Restoration of the church of the immaculate conception in el llano, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Since 1889 the Church of the Immaculate Conception in El Llano de Alajuela has been an example of vernacular construction in Costa Rica. The church was built with adobe, tile, wood, stone and brick. It has witnessed the country’s religious tradition for about eighty years, being subject to many interventions that tried to give it a modern aspect, such as changing the ceiling and mosaic pavement, the construction of the campanile and the warehouse. In 1980, before the construction of a new temple on the north side, the Church of the Immaculate Conception was abandoned, suffering heavy degradation of the materials in the entire building. In 2012, a group of neighbors began to put pressure on the Center for Heritage Conservation of the Ministry of Culture, to demand the restoration and enhancement of the church. The works lasted four months and were carried out following the traditional construction techniques present in the emblematic building.