The call for ideas considers water landscapes, specifically rivers, as mediators in the formation of a harmonic and dynamic balance between cities and nature. a river restoration approach (considering fluvial geomorphology) should be adopted in order to “re-enliven the river” and as a lens from which to reinforce and understand natural systems for design adaptation.
The competition focuses on the Andalién river, the settlements it crosses and proposed growth areas in zones of risk and ecological value. The competition seeks urbanism proposals, across scales (from bay to river basin and back to one of 3 strategic sites) which challenge business-as-usual and fundamentally reorient the concrete interplay between Concepción and the Andalién river. In short the competition is looking forward to receive urbanistic answers to the de specific dialogue that natural systems and city undertake/are engaging in Concepción.
In Chile, as in the rest of the world, urban rivers have been severely modified, due to dynamic morphological and sedimentation processes coupled with reckless urbanization and exploitation of the land. These disturbances create natural hazards derived from, amongst others, positioning human settlements in floodplains and consequently, on the fluvial territory. in a context of climate change, the consequences of these conflicts will become predictably more severe. bold, new ideas for the recovery of the Andalién river will serve as a model for other rivers in Chile and elsewhere.
