This national open competition was initiated to address the need for expanding the facilities of the Faculty of Science at the Universidad Austral de Chile, following the recovery and reconstruction of the original building damaged by fire and completed in 2011.
The new building is conceived as a contemporary intervention that engages with the existing campus structures and the distinctive landscape qualities of its geographical setting.
A thin and planar volume is proposed, set back from the main campus avenue to liberate the prominent corner that marks the university’s entrance. This open space creates a generous relationship with both the Central Library building opposite and the dense cluster of trees located at the northwest corner of the plot. The resulting void between the library and the new structure forms a threshold plaza, anchoring the Avenida Rector Dr. Eduardo Morales Miranda, the organizing axis of the campus’s most emblematic buildings.
The building’s expression is restrained and austere, devoid of ornamentation or formal exuberance. Its form is a direct response to programmatic demands, aiming for timeless neutrality. The ground floor is more transparent, revealing interior activities and fostering interaction with the campus on both sides. Upper façades are clad with regular black steel brise-soleils, achieving a monolithic appearance in oblique views while preserving visual permeability from the interior.
Academic buildings must be efficient and functional, yet they should also encourage informal gatherings and spontaneous intellectual exchange. Therefore, the structural core is not only the main vertical circulation shaft but also intentionally carved to create double, triple, and even quadruple-height spaces depending on the floor layouts and occupancy of each institute. The central circulation atrium is naturally lit from above, and electro-forged steel grating floors allow light to filter through all levels while facilitating natural ventilation through stack effect.
Natural lighting is further emphasized: offices are located on the southern façade, while laboratories face north, where radiation is mitigated by increased opacity and low-emissivity glazing. Above the programmatic floors, an installation plenum hosts exposed services and provides a transversal cross-ventilation layer across the building’s short axis. During colder months, ventilation hatches are closed to retain heat within the interior mass.
Laboratory partitions are fully glazed to enhance transparency and daylight penetration throughout the workspaces.
Project Title: Edificio Rector Eduardo Morales Miranda
Client: Universidad Austral de Chile
Award: First Honorable Mention
Architect: Albert Tidy
Collaborators: Sebastián Cruz, Cristóbal Riffo, Ken Qiu Sun
Location: Isla Teja Campus, Valdivia, Los Ríos Region, Chile
Built Area: 7,575 m²
Materiality: Reinforced concrete, steel, and glass
Year: 2013