Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) retaining wall at hotel in Bariloche City

In the city of Bariloche, Argentina after heavy rains, among other things, a slope failure occurred. At the top of it there were gabions, which, due to the loss of stability, together with a large mass of soil and trees, collided tragically against the facilities of the Hotel. This article describes the use of geosynthetics for the construction of a 20m high MSE (Mechanically Stabilized Earth) retaining wall in order to contain the slope soil. At the same time, the consequent drainages for water runoff and the release of hydrostatic pressures needed to be considered. Instead of gabions, a wall made of prefabricated concrete blocks was proposed, along with PVA geogrids for slope stabilization and soil reinforcement. Due to the large size of the slope, a stepped wall with six terraces was proposed, which would later be naturally vegetated. Each wall was locally dimensioned for a specified height, and then a global stability verification of the structure was carried out.The inclusion of geosynthetic reinforcements in the soil for the construction of a reinforced wall results in a material with better mechanical characteristics. This solution offers significant technical and economic advantages, increasing the shear strength of the system (ensuring stability), reducing the deformability of the structure (both in static and seismic conditions), and saving construction time and material. Thanks to their excellent interaction properties, reinforcement geosynthetics ( flexible elements with stiffness and tensile strength) work together with the soil, connecting the potentially "unstable" region (active zone) with the "stable" region (passive zone) for a given failure surface. Furthermore, the system flexibility and adaptability allowed the structure to be adapted in an aesthetic way, respecting the site architecture and environment.