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Architects: Hans André Kubat Sarria
- Area: 39 m²
- Year: 2016
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Manufacturers: Cementos Melón, Resortes y Pernos Gómez
Text description provided by the architects. Valley of the Condors, an Andean area in the comuna of San Clemente, the seventh region in Chile, more specifically on km 136 of CH-115 which connects Chile with Argentina, place named because of the large number of these birds that cross the sky, it is a place of occupation of different communities throughout history. It has been a place of movement of goods and people, from the earliest times. The Indians, already furrowed as trade and hunting area, besides being a ceremonial space, from its majesty and beauty of the landscape.
Then he was crossed and inhabited by herdsmen and their verandas, which moved hundreds of cattle, making specific appropriations to protect them from weather conditions. That is, in this landscape, and there were ways of living, small cottages and stone conformations, which happen to be types of architecture in the landscape.
The place plays with a constant duality: on the one hand, there is the majesty and beauty of its landscapes; on the other hand, there is its inhospitable climate and sparse vegetation, which makes it an uninviting place for climbers, a sporting community that uses that landscape as a platform for its activity.
Climbers
The community of climbers is not only present in the area of the Maule valley. Climbers from all over Chile and abroad visit our valley, drawn by the quality of the rocks and the multiple possibilities offered in the area for practicing the sport, from traditional climbing to competition climbing, bouldering, high bouldering, etc.
The valley is so big that there are still unexplored areas with an enormous potential for high-level climbing. That is why the community of climbers is especially concerned about maintaining the area and keeping it clean, emphasizing the need to care for the mountains.
Given the aforementioned conditions, the problem emerges: How can we support the activities of that sporting activity with an infrastructure that can be used both in the winter and in the summer.
The solution: the construction of a shelter that can provide adequate conditions to its users in periods where they need shade, or to build a fire, etc.
The method: dismantling a forgotten infrastructure – a shelter located at km number 124 along CH-115, abandoned by the MOP after the construction of the road, in a deteriorated state (When the construction was done, this infrastructure was abandoned and was eventually consolidated as a shelter used by mule drivers and tourists). The material will be sorted and moved 10 km toward the border with Argentina, where it will be reborn through the efforts of its intended users – mountain climbers – thus consolidating a place with a high potential for sports activities, but which has been invaded by hydroelectric power plants.
The shelter proposed its own dismantling not only as a temporal renovation process, but also in terms of space, form and location.
No qualified laborers or professionals were hired. The future users of the construction – the community of mountain climbers – were responsible for building it with their own hands.
