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Address: El Comendador 1916, Providencia, Santiago, Chile

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Florencia García

florencia.garcia@uc.cl | +56 2 2354 5559

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History

Text by Fernando Pérez Oyarzún.

In the Pedro de Valdivia Norte neighborhood, between San Cristóbal Hill and the Mapocho River, a site that has remained almost unchanged for the last century stands out. Even more surprising is the fact that this place houses the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies of the Universidad Católica, where some of the country’s most prominent architects were trained, and that its old walls are interwoven with contemporary constructions that are both radical and respectful.

When I first crossed the hallway of the Lo Contador house, I was impressed that, in the middle of the city, a landscape survived that so powerfully and qualitatively evoked the rural world and colonial culture.

More than forty years of walking through its corridors have not managed to erase the strength of that first impression, the same one experienced today by anyone who ventures up the steps of El Comendador Street and enters through that hallway.

The fact that a site like this has been preserved is largely due to Sergio Larraín, who convinced the Universidad Católica to establish the Faculty of Architecture there, of which he was dean. This occurred in 1959, and since then, the University has cared for this place, now a national monument. It was he who purchased an administrative residence for himself and the land located in the eastern half of the block, where he built homes for his children.

The history of the house dates back to the 18th century, when Francisco Antonio Avaria bought a series of small properties between San Cristóbal Hill and the Mapocho River for his orphaned niece, Mercedes Contador, thus establishing the Lo Contador farm. There he built a house that would form part of her marriage dowry. During the 19th century, Mercedes expanded the property to accommodate spiritual exercises: around the current Patio de los Naranjos, she built a chapel, a refectory, and rooms for those practicing them.

The site was then adapted to its new university functions. Pavilions designed by Horacio Borgheresi expanded the available surface area, which were later gradually replaced by new constructions.

In 1996, the new underground library, designed by Teodoro Fernández, Smiljan Radic, and Cecilia Puga, was inaugurated, contrasting with the house while simultaneously adapting to it. A wooden deck on its roof, with the permanent presence of the Andes Mountains and San Cristóbal Hill, constitutes the most common meeting place for students.

The purchase of Sergio Larraín’s home, along with several belonging to his daughters, allowed the campus to expand eastward, generating a succession of spaces that, like a labyrinth, provide a variety of garden corners that interrelate the various campus buildings.

The house’s original richness has been complemented by the contributions of various architects who have shaped the campus landscape around it. Notable among these are the cafeteria by José Cruz; the architecture classrooms and workshops by Renato Parada and Alfredo Jüneman, later remodeled by Alejandro Aravena; the former School of Art by Juan José Ugarte, Pilar García, and Wren Strabucchi; the Postgraduate Center by Sandra Iturriaga and Wren Strabucchi; and the new Design and Urban Studies building by Sebastián Irarrázaval.

Walking through the campus spaces, as students, professors, and staff do daily, and visitors and neighbors do occasionally, allows one to enjoy an unusual historical and architectural density where past and present go hand in hand.

Translated version of:

Text source: “Lo Contador: una casa, un campus” Revista universitaria 111 (2011): 22-27.

More information on the house and its history HERE (Lo Contador: Casa, Barrio, Ciudad. Text by Fernando Pérez in ARQ n°65 (2007): 11-19]

More information about Lo Contador Campus plans and projects here (Prepared by: DESE UC)


Image Source

1. Aerial photograph, circa 1943. Military Geographic Institute

2. Aerial photograph, circa 1954. Military Geographic Institute

3. Aerial photograph, circa 1961. Military Geographic Institute

4. Photograph of the Lo Contador house, circa 1900. Unknown author. Photographic Archive of the National Historical Museum, Santiago, Chile

5. Photograph of the Lo Contador house’s north facade, circa 1940. Unknown author. In Pilar Amenábar, Francisco Guerrero, and Carmen Gloria Larach, “Lo Contador: Un Nuevo Destino.” Architecture Degree Thesis, UC. Santiago, Chile, 1975.

6. Photograph of the Lo Contador house’s north corridor, circa 1940. Same source as above.

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