The competition was initiated by the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities at the Universidad Austral de Chile, located in the riverine city of Valdivia, one of the country’s most significant university hubs.
The proposed project is situated within the Isla Teja Campus as part of a broader architectural ensemble. It respects the existing granularity and scale of the campus, integrates seamlessly into the network of internal circulation routes, and, most importantly, acknowledges key site conditions such as views toward the Calle-Calle River, solar orientation, and the built environment.
The building comprises two main volumes—one six stories high and the other seven—interconnected by a one-story plinth housing the most public programs, including an auditorium, a cinema, and a café. The rooftop of this base volume is designed as a lookout platform, framed by the surrounding buildings and open to the city and the river. The vertical volumes are programmed with a gradient of privacy: public and communal spaces are located on the lower levels, while upper floors are reserved for more private uses. Offices are strategically placed to take advantage of the best views and solar orientations, whereas programs with less intensive use are positioned on the opposite sides.
Each of the two main volumes is organized around a central atrium that contains open vertical circulation with generous landings, encouraging casual encounters among researchers from different departments and fostering informal intellectual exchange. Additionally, these voids accumulate thermal mass during the colder months and serve as vertical ventilation shafts during the brief summer season.
The façades are designed with 40% opacity to mitigate direct solar radiation, a proportion considered optimal for the site’s latitude. On the west-facing elevations, the glazing is recessed to create shaded intermediate zones, while the east-facing façades bring the glass plane to the outer edge to capitalize on morning light.
Project: Competition – Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities, Universidad Austral de Chile
Client: Universidad Austral de Chile
Architects: Albert Tidy
Collaborators: Sebastián Cruz, Cristóbal Riffo
Location: Isla Teja Campus, Valdivia, Los Ríos Region, Chile
Materiality: Reinforced concrete
Project year: 2016