Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel | Galindo Ingeniería

Church of San Miguel Arcángel

Height: 20 meters

Magnitude: 530 square meters
Use: Church
Construction: Mario Galindo R. & CIA LTDA

Location: La Paz - Bolivia: La Paz - Bolivia

The Church of San Miguel Arcángel is an urban landmark.

It consists of 8 reinforced concrete shells in the shape of a truncated cone-shaped hyperbolic cosine with a thickness of 15 centimeters, a height of 20 meters and a built-up interior area of 530 [m2].

The architectural conception, structural design and construction were carried out by engineer Mr. Mario Galindo Rojas, as a thesis for his degree in civil engineering.

Honorable mentions:

- The artist Ricardo Pérez Alcalá, who painted several pictures of the church and designed many of its details.

- Master Florentino López, who was the main mason during the construction.

Both were close friends of Mr. Mario Galindo Rojas throughout his life.

An important part of a good structural design is the design and construction of a correct formwork. Just as a reference, the formwork drawings were made in one-to-one scale, i.e., actual size. The drawing of the plans was done with the help of a theodolite. This was because it was the only way to build the formwork with an error of less than one centimeter. The workers, who were actually skilled carpenters, built the formwork on top of the plans on the floor of the church.