PRODUCTIVE FLUCTUATIONS

BY MAURICIO PEZO

THE FACT THAT TWO IMPORTANT PUBLISHERS SPECIALIZED IN INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE HAVE GONE OUT OF THEIR WAY TO EDIT A MONOGRAPHIC ISSUE ON CHILEAN PRODUCTION, MUST NOT BE A MERE COINCIDENCE.

v/s

FROM RUMANIA: ARHITECTURA. FROM JAPAN: A+U

ON ONE SIDE, CHILE; FOLK INFERNO. ON THE OTHER: CHILE DEEP SOUTH. TWO CLEAR STATEMENTS; TWO DIRECT, SCHEMATIC BUT CONTINGENT WAYS OF LOOKING AT CHILEAN ARCHITECTURE. OR, AT LEAST, OF SEEING WHAT INTERNATIONAL CRITICS WANT TO SEE (AGAIN AND AGAIN) IN CHILEAN (AND LATINOAMERICAN) ARCHITECTURE.

A SOPHISTICATED CONSTRUCTION OF A BARN,

LOCATED NEAR THE SEA ...

WAR ARCHITECTS

WAR ARCHITECTS

… THE FIRST PRIZE OF A NATIONAL COMPETITON REQUESTED BY THE CHILEAN GOVERNMENT; A HUGE MULTIPURPOSE ROOF

MADE BY SMALL VARIATIONS OF REGULAR FRAMES …

A EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRUCTION OF A PREFABRICATED

WOODEN HOUSE. ALSO, NEAR THE SEA.

URO1.ORG

… ANOTHER EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRUCTION: PLYWOOD PANELS CUT SPECIFICALLY FOR A PROTOTYPE OF MASSIVE PREFAB HOMES

(HERE PRE-TESTED IN LOW DENSITY AND TOURISTIC CONTEXT) …

URO 1.ORG

… A WELL KNOWN ART PROJECT; NAUTILUS. RELEVANT NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE IDEA (AND ACTION) OF PUTTING INTIMATE ACTIVITIES IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN BUT BECAUSE OF THE SCANDALOUS

REACTION OF THE (STILL) CONSERVATIVE LOCAL MEDIA …

ANOTHER EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRUCTION OF A

PREFABRICATED SHELTER FOR EXTREME CONDITIONS.

PAUL TAYLOR

… A RADICAL EXPERIMENT OF SURVIVAL IN EXTREME ZONES; MAYBE A COINCIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE HUMAN APPETITE FOR

DISCOVERING HIDDEN LANDS …

ALEJANDRO ARAVENA, ELEMENTAL

A SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECT IN THE NORTH OF CHILE… SOCIAL HOUSING HANDELED WITH CARE; WITHOUT RETHORIC AND IN THE LIMIT OF (GOOD) BUSINESSES …

TIDY ARCHITECTS

… ANOTHER NATIONAL COMPETITION, THE SECOND PRIZE, IN A HUGE RESPONSE TO THE MEGALOMANIAC AND POPULISTIC DESIRES OF THE

AUTHORITIES IN CHARGE …

JOSEFINA GILISATTI

… A SUTTLE SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS THAT FIX MEMORIES IN ABSTRACT AND ISOLATED ENVIROMENTS …

MANUEL CORDOVA

… A VISUAL STUDIO OF POPULAR SIGNS, LETTERS AND COLORS: LECTURES ON MARKET AND LOCAL CULTURE …

EL CINE VINO, JACOB

… A PROJECT WITHOUT LOCATION, OR WITH MANY POSSIBLE LOCATIONS; THE IDEA OF A MOBILE CINEMA TRAVELING ALONG CHILEAN

TERRITORY …

PABLO RIVERA

… THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF AN ARTIST OBSESSED WITH SECURITY AND SPACIAL CONTROL …

JORGE CHRISTIE

… A MASTERS THESIS THAT CRITICIZES ONE OF THE ICONIC BUILDINGS OF THE AUTHORITARIAN POWER; IT´S DESTRUCTION, EMPTIED AND

REPROGRAMED (FOR CULTURAL ACTIVITIES) …

SUPERSUDACA

… AN INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE IMPACT OF MASSIVE TOURISM. A STUDY MADE BY FOREIGNERS (NOT CHILEANS) ABOUT THE CARIBEAN

AREA (FAR AWAY FROM CHILE) …

PEZO VON ELLRICHSHAUSEN

… ONE OF OUR PROJECTS. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOORS DISTRIBUTED IN FIVE REGULAR PERIMETERS; AN EXPLORATION ON

