Roofs waterproofed and safe to maintain.
Between September and December 2025, for the Colombian Geological Survey (Servicio Geológico Colombiano), MARA carried out preventive and corrective maintenance of the flat and lightweight roofs at its CAN campus in Bogotá: 2,087 m² of roof waterproofed with a synthetic PVC membrane, 140 m² of new insulated roofing and 227 certified stainless-steel anchor points, so that future maintenance can be done safely. The work also included caged access ladders, rubber walkways over the membrane, cleaning of gutters and downspouts, and maintenance of the steel roof structure.
A science campus at the CAN.
The campus is at Carrera 50 No. 26-20, in Bogotá’s National Administrative Center (CAN), in the Teusaquillo district. It is a group of ten buildings with science laboratories, offices and storage areas; the work covered the roofs of several of them.
Working at height over laboratories in use.
The laboratories stayed open throughout the works, with scientific equipment that could not be moved, so the agency decided not to work on one of the planned buildings. On several slabs there were no drawings showing where the beams were, so they had to be located with small test openings before fixing the anchors; where the slab was too thin, lifelines and special anchors were installed instead. The rains of November and December forced the waterproofing to be rescheduled.
Heat-welded PVC membrane and certified anchors.
Worn-out waterproofing was removed; surfaces, drains and downspouts were pressure-washed, and the slope was corrected where water used to pond. A 1.5 mm synthetic PVC membrane was laid over a geotextile, with its overlaps sealed with hot air in a double weld seam, and rubber paver walkways were placed on top so people can walk without damaging it.
The 227 anchor points were installed with a firm specialized in fall-protection systems and pull-tested: all passed under the EN 795 and ANSI Z359.18 standards and Colombia’s working-at-height regulation (Resolution 4272 of 2021). Caged access ladders, insulated UPVC roofing and multiwall polycarbonate were also installed, and the steel structure was cleaned and protected with anticorrosive primer and paint.
Watertight roofs, ready to be maintained safely.
Work was completed on December 22 and accepted on December 27, 2025, with no suspensions. Besides the waterproofed roofs, the campus now has certified access points and anchors so its staff can inspect and maintain the roofs safely, and a maintenance plan for each system.
