This third volume in the Compendium ARQ series is dedicated to buildings that shape the city, contributing to urban quality of life. The goal is to highlight projects that do not shy away from the complexities of the urban condition—from civic demands to those of the real estate market—but rather understand them as part of the richness to which architecture must contribute. In this sense, we aim to highlight what we see as a new attitude in architectural practice in Chile, characterized by a commitment to complexity and requirements external to the profession, moving away from an interest in self-referential architectures associated with unique commissions in locations exempt from the tensions of the contemporary city.
The selected projects were built after 2010 and are located in urban areas across Chile. They range from public buildings in small towns (where the project itself creates the urban condition) to residential buildings inserted into the metropolis (capable of disappearing into the urban fabric while demonstrating that densification is not the same as land exploitation). In short, these are architectures that step into the mud and manage to emerge clean. It is a new, less aseptic attitude toward the environment, which we hope to highlight with this compendium.
