Foster + Partners is developing a comprehensive masterplan for Maratué, a 1,045-hectare site located along the Puchuncaví coast in Chile. Developed for Inmobiliaria Maratué, the project seeks to reconnect the existing town of Puchuncaví with its coastal edge, while conserving and enhancing the region's diverse natural landscapes. The masterplan aims to create a sustainable framework for long-term development, balancing residential growth with environmental protection.
The proposal includes the construction of approximately 14,000 new homes, over 2,000 of which are allocated for social housing. These residences are distributed across newly formed neighborhoods, organized to promote walkability, access to green space, and community interaction. A defining feature of the design is a continuous green spine that weaves through the heart of the site, linking residential areas with public spaces and natural reserves. This landscaped corridor bridges a highway that currently divides the land, reestablishing a physical and visual connection between Puchuncaví and the Pacific Ocean.
The masterplan is structured around two primary residential clusters, one adjacent to the existing town and the other situated closer to the shoreline. Each cluster is subdivided into three smaller, human-scaled neighborhoods, all organized around a central green space. These "green hearts" serve both ecological and communal functions, offering accessible landscapes that support biodiversity, recreation, and social interaction. Across the site, 650 hectares are designated as conservation areas, which include wetlands, native habitats, and biodiversity corridors. Built interventions in these zones are minimal, emphasizing preservation and low-impact accessibility.
The masterplan incorporates green space within a five-minute walk of all residences, integrating outdoor areas, shaded zones, and community spaces into the broader urban layout. The design connects residential development with landscape and infrastructure across the site and aims to create a resilient community where social, ecological, and economic systems coexist and support one another.
In other similar news, Foster + Partners has unveiled the design for the redevelopment of Palas Iași, a major mixed-use development in Iași, a city in eastern Romania. And the firm has also presented a masterplan for a 38-hectare former industrial site in Constanța, a port city, again, in Romania. Other recent examples of regeneration projects in various cities include MVRDV's masterplan for the Roosendaal Densification and the transformation of Tirana, Albania, through the Tirana 2030 Masterplan.
