An 800-bed workforce camp at 3,800 m, below −20 °C

A major copper mining operation needed to scale its workforce by 800 personnel for a four-year expansion. The site sits at 3,800 m in the Chilean Andes. Winter nights drop to −20 °C, summer UV exceeds Europe's peak by 50%, and the nearest town is 180 km away over switchback roads unsuitable for oversize transport.

The client's constraint was that every module had to fit inside standard 40-foot open-top containers for the final leg, because the mountain road would not admit anything wider. Occupancy needed to hit full capacity in 14 months.

We designed 112 modules in three variants — 40-bed male dorm, 40-bed female dorm, 20-person staff with ensuites — every one of them sized to fit a 40-foot flat-rack in transport. Envelope: 150 mm PIR with a triple-glazed window package (U=0.9 W/m²K), rated for −25 °C continuous and the 160 km/h winter gust load. Roof: 65° pitch with snow load rating of 3.8 kN/m², because at that altitude the snow comes in sideways and stays for four months.

Every module was air-tested to 1.5 m³/h·m² at 50 Pa — a tighter envelope than most permanent buildings in the region — because at −20 °C every gap is an energy bill and a comfort complaint. MEP is fully redundant: two 250 kVA gensets per hundred beds in N+1, two water loops, two heat pumps per module zone. Modules shipped from Mersin → San Antonio by sea, then overland to the mine. Final leg was done in two convoys per week over the 12-month delivery programme.

• Month 0Contract signature, ground survey, high-altitude envelope testing.
• Month 1–3Design freeze, mock-up module built and air-tested at 50 Pa.
• Month 3–12Production in Ankara, 10 modules per week peak.
• Month 6–13Sea freight from Mersin → San Antonio, Chile.
• Month 7–14On-site erection on partner-built pile foundations.
• Month 14Final SAT, first 400-bed phase handed over.
• Month 18Full 800-bed capacity operational.

Full occupancy achieved month 18, two months ahead of the client's operational milestone. Measured winter heating consumption came in 18% below the design estimate thanks to the envelope air-tightness. No structural or envelope defects reported over the first 24 months.

The client has since contracted us to expand the camp by a further 320 beds on the same standard, starting 2026.