An opportunity to provide architectural coherence to a collection of independent yet complementary buildings, organized as solids and voids around a central piece: Palacio Falabella.
The design strategy focuses on the strategic insertion of three volumes and an excavated courtyard, connected in a dynamic tension. Both the architecture and resulting voids reinterpret the spatial, architectural, and landscape values that define the community identity of Providencia. More than a municipal building, the project is conceived as a new communal gathering place—offering a renewed civic program while creating a peaceful oasis. Below are ten guiding concepts:
Campus
Borrowing the idea of an “open campus”—traditionally associated with universities—this project seeks cohesion within the urban fabric by enabling free circulation, public space, and vegetation continuity.
Integration
Interventions are grouped into three distinct volumes, each sensitively responding to its immediate context. Their differing heights and façades reflect the varied situations they address.
Passages
Access is organized through regulated entry points, including a primary east–west axis connecting Pedro de Valdivia and Marchant Pereira streets, and north–south connections along Eliodoro Yáñez Avenue and Carlos Larraín Claro Street.
Landscaping
Architecture and vegetation are integrated meaningfully. Rather than mere ornamentation, plantings manage sightlines and enhance energy performance. Species are selected and positioned to modulate views and daylight seasonally.
Oasis
A central reflecting pool with interior piers introduces a calm, contemplative interior courtyard. This feature highlights the Palacio and regulates ambient temperature during summer.
Flows
Form follows circulation hierarchy:
A primary longitudinal axis links Pedro de Valdivia to Marchant Pereira. / A secondary route skirts the site’s southern edge via a colonnaded gallery leading to the main entrance—the Community Services Center. / The eastern façade, facing the water feature, opens as a public vertical circulation zone with clear paths and terraces culminating in an elevated lookout plaza. / On Marchant Pereira’s side, a mirrored response creates vertical public space via an external staircase.
Timelessness
A neutral, abstract architectural expression without stylistic references offers an enduring visual language that honestly represents its structural behavior.
Material Nobility
Exposed concrete predominates. Railings and stairs use 5 mm powder-coated steel plates. The aesthetic is austere, embracing natural aging and the growth of plants on façades and roofs.
Flexibility
Regular structural systems maximize adaptability to changing municipal needs. Installations and wiring are hosted at floor level in accessible mechanical floors with 40 cm depth, allowing easy future reconfiguration.
Lookout
A publicly accessible rooftop plaza crowns the Community Services Center, offering sweeping views of the commune. A lattice concrete pergola with greenery provides shaded enjoyment.
Program
The campus is programmatically organized around three main volumes, linked via an underground level:
Municipal Advisory Building, facing Palacio Falabella, houses units directly reporting to central departments.
Community Services Center, opposite the Palacio, is the largest volume and accommodates the main public interface; administrative departments are positioned on lower floors.
Social Development Corporation, across Marchant Pereira Street, is contained in a single volume and seamlessly integrates with the main site through continuous ground-level paving.
The underground level accommodates archives and storage for all three volumes, and under the central courtyard are the auditorium and cafeteria, which can operate independently of municipal hours.