The Arica Workshop

Reality and design in architectural education at the Catholic University of Chile, 1970- 1973

Abstract

In a context agitated by the socio-political reality of the early seventies, the School of Architecture of the Pontifical Catholic University –at that time divided into different departments– faced the teaching of architecture in relation to the conditions of a social reality that was being transformed. The Department of Architecture and Construction offered a perspective that, although not politically radical enough to exceed the margins of the disciplinary, aimed at expanding the influence of architecture on its ability to reconcile different factors and actors in a heterogeneous and complex context. The Taller Arica was presented as a laboratory within which the diverse social and political visions could be combined on a concrete level and constitute a contribution to the institutions in charge of urban and regional development. From the study and survey of this reality, possible actions were understood both in the city and in the immediate region. If the actions in the city were key to the multi-scale reading and the development of a properly architectural view of the urban condition, the region opened up the possibility of a confrontation with heritage.