Themes

Guidelines of the workshop’s lecture input

1. Growth Prognosis and Urban Strategies – lecture, site trip, panel discussion

Since the city’s foundation by Pedro de Valdivia in 1541 Santiago de Chile has been growing in several rather clearly traceable steps which are either marked by political and economical reasons or by reconstruction as aftermath of earth movements e.g. in 1647 and 1985.

As statistical data presented by PUCC in 1910 Santiago had 332.000 inhabitants covering 4.000 hectares. In 1972 the data display 2.500.000 inhabitants on 27.000 hectares. The current situation gives for Greater Santiago 6.300.000 inhabitants on 56.000 hectares with a yearly land consumption of 1.200 hectares.

In the 1990s the urban and architectural activity increased due to political changes towards democracy attracting international investors. The other major aspect implies the economical concentration on trade conventions with the pacific ocean’s neighbouring states. The Building Code of 1939 defining zoning requirements could not replace a general master plan and cope appropriately with the financial pressure. US-like apartment and office towers were built towards the eastern mountains leaving the traditional centre. Suburban sprawl has already reached and partly transformed the agricultural areas of Huechuraba, Pirque and Maipu. See also the urban planning activity for Parque Sur: www.parquesur.cl

The need to get in control of this growth results in two urban scenarios playing with prognosis data for the year 2025. According to scenario 1 which is without changes in the planning policy the population will get up to 8.150.000 inhabitants as a sprawl on more than 120.000 hectares showing increased semi-rural subdivisions combined with a gentrification towards the periphery.

Scenario 2 called the “smart growth” limits the population to 7.800.000 inhabitants on only 90.000 hectares. This scenario is based on the strategy to focus on

1. decentralized expansion
2. regional integration
3. new centralities
4. public and private integration and compensation in performance zoning
5. social integration in new developments

As immediate measure the city council has proposed to limit the constant growth of upmarket real estate in the foothills of the Andes Cordilleras at the line of 1.000 m above sea level. To increase the living and working quality within the traditional inner city areas such as Providencia long parts of the Costanera Norte Freeway have been covered to a tunnel system to create above a public park. This park running along the bed of the Mapocho River also provides as cultural highlight a green basis for an exhibition of contemporary Chilean sculptures.

2. Inner Circle – Characteristics of Site, History and Topology - lecture, site trip, panel discussion

Focussing on the parameters for the smart growth scenario post-industrial inner city areas have to be considered for urban renovation and a condensed habitat, e.g. the inner railway ring area covering in total 1.552 hectares.

The railway routes were constructed throughout Chile from the middle of the 19th century onward. Focussing on the development of the nitrate and copper industry in the north the connection with Valparaiso as most important harbour and Santiago as capital put an enormous boost on the city’s wealth.

The colonial grid pattern consisting of large blocks as shown in Frezier’s plan of Santiago in 1713 was maintained until this period. Vicuña Mackenna’s master plan laid out the principal avenues, public street cars were installed and simultaneously the colonial blocks got subdivided.

The Central Station – Estación Central de Ferrocarriles, designed at the legendary Schneider Steelworks in Creusot/ France and shipped to Chile to get assembled in 1897, turns out to be the last functioning element in the former so-called “inner ring”. Around the middle of the 20th century more and more of the railway lines got out of use putting a shift towards air and private car traffic. At the moment Santiago makes huge efforts to construct new US-like freeways e.g. the outer ring. The inner ring, as almost encircling the traditional city centre, still stays urban waste land in some parts.

To structure the urban planning activities the inner ring has been divided in 5 sectors with different renovation priority.

1. The northern sector, sector A, with 375 hectares, implies the Costanera Norte Freeway with the new park. Therefore planning for sector A has to be considered as successfully finished.
2. Sector B on the west side with 230 hectares contains the Central Station which still works well as an urban hub and might be considered later.
3. The area connecting the former stations San Diego and San Eugenio can be considered as a sort of brownfield as large as 385 hectares. This sector is examined by the PUCC and TFH students.
4. Sector D, 412 hectares, is the ring’s corner around the former station Carlos Valdovinos connecting the sector C brownfield and sector E Avenida Vicuña Mackenna. This sector is also examined by the PUCC and TFH students.
5. Sector E on the east side with 150 hectares includes the Avenida Vicuña Mackenna as one of Santiago’s principal avenues. Therefore this sector is currently consolidated on the highest official planning level.

Examining and analysing sectors C and D displays as severe topological difficulty to cope with the hydrological conditions on the Santiago basin. The yearly snowmelt of the Andes Cordilleras leads to flooding and requires the need to install water barrages. Theses tasks are getting incorporated as a complement to the Storm Water Management Master Plan for Santiago.

Concerning the Alfa-Aurora issue “Exploring the mega cities”, the workshop was focused on two development projects in Santiago de Chile: revitalisation of urban brownfields and the development of low-cost housing models (see 4).