SPATIAL DEFINITIONS RELATED WITH THE PUBLIC FIELD …

PEZO VON ELLRICHSHAUSEN

… ONOTHER PROJECT OF OUR STUDIO. AN INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION; HALF HOUSE AND HALF A CULTURAL CENTRE …

CECILIA PUGA

… FROM THE OTHER SIDE … A WEEKEND HOUSE NEAR THE SEA …

CECILIA PUGA

… ANOTHER HOUSE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS …

SEBASTIAN IRARRAZAVAL

… ANOTHER HOUSE IN THE PERIPHERY OF SANTIAGO, IN A NEW SUBURB …

POLIDURA TALHOUK

… ANOTHER HOUSE IN THE SAME SUBURB …

SMILJAN RADIC

… ANOTHER WEEKEND HOUSE AND THE PLEASURES OF THE COAST …

SMILJAN RADIC

… A HOUSE LOCATED TWO HOURS SOUTH OF SANTIAGO. A STEEL STRUCTURE COVERED WITH COOPER SHEETS, DEEP SHADOWS AND A CENTRAL PATIO …

AGUSTIN SOZA

… A HOUSE IN SANTIAGO, ON THE ROAD TO THE ANDES …

MATHIAS KLOTZ

… THE HOUSE, STUDIO AND CAR OF A BIG ARCHITECT …

EDUARDO CASTILLO

… A SMALL CHAPEL MADE OF PINE WOOD …

ALEJANDRO ARAVENA

… ONE OF THE BUILDINGS OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY (WITH THE ANDES AS A BACKGROUND) …

GERMAN DEL SOL

… AN HOTEL IN PATAGONIA, IN THE VERY SOUTH OF CHILE …

PEZO VON ELLRICHSHAUSEN

… OUR 120 DOORS (HERE WITHOUT DOORS) …

PEZO VON ELLRICHSHAUSEN

… A WOODEN HOUSE INSERTED IN A VALDIVIAN FOREST …

Chile: folk_inferno Chile: Deep South

THESE ARE THE TWO STATEMENTS: FOLK (BECAUSE OF FOLCKLORE) AND SOUTH (BECAUSE OF LOCATION). THE CULTURAL APROACH (WITH IT´S SOCIAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMICAL PROBLEMS) AND THE LANSCAPE APROACH (WITH VERY FINE CONSTRUCTIONS SURROUNDED BY WONDERFUL NATURAL SETTINGS) … THE FOLLOWING ARE THE FACTS …

ONLY 5 OF THE 17 PROJECTS PUBLISHED IN ARHITECTURA ARE ACTUALLY BUILT. IN A+U ALL THE PROJECTS ARE BUILT (ARE REAL AND SOLID AND NOT MERE IDEAS ON PAPER OR SCREEN).

THE LOCATIONS OF THESE CONSTRUCTIONS (IN THIS CASE, EITHER CONSTRUCTIONS AS IDEAS OR MATERIAL THINGS) ARE REMARKABLY DIFFERENT ...

IN THE RUMANIAN PUBLICATION WE CAN SEE 4 PROJECTS IN SANTIAGO; 8 PROJECTS OUT OF THE CAPITAL; 4 THAT ARE ACTUALLY THOUGHT AS PROTOTIPES (THAT IS, WITHOUT LOCATION) AND EVEN 1 RESEARCH PROJECT THAT WAS FOCUSED OUT OF CHILE. IN THE JAPANESE PUBLICATION 2/3 ARE IN NATURAL SETTINGS (FAR FROM SANTIAGO) AN 1/3 IN SANTIAGO BUT IN THE LESS URBAN SANTIAGO (AGAIN, THE IDEA OF A NATURAL SETTING).

IF WE FOCUS ON THE PROGRAMS OF THE PROJECTS THE DIFFERENCE IS EVEN MORE RADICAL …

3

… FROM RUMANIA THE SELECTION IS A CROSS PRODUCTION; FROM PHOTOGRAPHY, ART INSTALATIONS AND RESEARCH TO SOCIAL HOUSING AND CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE. FROM JAPAN THE SELECTION ARE 9 HOUSES, 1 OFFICE BUILDING, 1 PAVILION, 1 CHAPEL AND 1 HOTEL. THIS IS: DOMESTIC PROGRAM AND PROGRAMS (AND ENVELOPES) THAT HOLD TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

