Author: Marly McNeal

Santiago: An Experience Like No Other

I was amazed by the beauty of Santiago as soon as we stepped out of the airport. Day by day, I only grew to love it more. We learned a lot in class leading up to the trip, but there were so many aspects that could only truly be learned through experiencing it.

The openness, for instance, was very surprising. Everywhere in the city felt like a single open area. Sidewalks, streets, plazas, and parks all felt like one. Locals, tourists, and even dogs all shared the same space while using it in their own way. I have tried to explain this to people since I have come back home, but found it difficult to describe. Perhaps this is simply something that needs to be felt and experienced.

There was a similar situation with the architecture. We discussed and read plenty ahead of time, but nothing compares to seeing the buildings in person. A picture of a handrail in a museum does not do it justice compared to touching it in person and walking down the stairs. Images of the Innovation Center do not convey the monumentality of the space and the views that it provides.

We also spent a decent amount of class time talking about Chilean drinks and food, but no number of videos could convey the delicious taste of jugo de frutilla or the many flavors of helado on the streets.

Simply walking through Santiago or the hills of Valparaiso was probably my favorite part. Looking around gave me the opportunity to appreciate the country and its beautiful art and nature. We were lucky to have a tour guide as great as Alejandro with us because we had so much access to better understand the culture and people around us.

Now that I am back in Columbus and can reflect on the trip as a whole, I have nothing but fond memories. The trip may be over, but the memories of the beautifully vibrant city will surely last forever.

Architecture Made Human: A Pablo Neruda House Analysis

Diagrammatic sketch showing how La Sebastiana is divided by floors and La Chascona is divided by volumes.

Image showing the vibrant color and elegant water feature that help capture the essence of Neruda’s vibrant home

Image showing the connection of space through exterior circulation and landscape.

In both visits, I was completely enveloped into the world of Pablo Neruda but couldn’t quite pinpoint why. I had been on similar tours before, so it wasn’t just the fact that there were so many personal artifacts. Even the architecture itself was not something I had taken many notes on. The combination of the two, though, resulted in something that felt specially magnificent and heartfelt.

Our visit to Neruda’s La Sebastiana spurred a curiosity about the relationship between interior decoration and architecture. Is the interior of a building truly what defines its character, especially with something as intimate and personal as a home? This concept certainly is not one that would be endorsed at Knowlton. It has always seemed to me that if decor is the primary essence of a building, then the architecture itself is lacking in one way or another.

Truth be told, I initially thought that the exuberant interior completely overwhelmed other facets of the space. The more I thought about it, though, I realized that the interior is what makes the building feel alive. After all, Neruda lived in the space. The pieces there weren’t just any other decor- they were vibrant and tasteful. Nothing was there for the sake of filing the space, and everything had a meaning or story behind it. It was amazing how the memories behind each piece still could be felt in the room.

Upon visiting Neruda’s Santiago home, La Chascona, I was not surprised to see that the character of the building was still there. The design of the space, though, seemed so much different. As opposed to one five-story building on a hill, this home was composed of three separate volumes with about two or three stories each. While I would expect this separation to make the cohesiveness and warmth of the building to be challenged, especially since it was right along the edge of a busy public Santiago street, that was not the case at all. The vegetation between the three pieces was the connecting tissue that enveloped and shielded them. It was the glue, or the fabric, that unified the house and made it whole. Now it was not just the interior decor, but the landscape that helped define the home. Neruda’s personality was strong, and his homes convey that in a multitude of ways.

It is said that the architect of La Chascona originally oriented the home so it could strategically face the sun, but when Neruda saw the plans, he flipped them around completely and said he wanted it built that way to face the mountains instead. That, to me, captures the essence of Pablo Neruda and his homes. It roots down to feelings, thoughts, and emotions. It may not be what we learn about in architecture school, but it is something I want to carry with me throughout my studies. Architecture is, above all, for the people. It should read as such. A house should become a home.

A City Where Buildings And Exterior Space Are One

A park sketch showing circulation through the park along with leisure areas, and buildings in the background.

An image of the plaza space in front of the PreColombian Art Museum, showing the way circulation through Santiago can occur through landscaped plazas rather than just sidewalks.

An image taken of a walk space in the Universidad Cathólica de Chile, once again showing the integration of seating, circulation, shading, and landscape.

On our first day in Santiago, I was immediately struck by the openness of the city. As I walked to get lunch, all of the stores along the way had their doors open to the street. Escalators to the mall were accessible straight from the sidewalk. The separation between indoors and outdoors was often minimal to none.

The openness of the city is difficult to describe. The word that seems to best explain it is permeability. Many of the malls in the city, for instance, do not act as one heavy volume on a city block. They are permeable in the way than the lower level has paths to cross through the block, with shops all around.

Even parks behave in an entirely new way. They don’t act as an isolated destination the way I have seen many parks in Ohio. Rather, they serve as both recreational areas and as circulation paths through the city.

The impact of all this is the creation of a blended, unified city. Locals and tourists, children and the elderly, and even dogs and humans all live as one.

Implementing this into cities like Columbus would completely transform the place, and certainly in a positive way. Take the Oval on campus, for example. It is by far one of Ohio State’s most popular spaces, and serves the dual purpose of play and circulation. Perhaps Columbus is not quite so literally possible since the climate of Ohio is nowhere near as favorable in Santiago. Still, creating spaces that are permeable as opposed to heavy volumes has the potential to create a more usable city.

A New Street Style

View of street near Pre-Colombian Museum

Often times during studio, it is common for someone to begin a project by trying to create areas with an ambiguity of space. That includes me, but it wasn’t until I visited Santiago that I realized what that truly means. From division of interior and exterior to separation of public and private spaces, so much of Santiago seems to blend together and act as a whole rather than piece by piece.

The sketch focuses on the streets, which act as a specific example of this. So many of them are at the same height as the sidewalk. They do not have that slight change in section with a curb to indicate difference. Small round and circular mounds help with that, but other than that the space feels very continuous and helps encourage the public use. The sketch shows how there are very many changes in ground patterns, but the street still isn’t very separately defined.

Marly’s Pre-Departure Post

As I sit waiting for the plane, I cannot believe that this day has come so quickly! It is beyond strange to think that although I am in my winter coat now, before I know it, I will be in shorts and a t-shirt under the warm sun. Not just that, but I will be roaming the streets of a completely new country and continent. I will be experiencing architecture in a way that I never have before, but have been looking forward to for a long time.

Whether aiming to better understand the architecture or the society itself,this is bound to be a great learning experience. I am curious to see what is ahead of us, and am ready to be immersed in the rich culture of Santiago, Chile.

Thinking back to the beginning of the semester, it seems like I have learned so much about Santiago since then. It will be so fascinating to experience the city in person and to apply all of the knowledge about the culture and city that I have gained. I am looking forward to documenting this experience through photographs and through sketches. Surely the memories we make will be ones I won’t soon forget.