aoa medals 2025
his year, 2026, marks the 20th anniversary of our magazine since the first issue in April 2006. Founded by architect David Rodríguez, its first editor-in-chief—who was succeeded in 2009 by Raimun- do Lira and, in 2012, by Carlos Alberto Urzúa—the magazine has served architects, professors, college students, government officials, and business leaders over the past 20 years, helping to publish the works of our members while highlighting modern ar- chitecture that we consider to be part of the 20th-century heritage, even though it is not always recognized as such. This year, we are also celebrating the second Pritzker Prize for national architecture, awarded to architect Smiljan Radic, with an original essay written for us by Fernando Pérez Oyarzún, winner of the National Architecture Prize, in which he highlights Radic’s career as a student at Universidad Católica, the idea of refuge in some of his works, and fragility as a condition in the search for the very essence of architecture. editorial T In this issue, we interview the winners of the AOA medals, starting with the Gold Medal awarded to architect Cristián Undurraga, and the AOA Medals for Lifetime Achievement in Architecture to the Elton Léniz firm, for Lifetime Achievement in Academic Excellence to architect Emilio De la Cerda, for Institutional Contribution to Architecture to journalist Rodrigo Guendelman, and for Outstanding Young Architect to Urzúa y Soler Arquitectos. The central editorial focus of this magazine is the city of Valparaíso, as reflected in the feature article—produced this time in collaboration with the Heritage section and featuring an introduction by Emilio de la Cerda, Undersecretary of Cultural Heritage— and written by Alberto Texidó, Barbara Ossa, Mauricio Sánchez, Paz Undurraga, and Gabriela Manzi; followed by an interview with guest architect Joaquín Velasco, featuring a comprehensive overview of his work in the Fifth Region; and concluding with a study on modernist architecture, highlighting Valparaíso through magnificent works and previously unpublished photographs by Javier Contreras. We are also publishing a comprehensive analysis by architect Pablo Altikes regarding the doctoral dissertation by José Rosas Vera, an architect at Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile, titled: “The City Block and Building Type in Transformation: Downtown Santiago and the Constants of the Hispanic-American City,” which is part of a study on the urban modernity of the historic district in the center of our capital city. In this anniversary issue, we have also included greetings and reflec- tions on our magazine sent to us by distinguished figures from the world of architecture, to whom we are infinitely grateful. As the Editorial Committee, we would also like to thank our sponsors, our members, the AOA Board of Directors, and all those contributors who support us in this print publication, which has become a collectible professional journal and which we hope to continue publishing as a historical record of both Chilean and Latin American architecture.
By: Catalina Plaza
AOA Gold Medal
Cristián Undurraga “Exceptionalism has been a very complex phenomenon among architects.”
This architect, who was recently awarded the AOA Gold Medal, focuses on collective ethics, particularly in architecture that is meaningful and transcendent. Cristián Undurraga is a leading figure both in Chile and abroad, with a career spanning nearly five decades during which he has addressed social, urban, and cultural issues. Early in his career, he won the Young Architect Award at the 1977 Chilean Architecture Biennial, and the following year, he founded the Undurraga Devés firm with Ana Luisa Devés. Through this firm, they have designed projects with significant impact, such as Santiago’s Barrio Cívico, the Mapuche Housing Complex, the Museum of Visual Arts, the Chile Pavilion for Expo Milan 2015, the Violeta Parra Museum, and Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, among others. In addition to his academic work at both the UC School of Architec- ture (1985–2016) and Politécnico de Milán, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the Andrea Palladio Prize (1991), the Gold Medal at the Miami International Biennial (2005), the Ibero-American Biennial Prize (2010), the Frate Sole World Christian Architecture Award (2012), the Silver Medal at Expo Milan (2015), and the CWC Wood Design Award, among others. He is noted for his commitment to professional associations, partic- ularly the Association of Architects' Offices, where he served as director during the 2020–2021 and 2022–2023 terms. When reflecting on the AOA Gold Medal, it is impossible not to dwell on aspects that have characterized his nearly 50 years of professional practice: his love for the public sphere and, consequently, for social issues and professional ethics. -You have noted—both in the article in Arquitectura Viva magazine, “The Art of Building Hospitality,” and in the project report for Expo Milan 2015—that architecture emerges as a collective need to protect one- self and to create a welcoming environment, in contrast to the hostile environment posed by nature. -Human beings need certain conditions of hospitality or well-being, of shelter and protection, and that is the essence of architecture. Con- struction is what makes it possible to create the space conducive to that hospitality, and when architecture acquires meaning and significance, art emerges. -What challenges does the profession face today? -Architects must reclaim the role and prestige they held during the Renaissance, when the figure of the architect first emerged. Today, the market has gradually cornered the architect, and the architect has been somewhat complicit in this. However, it is possible to build a good city using existing public policies. That does not mean we should not strive to improve those conditions to compel—not merely promote—the
Yves Besançon Prats / Director Revista AOA
→ 157
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online