with privileged views of the city, the Cliff and the sea.

To take full advantage of the convex ocean front of the land,  the architect Débora Di Veroli (with the collaboration of architect Domingo Raffo  and César Cabaleiro, adviser in structure issues)  devised four 17 stories  volumes arranged in a radial disposition, connected at one end by a circular shape sector.

Di Veroli carries out the proyect and directed the construction which was in charge of Fiorentini’s building Company, Who also took over the sale and administration of the apartments.

As the design was made of several towers, this allowed the Mirador’s construction and opening  in stages.

Legend says that at the begining the   builder intended to raise the four towers separare one from the other, opinión which opposed to that of Architect  Di Veroli.

Finally, the night before the presentation of the Project, Architect Di Veroli  drew freehand her visión of the building and she did it so well, that in the morning her sketch was approved unanimously.

From the very moment of its construction the building was incorporated to the marplatense landscape, becoming an icon of the city.

The pooled efforts of all those who love the Mirador are devoted to hold its validity through the next decades.

 

A Company called ETICA S.R.L.

ETICA, the maintenance and installation elevator company, is Juan Luciano  Coluccio‘s project fullfilment. Member and heir of a family devoted to the elevator business, he got prepared with them at Buenos Aires, during the 70’s but he was destined to found his own Company at Mar del Plata, and there he settled.

“I went to work and to train myself in Buenos Aires from Mar del Plata. After that I came back to Mar del Plata to continue working on my passion: elevators.

Finally, with my wife, Celia Bisonni, we started our business: the 1st of May 1999 we founded ETICA. We chose that name to  highlight our greates strength  which are the values ​​and principles that govern us at work and in life. Our slogan is “ ETICA,a company that does honour to its name. ‘”

“From the very beginning, we desire that the principles of honesty, integrity, fair business practices, responsibility in society,  professional behavior, respect and cordial treatment became the guiding ideas for all our activity, orienting it in favor of the client to provide himit a better and safer service. ”

“With these principles we based our actions, with the conviction that this is the way our organization will be able to achieve its purpose, contributing to its own good and the good of the society as well.

“This attitude has been transmitted to all ETICA’s staff, in such a way that we have

made  a team that strives to offer customized assistance  and solutions according to the needs of our clients “.

“We never lose sight of the fact that our job is to maintain vertical transportation vehicles and care for users safety “.

“We count on with a staff who had accompanied us and cooperated with us since the company’s beginning. Is the case of Manuel de Don Pedro who today is responsible for the administrative area. Overtime team members had joined  different  areas today make ETICA a strong Company.

When referring to the beginning of the company, Coluccio does not forget those who supported him – “I have to foreground those suppliers  who helped us much, especially in a particular case, that on learning  we had founded ETICA, sent us a truck full of goods: steel power cables, retractable skids, locks, rolls of command sleeves for us to have material to work with. We cannot forget those gestures and our gratitude is for ever”.

Following the idea he adds, “we got  the confidence of many clients who bet on our project; that show us we had taken a right decision and push us to carry on. Today, we are proud to have built long-term relationships with our customers. ”

It is worth noting the participation of Coluccio in institutional activities of the sector through the Mar del Plata Elevator Chamber ; he does a hard work there.

“I have been in the Chamber since 1985, and since 90’s I’m part of the Managing Board. I have been the Chamber Treasurer for 12 years now. I am also a representatives to the Standing Committee on Safety for Lifts and to the National Federation of Lifts Associations and Chambers Of the Argentine Republic (F.A.C.A.R.A). Likewise, I am Treasure of F.A.C.A.R.A since 2014.

I strongly believe that companies working all together inside the chambers will make the sector grow and reach the high quality standards we all need.

With the Mar del Plata Elevator Chamber we have achieved important progress such as the elevator ordinances promulgation, which are considered as a model to take after by other entities for their corresponding  jurisdictions.But our goal as a camera and as a federation Is to join the regulations under a National Vertical Transport Law”.

When talking about ETICA features,  Juan tells us the company  is a familiar SME  with a 15 peoplin staff,  including his daughters.  The staff has been trained   within the Company.

The business grew according to the number of customers which  today reach  about 400 machines. In addition, he says “we have not only grown in the number of customers but also in the geographical scope of our services:  we serve in cities as  Pinamar, Cariló, Balcarce, Bahía Blanca, Miramar,Tandil and Azul “.

Consulted about their  projects, Juan tells us: “We have many: we are expanding.

We start with a unit space of 300 m2 and today we have taken it to 490 m2. We are enlarging our technical and  administative  offices, creating new spots for the customer attention, a board room, an a technical development room. We want to grow enough to be at the cuttind edge”.

“Our trust in human mankind and their values y what make us love our profesión as we do: value is what

Makes us love this profession so much: it is to find people who had crossed the supplier-customer barrier, who had crossed the relation between employee-employer, consortium-company and had become friends, part of the ETICA’s family  “.

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