The southern inner circle area of Santiago de Chile is not only an ecological hot spot mainly due to the above mentioned insufficient sewage water system, but a social one, too.

Inhabitants receive a very low average income and crime, unemployment and drug usage are high.

This part of Santiago de Chile also consisted mainly of brownfields and railway property which, today, are not needed any more.

The administration of Santiago de Chile has therefore organised international architecture competitions for the revitalisation of inner circle area. The Alfa Aurora project group, composed of students from several different countries, has participated in this competition.

The outcome was the presentation of two proposals to improve the city planning:

• the creation of new parks: they pose a natural drain for the melt water during spring, so that the danger of flooding is reduced,
• the transformation of brownfields into mixed-use zones with housing designed particularly for socially disadvantaged people (see 4)

As a result, this would lead to a revitalization of the southern inner-city and a significant improvement of the actual situation for the inhabitants of this area.

3. Comparative Studies with Berlin, Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro – lecture, panel discussion, design critic

Comparative studies meant to exchange knowledge and experiences and to give ideas and impulses were given by TFH Berlin, HvA Amsterdam and UFRJ Rio de Janeiro.

As comparative brownfield study TFH Berlin presented the lecture “Berlin-Oberschöneweide” which was given at the UIA congress 2002 with the motto “resource architecture”. This lecture is a conclusion of a major project all graduate students worked on in the summer term 2002. Oberschöneweide with a size of 1,5 km² and 17.000 inhabitants is part of the inner city borough of Treptow-Köpenick north of the Spree river banks. Berlin considers the re-activation of this former industrial area by the AEG company as main issue.

12 groups of students elaborated design proposals for planning and building with ecological aspects, for maintenance and conversion of existing buildings as well as historically protected monuments in different states of decay, and also for new urban and architectural approaches. The designs include e.g. public-private harbours for sports and leisure, libraries to boost cultural and scientific activities, the re-use of former warehouses for fashion studios, Dutch-like canal housing, container clusters for suitcase architecture and so on.

All students were concerned to offer a condensed habitat as inner city living with spatially, functionally, structurally-texturally, constructively, technically and aesthetically contemporary means. The lecture is available on the Alfa-Aurora homepage so it is advised to go online for further information.

HvA Amsterdam explained Dutch approaches to cope with Brownfield e.g. on the Amsterdam Water Company and similar smaller areas. This lecture is also available on the Alfa-Aurora homepage.

UFRJ Rio de Janeiro was concerned with transport and recalled the positive and negative effects on urban development.

4. Students’ work at TFH and PUCC – lecture, panel discussion, design critic

PUCC suggests to celebrate the post-industrial character of the area with large scale volumes as key public projects e.g. a new judiciary district. A major role is given to a linear water park due to the flooding condition. As similar prototypes in Denver/ USA, Osaka/ Japan and Sidney/ Australia verify this water parks benefit the ecological habitat as well as the public leisure use. Additionally energy dissipation dams should be installed to reduce flow speed and the risk of erosion during heavy rain events.

This barrage system is recognized as potentially forming a new urban waterfront. Also a regulated river can provide a new local public transport corridor for the city and leading to a reduction of private car traffic. The transversal road structure can be reconnected to rejoin the neighbouring city quarters.

TFH Berlin conducted during the summer term 2006 a class for low cost housing in the San Diego quarter in the Inner Circle of Santiago de Chile, based on the material and results of the Rio de Janeiro workshop in 2005. The Faculty IV, Architecture with the collaboration of the Faculty III, Civil Engineering offered a workshop as a regular course for the pre-ultimate Diplom-semester. 14 workgroups of more or less two students including students from the partner university Milan and Rio de Janeiro worked upon the main tasks:

• master planning,
• block planning,
• earthquake resistant house design,
• construction details.

Next to measures concerning urban planning, housing types will be examined to check their suitability for the construction of low-cost housing.
Demanded were flexible real estate - and area rasters allowing an expansion in case of growing family membership.
Furthermore, it was required that it should be possible to put the housing into place with one’s own initiative.

The study process and the students’ works demonstrated highly elaborated flexible modular structures for individual growing and shrinking processes including housing and basic working facilities. These modular cell systems were implemented in the quarter along the new linear river to offer differentiated public, semi-public and private free spaces for recreation, sports, social events up to small private gardens.

Note also that the city of Santiago de Chile had conducted other international competitions prior to this one. The results of these competitions were analysed, modified and specified by groups of TFH students. Additional proposals were added and in particular drafted in detail.

The students’ work is in length documented in an e-book called “LCH”. As this e-book is available as download on the Alfa-Aurora homepage www.alfa-auro.net it is advised to go online for further information.

PUCC presented a class as work in progress during the workshop meeting in November 2006. This class concentrated on elaborating the former stations as urban hubs. Several expansions with shopping malls, multi-storey parking garages and offices were reviewed. These “impulse generators” should be able to lead to a quarter’s completion with housing, schools, leisure and culture facilities.