Las Condes Mall Expansion Continues Use of Penetron Technology to Ensure Durable Concrete Foundations

The $100 million 2nd stage expansion of the Parque Arauco Kennedy Mall in Las Condes (Santiago), Chile, was completed in December 2024. PENETRON ADMIX, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, was specified to protect the concrete foundations of the mall from high groundwater levels.

Las Condes is an affluent district located in the northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile (Santiago metropolitan area). Conceived as the country’s first North American–style shopping center, the Parque Arauco Kennedy Mall has three levels of parking and six floors of retail stores. It features outdoor plazas, restaurants, fountains, and over 200 stores with an eclectic mix of designer boutiques, including clothing outlets like Benetton, Ralph Lauren, and Laura Ashley, as well as Chile's three largest department stores (Falabella, Ripley, and Almacenes París), a supermarket, food court, spa clinic, and 14-screen cinema. First inaugurated in 1982, the mall is both an economic dynamo and key tourist attraction for the Las Condes district – and continues to expand.

For the Parque Arauco Kennedy Mall, this 2nd expansion stage expanded the Falabella store, an anchor client, by 10,000 m², added a 14-story tower (15,000 m²), a new five-star Hilton Hotel, and a convention center.

“Because Penetron already provided the concrete waterproofing solution for the first expansion of the mall in 2018, we were asked to work with Santa Laura Concretes, the ready-mix concrete supplier, to ensure an impermeable concrete foundation for the next stage,” adds Domingo Lema, Managing Director of Penetron Chile.

Santa Laura Concretes supplied about 11,640 m³ of concrete treated with PENETRON ADMIX, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, for the foundation slabs and perimeter walls of the new structures.

Once added to the concrete mix, proprietary chemicals in Penetron’s crystalline admixture react in a catalytic reaction with moisture to generate a non-soluble crystalline formation throughout the pores and capillary tracts of the concrete. The resulting formation seals pores and microcracks, and becomes an integral part of the concrete matrix, making the concrete impermeable to high groundwater pressure and chloride ions in saltwater that can cause corrosion of the embedded reinforcing steel.

“As noted during the previous mall expansion, Penetron technology was a cost-effective waterproofing solution and its performance set us apart from competitive products,” adds Domingo Lema. “For example, PENETRON ADMIX-treated concrete can self-heal microcracks for the service life of the treated structure, effectively minimizing any future waterproofing related maintenance costs.”