Knowledge of the three winning projects in the “International Contest for Ideas of Architecture and Urbanism, New Civic Space and Citizen Space from the Talca Prison Site” was the goal of a virtual meeting organized by the Faculty of Architecture, Music and Design in Utalca.

The activity, which was chaired by the director of the competition, Academician of the Maulina Studies House, Andres Marajagnio, allowed knowledge of the three distinguished initiatives that won the first places and which were presented along with other projects in an international competition, implemented by the municipality de Talca, in order to obtain ideas for the land that occupies Today the prison is in the city center, an area that will be transferred in 2023 to the city of Panguilimo.

Mayor Juan Carlos Diaz highlighted the initiative and stressed that it is an urban project located in the heart of the municipality, as well as the possibility of presenting this kind of competition to define cities. There are always different opinions about city building and this is – of course – what enriches the general competition. These looks are reflected in the projects that are a contribution. He assured that the city building has become democratic.

For his part, Maragagnio said that 200 years ago the prison occupied various locations in the city center, a place not only a reference space for the area and Talca, but for those who live in the Molly district. “Intermediate cities like Talca balance the factors in the region because they are fundamentally linked to public and commercial services for the entire region. So, when we talk about the Talca Center, the impact that can have is greater than the residents of the region and the city itself,” said Al-Muallem.

The winners

First place went to the office led by Silvio Germani, the architect from La Plata, Argentina. The project indicated that the delicate situation we are going through, locally and globally, obligates us to a rigid and rational structure, of what is just and necessary, and addresses foundational guiding principles, sustainability, and the interdependence between the social and the natural.

Second place went to the pro team headed by Gabriel Moreira, from Valparaiso, who highlighted his fence wall proposal, which was defined as having “a strong symbolic load in the collective imagination of the city”. In this sense, a reversal of the aforementioned structure has been proposed as a boundary, but without losing its existence as a major landmark.

The third place went to the professional group led by Juan Ignacio Guzman, who understood the proposal as a structure “based on negotiation between urban and rural areas”. It has been determined that the center of the project – the inner courtyard – evokes images of the countryside.

Contribution from UTalca

Professor Maragagnio noted that the Faculty of Architecture at Talca University has always been interested in the development of the territorial territory and it is clear that it has been interested in the different types of settlements that it offers, whether peripheral or urban. “When the authority as a public university asks us to devote ourselves to public issues, such as spaces of this kind in the city, there is no doubt that there is great interest in the subject on our part,” the expert explained.

“This was not the first time that UTalca School of Architecture has been working on urban issues with different authorities. The aim has always been to try to improve or influence these sites positively. The school has an interest in the cities of Maule. It interests us as history, project and public space,” he emphasized Academic.

Al-Muallem pointed out that the House of Studies had a pioneering role in initiatives such as reconstruction and urban generation after 2010; Winter Center proposal for the Maule region; And at the level of the title projects, the former Lircay Power Plant, among others.

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