Chile Day 2: Public Scale and Social Impact

Chile Day 2: Public Scale and Social Impact delves into recent public architecture projects in Chile. CONSTRUCTO Directors Jeannette Plaut and Marcelo Sarovic will introduce 20 projects that have had a positive social impact on communities across Chile. The projects share themes of social programs, multi-use structures, a re-evaluation of heritage, and sustainability. 

Following the introduction, renowned Chilean architects Sebastián Irarrázaval and Paula Velasco will discuss their design processes, with Irarrázaval focusing on his work on public scale buildings and contemporary use of technology in wood construction, with a focus on sustainability. Velasco will explore issues around resignification and heritage buildings in urban contexts.

Speakers:
Jeannette Plaut, Director, CONSTRUCTO and Dean of Architecture, Design and Digital Arts, Gabriela Mistral University
Marcelo Sarovic, Director, CONSTRUCTO
Sebastián Irarrázaval, Professor, School of Architecture at the Catholic University of Chile; Visiting Professor, Polytechnic University of Milan
Paula Velasco, Director and Founding Partner, Cecilia Puga – Paula Velasco Arquitectura

About the Speakers:
Jeannette Plaut is an architect trained at the University of Chile as well as Dean of Architecture, Design and Digital Arts, Gabriela Mistral University. Along with Marcelo Sarovic, she is co-founder and director of CONSTRUCTO, and director of YAP_CONSTRUCTO, a Young Architects Program developed in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art. In 2016, she was selected by MoMA to be part of the museum’s International Curatorial Institute in Modern and Contemporary Art. Plaut and Sarovic also led the team that created the models for the MoMA’s 2015 exhibition Latin America in Construction. Plaut has worked as a Latin American correspondent for several media outlets and has served as editor-in-chief of Trace magazine since 2010. From 2000 to 2009, she was architectural editor of Ambientes magazine. Plaut was curator of the Chilean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, Director of the XV Chilean Architecture Biennial (2006), Director of the International Conference of Architects at the XIV Chilean Architecture Biennial (2004), and Coordinator of the International Conference of Architects at the XIV Chilean Architecture Biennial (2002). From 2004 to 2010, she was a consultant for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s Division of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements. She is the author of several books, including PULSO: New Architecture in Chile, PULSO 2: New Architecture in Latin America, LATAM: Contemporary Latin American Architecture, and LATAM 2. Plaut has taught architectural studios at the Catholic University in Chile and at Andrés Bello University and has spoken at several institutions, including the University of Leipzig, University of Johannesburg, and MoMA. She currently serves on the jury for the Rolex Mentor & Protégés Arts Initiative and has served on the juries for the Ibero-American Biennia, the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, and the Dhaka Art Summit. She is co-director of the International Young Architects Festival and co-curated the exhibitions EXTRA-ORDINARY: New Practices in Chilean Architecture (2016) and Campus Aula: Educational Architecture in Latin America (2023) both at the Center for Architecture in New York.

Marcelo Sarovic is an architect from Universidad Católica de Chile. In 1999, he joined the faculty at the Universidad Católica School of Architecture, where he has taught undergraduate- and graduate-level studios, research seminars, and courses on architectural theory, modern history, and contemporary art and architecture. Along with Jeannette Plaut, he is co-founder and director of CONSTRUCTO and director of YAP_CONSTRUCTO, a Young Architects Program developed in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art. Sarovic and Plaut are also co-editors of the magazine, Traces, and led the team that created the models for the MoMA’s 2015 exhibition Latin America in Construction. Previously, Sarovic served as editor of CA magazine, published by the Chilean College of Architects, and was curator of the Chilean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, Matta: The Architect Exposed at the UC Outreach Center in 2012, and the Heritage Exhibition at the XVI Chilean Architecture Biennial in 2007. He is the author of the books LATAM: Contemporary Latin American Architecture and PULSO 2: New Architecture in Latin America. He also co-curated EXTRA-ORDINARY: New Practices in Chilean Architecture at the Center for Architecture. He is co-director of the International Young Architects Festival and co-curated the exhibitions EXTRA-ORDINARY: New Practices in Chilean Architecture (2016) and Campus Aula: Educational Architecture in Latin America (2023) both at the Center for Architecture in New York.

Sebastián Irarrázaval received his architectural training at the Catholic University of Chile and the Architectural Association in London. Presently, he is a faculty member at the School of Architecture at the Catholic University of Chile and a visiting professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Irarrázaval's works have been showcased at numerous biennials and extensively published in specialized magazines. Among his accolades are the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Biennial of Urbanism/Architecture (2012) and the RIBA International Prize (2016). The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) bestowed upon him the title of International Fellow in 2017, recognizing his significant contributions to the field of architecture as a non-British architect.

Paula Velasco is Director and founding partner of Cecilia Puga – Paula Velasco Arquitectura. She is an architect from Universidad Católica de Chile with a Master of Science Emergent Technologies and Design, Architectural Association UK. She is an undergraduate and graduate Professor at Universidad Católica de Chile’s School of Architecture. She was one of the five runner-ups of the 2013 YAP Constructo competition and was invited by Chile’s British Council to do an International Architecture Residency during the London Festival of Architecture. Velasco´s work includes the project for the Recovery of the Pereira Palace and New headquarters for the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage in Santiago de Chile (with Cecilia Puga and Alberto Moletto), the restoration and renovation of the Casona de Pirque (with Alberto Moletto), the Design Project for the Infrastructure of Queulat National Park, the Master Plan and Preliminary Design for the International Passenger Terminal (with Cecilia Puga and Patricio Mardones) and, together with Smiljan Radic and Cecilia Puga, she won first place in the competition for the Chilean Pavilion for Expo Dubai 2020 (unbuilt). Recently she won first place in the competition for the New Regional Archives of Valparaiso, aiming to restore the dilapidated building of Palacio Subercaseaux in the city of Valparaiso.

This program is possible thanks to the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Digital Arts_Universidad Gabriela Mistral, Arauco, Hunter Douglas, DIRAC Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile.