The Permeable Metropolis
Location:
Santiago, Chile
2023Individual Work
Advisor: Andrea Simitch
Santa Rosa's new complex offers
residential diversity - and unity. Three customizable unit types suit varied
lifestyles, while welcoming decor personalization makes each space unique. Yet
homes remain thoughtfully connected through a unifying circulation network of
pathways, escalators and inviting stairs that thread through the building to
immerse residents in a thriving public sphere.
At the radiant community center, joyful
sights and sounds speak to the transformations unfolding. Children of countless
backgrounds gleefully chase one another up play sculptures. Teenage artists
mentor elders in painting wall murals while chatting in Spanglish, bridging
language divides. Raised garden beds dot the green roof, elders and young
adults tending vegetables amidst laughter. Below, the thrum of business and
friendship reverberates through a bustling market.
Once muted by isolation and inequality,
Santa Rosa now sings with life shared freely across ages, abilities, and
cultures. Ongoing public programming - markets, performances, gardening, art -
gives rhythm to connections unfolding organically. Lines once starkly
separating private from public, elder from child, artist from observer, rich
from poor, indigenous from immigrant, now intertwine by invitation.
In reunified spaces, families grow expand
beyond bloodlines. Trust spreads as neighbors share space and story. Even small
interactions build bonds that strengthen community. The whole becomes far
richer than each fragmented part. For within unity, there is joyful abundance.