After the interruption of the 2019 edition due to the Social crisis in Chile, the Chilean Architecture Biennial returned to Santiago in January 2023 under the theme of 'Vulnerable Habitats', addressing issues such as "the emergence of the housing deficit in a context in which slums, informality, and illegal land takeovers have increased in recent years" and "the vulnerability and deterioration of public spaces; the urgent protection of tangible heritage; and environmental vulnerability in a context of a climate crisis."
The event was co-directed by Cristóbal Molina, coordinator of the Architecture Area of the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage, and Loreto Lyon, director of activities of the Chilean College of Architects. The result of this joint alliance between both institutions promoted this cultural event that was held in the public space around the Palacio de la Moneda -the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile- to debate and meet on the topic.
"Architecture is a tool capable of improving the quality of life of people, but by itself, it is not enough, it needs public policies that support them and civic education so that we are aware that it is everyone's responsibility to take care of the public and of our territories", said Loreto Lyon in a conversation with ArchDaily. The Biennial proposed to develop 4 interventions as well as spaces for exhibitions, meetings, and open and free conferences for all audiences.
The exhibition pavilion in the Plaza de la Constitución houses the National Architecture Exhibition. There are 50 works selected through an open call, represented through various models and graphic models, such as Casona Compañía Restoration designed by Oficina Bravo, or the Mejillones Community Headquarters by CAW Arquitectos. At the same time, this pavilion has historical relevance since it is a re-interpretation and reconstruction of the structure that was built in the same place by the architect Montserrat Palmer in 1972 for the Ministry of Public Works, on the occasion of the inauguration of UNCTAD III (The headquarters of the Third United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in the Third World).
Two interventions were found in the Plaza de la Ciudadanía. The proposal "A soft shadow" by Jean Araya and Miguel Casassus, celebrates the possibility of meeting again, and the work "A monument is a mirrored prism" by Gonzalo Muñoz and Low Estudio, explores different ways of looking at and displaying architecture.
The public spaces of Plaza Bulnes to the south of the Palacio de la Moneda received perhaps one of the most outstanding installations. An inflatable and temporary structure by the architects Smiljan Radic and Nicolás Schmidt. This was the temporary auditorium where the program of meetings, debates, and conferences that sought to install public discussions on the central theme was held. The opening ceremony took place in this auditorium on the morning of Saturday, January 14, and in the following days, there were lectures by Frédéric Bonnet, Iñaqui Carnicero, Ana Falú, Cecilia Puga, Atxu Amann, Alejandro Aravena, Marina Otero, Elizabeth Añaños and Smiljan Radic himself.
In this same intervention, during nighttime, films selected by the Santiago Architecture Film Festival were projected, among which were the documentary 'Villa Portales: registration of an emblem' by Cristian Vidal and "The seventh time before returning" by Franco Oviedo.
The nearby La Moneda Cultural Center was also used in the context of the event to exhibit the 16 finalist projects of the recent XII Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism: Living on the Margin that took place in Mexico City. This exhibition presented replicable examples of how architecture and urbanism offer alternatives to urban and housing challenges.
The program of the Biennial of Chile finally presented the 2022 National Architecture Award to Fernando Pérez Oyarzun, current director of the National Museum of Fine Arts, and the 2022 National Urbanism Award to Joan MacDonald, the first woman to receive this award.