NOW IT COULD BE INTERESTING TO MAKE A RESUME OF THE AUTHORS OF THESE SELECTED WORKS …

APPART FROM THE NAMES (APPART FROM OUR EGOS, BECAUSE THAT IS A GLOBAL ARCHITECTS ISSUE AND NOT ONLY CHILEAN) THE RELEVANT FACT IS THIS: ARHITECTURA PUBLISHED 10 AUTHORS WHO HAVE THEIR STUDIOS LOCATED IN THE CHILEAN CAPITAL AND ONLY 3 LOCATED OUT THE BIG CITY (1 IN VALPARAISO, 1 IN TALCA, AND 1 IN CONCEPCION). IN A+U 9 OF 10 ARE LOCATED IN SANTIAGO (WE ARE THE ONLY DISLOCATED ONES) …

THE NEXT ONE IS ALMOST A POLITICAL ISSUE: WHERE DID THOSE TALENTED AUTHORS STUDY?. IN ARHITECTURA THERE ARE 6 FROM THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY (ONE OF THE TWO BIGGEST AND MOST TRADITIONAL); 4 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CHILE (THE OTHER BIG AND TRADITIONAL ONE, BUT PUBLIC); AND 3 EXCEPTIONS: UK, SWITZERLAND AND OUR BICEPHALUS TEAM WITH A COMPONENT FROM UBA (BIG, BIG, FROM ARGENTINA) AND A COMPONENT FROM UBB (SMALL, SMALL, FROM CONCEPCION). IN A+U THERE ARE EVEN MORE ARCHITECTS FROM THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL …

CLEARLY, ANOTHER RELEVANT FACT IS THAT BOTH EDITORIALS COINCIDE THEIR SIGHT FOR MAKING A SELECTION OF WORKS MADE BY YOUNG ARCHITECTS OR ARTISTS. EVERYONE IS UNDER 45. NOBODY LOCALLY KNOWN AS BIG FIRMS. JUST NEW BLOOD. THE ONLY EXCEPTION (THAT CONFIRMS THE RULE) IS GERMAN DEL SOL (OUR RECENT NATIONAL PRIZE AWARDED BY THE CHILEAN ARCHITECTS ASSOCIATION)…

ARHITECTURA nº 41, Bucarest (Rumania), feb. 2006 A+U nº 430, Tokio (Japón), julio 2006

BUT LET`S GO BACK TO THE ISSUES, TO THE TWO PUBLICATIONS AS VISUAL OBJECTS. THESE ARE THEIR FRONT COVERS. ON THE RIGHT SIDE, A VERY GOOD PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE; A VERY GOOD PICTURE OF RADIC`S COOPER HOUSE 2 TAKEN IN A CLOUDY MORNING BY THE PHOTOGRAPHER CRISTOBAL PALMA. ON THE LEFT SIDE, A GRAFFITI PAINTING ON A WALL OF AN ANONIMOUS PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE …

… IN ONE SIDE AND ISOLATED OBJECT … ON THE OTHER AN IDEA: “TO CAPITALISM: GIVE IT HARD UNTIL IT`S IN PAIN”. THE DISTORTION OF A STATEMENT TAKEN FROM A POPULAR FRASE IN CHILE (“GIVIT HARD UNTIL IT`S IN PAIN” IS THE FIGHT STATEMENT OF ONE OF THE PRINCIPALS ACTORS IN THE CATHOLIC CRUZADE FOR OVERCOMING POVERTY). IN ANY CASE, IS THIS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLARITY A MERE COINCIDENCE?…

Carl Andre, Objeto de madera, 1964Andy Warhol, Campbell`s Soup, 1962

… IF WE GO BACK TO OUR MENTORS, THE IMAGES HELP US TO UNDERSTAND THE (ALMOST) PHiLOSOPHICAL RUTES THAT COULD BE BEHIND THESE PRODUCTIONS. POPULAR, COMUNICATIVE, LITERALITY, OPEN SOURCE, MEDIA CULTURE AND MASS PRODUCTION VERSUS ABSTRACTION, HIGH CULTURE, HAND MADE, CONCEPTUAL AND EVOCATIVE, …

Rem Koolhaas, Content, 2004 John Pawson, Minimun, 2004

… TWO PARALELL ROUTES THAT HAS BEEN RECENTLY CLARIFIED IN ARCHITECTURAL MANIFESTOS: THOSE WORKS THAT INTEND TO BE LINKED WITH SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (USING METHODS BEYOND THE TRADITIONALLY USED IN ARCHITECTURE: STADISTICS, MAPPINGS, MARKETING, ETC) AND THOSE WORKS THAT ARE CONCENTRATING IN THEIR OWN FORMAL AND MATERIAL INTEGRITY (STILL TALKING ABOUT BEAUTY OF LIGHT, SPACE, PROPORTION, ETC) …

