Sometimes designing a firehouse isn't just about fire trucks, bells, and red doors. In designing the 18th Firemen's Brigade in Santiago, Chile, architect Gonzalo Mardones Viviani found that he had to give careful consideration to the firehouse's role in the surrounding neighborhood of Viracura and to its function as a real "house," a home to the fire fighters who live there together with their families. — Published 2007.0606
On a beach near an abandoned mine on Chile's former "coal coast," the Mauleen House merges historical industrial connections with the raw beauty and energy of the location. Concrete winch towers of the Schwager coal mine dominate the neighborhood's horizon and influence details of the house design. — Published 2007.0328
An exotic location like Chilean Patagonia demands an exotic hotel. Hotel Remota's design draws from the dazzling explosion of islands, glaciers, icebergs, and mountains on this southern tip of South America.
Inspired by Patagonian sheep farm buildings, Hotel Remota offers warm interiors to shield visitors from the wind and cold. A central courtyard introduces visitors to the Patagonian wilderness: except for a few large boulders, the plaza is empty, but full of suggestion. — Published 2006.0405
Nestled in the foliage of Lake Colico near Santiago, in Chile's Region IX, Lakeside House looks at first like a diminutive medieval castle with a stone facade. But this appearance is only the prelude to an expansive glass structure that inserts its inhabitants into the heart of nature. — Published 2006.0329
"El Mirador" ("The Viewpoint") occupies a site on Cerro Apoquindo, on the eastern fringe of the Chilean capital, Santiago, near the Andean foothills. The house is dubbed "the bunker" by local taxi drivers, but the impassionate exterior concrete wall facing the street hides a light and spacious interior. — Published 2005.0720
When beginning to design a house, we believe an architect should consider new ways of thinking about dwelling. Every circumstance is different, changing with time, place, and client. New building technologies, site idiosyncrasies, social factors, and the client's personality can combine to suggest a unique approach. — Published 2003.0910
The Atacama Desert, in northern Chile, is one of the driest deserts on earth. It is a startlingly brutal place where boiling geysers burst through mountain plains caked in salt, and jagged red rocks give way to massive sand dunes and desolate open salt flats. Extreme temperatures jolt your body and dry up your eyes and skin while dust fills your clothes. — Published 2001.1003
