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PLACES OF MEMORY
NUEVA LAS CONDES, Santiago de Chile
PROJECT TYPE: Urban Design Studio:Redevelopment of Urban Block, Creation of a Memorial
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LOCATION: Nueva las Condes, Santiago, Chile
MEDIA: AutoCAD, SketchUP, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
The brief was to design a memorial in the newest and richest area of Santiago, Las Condes. The urban block contained the ruins of former social houses which were declared monuments and a decision had to be made regarding their demolition, while proposing a new brief with new types of accommodation appropriate for the location and needs of the local community.
The proposal was to create a public raised platform/ promenade/ park at the original height of the former social houses in order to acknowledge the presence of those buildings and their historical significance. But at the same time more accommodation was to be placed above this in order to make the proposal fit into its current context. Thus, the proposed promenade became a cut into a bigger scheme with a section inspired from the views to the surrounding Andes Mountains.
The outcome of the project was a conceptual idea, the fine details of the architecture being left second in the order of priorities. NATURE was present as the central theme of the design. Moreover, a public urban forest was created in the middle of the block.
The proposed design addresses the idea of a collective commemorative space both in terms of the architectural spaces created, but also in terms of the programme and uses proposed. By analysing concepts of architectural monuments and public spaces it is understood that a memorial does not have to be a ruin, not even a physical object. The scheme chooses to commemorate the terrible past events by creating a route of elevated terraces completely open to the public situated at the same height as the old buildings. This acknowledges the importance of the past, but at the same time accepts the current situation of the urbanisation by adding another layer of accommodation at a similar height with the surrounding office buildings.