… AT THIS POINT, I THINK THAT THE GOOD INTENTIONS OF EACH EDITORIALS ARE VERY CLEAR: CHILEAN ARCHITECTURE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL WORK (SPECIALY BECAUSE OF OUR RECENT DICTATORSHIP PERIOD AND RETURN TO DEMOCRACY) … CHILEAN ARCHITECTURE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF NATURAL WORK (BECAUSE OF OUR CRAZY GEOGRAPHY) …

Arquitectura Viva nº 85, Madrid (España), jul. 2002

… CURIOUSLY, THIS LATTER IDEA OF CHILE IS NOT SO DISTANT FROM THE IMAGE GIVEN IN THE PREVIOUS MONOGRAPHIC PUBLICATION ON CHILEAN ARCHITECTURE … IN THAT CASE, THE COVER HAS A SUPERB PICTURE OF THE ONLY “NOT YOUNG” ARCHITECT PUBLISHED FOUR YEARS LATER … BUT THE SPIRIT IS STILL THE SAME: A VERY GOOD PIECE, WITH A STRONG SENSIBILITY TO NATURAL MATERIALS AND TO THE LANDSCAPE …

… IN A WAY, IT IS A VERY GOOD STRATEGY FOR SHOWING A EXOTIC COUNTRY …

… IN THE END, I BELIVE THAT IT`S A FACT THAT THE PRESENCE OF CHILEAN ARCHITECTURE IN INTERNATIONAL MEDIA IS NOT A MERE ACCIDENT … FAR FROM THAT, I THINK THAT THE USEFUL MESSAGE IN THIS CRITICAL VIEW ON OUR PRODUCTION HAS (AT LEAST) TWO COMPONENTS:

… ON ONE SIDE, ARHITECTURA IS NOT SHOWING THE REAL AND ACTUAL PRODUCTION IN CHILE. IT´S SHOWING THEORETICAL EXPLORATIONS, CROSS DISIPLINARITY, IDEAS, THESIS, VERY GOOD INTENTIONS, VERY GOOD POSSIBILITIES, BUT NOT THE BIG PICTURE OF OUR MOMENT …

… ON THE OTHER SIDE, A+U SHOWS A VERY PRECISE SELECTION OF WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN CHILE, AT LEAST OF WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH THE “NON COMERCIAL” AND “MORE ACADEMIC” CIRCUIT …

Charles Jenks, Architectural Movements, 1980

… I LIKE THIS IMAGE (IT´S LIKE A BIG PICTURE WITHOUT AUTHORS: A MIXURE OF JENCKS AND SONTAG): THE FLOWING, LIQUID, VOLATILE PRODUCTION RELATED TO PERIODS OF TIME. IT´S IN MY BELIFS THAT THE TWO APROXIMATIONS ARE CLEAR (BOTH PROBLEMATICAL AND COMPLEMENTARY)…

I SEE THAT A+U SHOWS OUR CURRENT REALITY BUT A REALITY THAT IS HARDLY SUSTAINABLE (A COUNTRY DOESN`T GROW ON THE BASIS OF PRIVATE HOUSES). ARHITECTURA DOESN´T SHOW OUR PRESENT REALITY BUT (I WANT TO BELIVE) IT`S A PERFECT IDEA OF WHAT SHOULD BE THE EVOLUTION OF CHILEAN ARCHITECTURE …

THE PUBLICATIONS COINCIDE IN RECOGNICING THAT A GOOD WORK OF ARCHITECTURE IS THAT CRITICAL INSTRUMENT, A POLITICAL OBJECT, THAT OPERATES AS A BAROMETRIC DEVICE OF OUR OWN REALITY. AS BAUMAN SAID: “TO HOLD THE SHAPE OF FLUIDS DEMANDS A LOT OF ATENTION, CONSTANT AWARENES AND A PERPETUAL EFFORT”. BECAUSE OF THAT, THE SUCCES OF OUR PRODUCTIONS IS NOT EVEN PREDICTABLE.

Elias Adasme, To Chile, corporal intervention of an intimate geography, 1979.

PRODUCTIVE FLUCTUATIONS

BY MAURICIO PEZO

THIS LECTUREWAS PRESENTED AT THE RECEPTION OF THE BEST YOUNG CHILEAN ARCHITECT AWARD 2006, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE 64th ARCHITECTS

ASSOCIATION ANNIVERSARY. SANTIAGO DE CHILE, AUGUST 04TH, 2006.