200 new rooms and an indoor walkway connecting the two buildings. Later, the Garden Tower was built, extending the hotel to the corner of Isidora Goyenechea Street and incorporating a green wall facade that enabled efficient temperature control and regulation inside the building. The architecture was commissioned to ABWB architects, and the interior design to Enrique Concha's office. The Ritz Hotel was built on the most expensive land per square meter sold at that time, where the El Golf cinema was located. It also had 200 rooms and a timeless brick-clad style, designed by ABWB architects with a classic and formal interior design by Echeverría & Cummins. In 2000, the Chilean company Atton Hotels was founded with hotels in Santiago, Peru, Colombia, and Florida, USA, focused on executives and businessmen. The company would be acquired in 2018 by the French company Accord, one of the largest hotel companies in the world, with its Mercure, Novotel, and Pullman brands. During those years, Radisson Hotels also opened in Santiago and other regions. In 2000, the first Marriott Hotel in Santiago was inaugurated on Avenida Presidente Kennedy, designed by architects Amunátegui-Bar- reau and José Ramón Ugarte. The chain would later open several hotels, including the Courtyard Marriott in 2015, close to the previous one on the same avenue, and the AC Marriott Hotel in the Costanera Center Shopping Mall in 2020, among others throughout the country. Likewise, the number of beds available in Greater Santiago has in- creased nearly fourfold since the 1960s (from 2,000 beds in 1960 to more than 7,600 in 2024, according to historical sources and sources from the INE and the Tourism Directorate). In addition to the above, there has been growth in adventure tourism in the north and south of the country, taking advantage of Chile's great geographical diversity. This has multiplied the hotel offering, thanks to the installation of numerous adventure or themed hotels that offer unique, safe, and very attractive services. This type of stay is more about delivering an international-quality tourism concept that has made our country very attractive to foreign visitors from North America, Europe, and Asia. It goes without saying that the high-quality architecture of these types of hotel projects is also an attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists. At the dawn of the new century, the country's economic success, its openness to the world, globalization, and free trade agreements created fertile ground for the emergence of hotels in large urban centers and regional attractions, as well as in the northern desert and the green south of the country. The Casino Gaming Law, enacted in 2005, favored and promoted the construction of casinos with hotels and other services in regions, significantly improving the offerings in cities such as Arica, Copiapó, Coquimbo-La Serena, Viña del Mar, Concepción, Temuco, Puerto Varas, and Valdivia. Hotels are also emerging that offer a unique experience rather than just accommodation. This is the case with themed hotels such as those on the Santa Cruz Wine Route, where vineyards have explored the field of gastronomic and hotel tourism as a complement to wine production. Similarly, the central coast, once severely lacking in accommodation and lodging, is seeing a boost in the tourism industry in La Serena, Viña del Mar, and Valparaíso. The same is happening in Puerto Natales, Puerto Varas, the Lake District, Easter Island, and Chiloé, among other places. We can mention the Explora Hotels in San Pedro de Atacama, Torres del Paine, and Easter Island, designed by architects José Cruz Ovalle and Germán del Sol, as examples of hotels that are among the most prestigious brands in the world due to their extraordinary architecture and their perfect integration and harmony with their natural surround- ings and geography. We can also mention the Tierra Atacama hotels, by Rodrigo Searle and Matías González Arquitectos, with their interesting architecture incorporating adobe walls and tamped earth; the Alto Atacama Hotel by architects Francisco Guerrero and Carlos Alberto Urzúa, located near Pucará de Quitor next to the San Pedro River, with exemplary integration into the local landscape; and the Kunza Hotel,
but the lack of funds paralyzed its commissioning. Contributions were sought from INCONOR, and the restaurant's management was planned to be handled by HONSA, to ensure public and tourist use. The idea was that the terrace of the lookout point would allow visitors to enjoy the landscape. In early 1971, the Mirador became an active public space. 3 R Club Hípico / Hipódromo, Mario Recordón, 1956-1962 El Hipódromo (Racetrack) de Antofagasta, now demolished, was designed by Mario Recordón, a specialist in sports architecture. Its construction began in 1955, motivated by Chile's bid to host the 1962 World Cup, and it was built on 59.42 hectares of land in La Chimba after passing a law allowing the old racetrack to be relocated. In 1959, Recordón took over the planning and technical direction, and the municipality acquired the original land for a stadium. The new racetrack was inaugurated in October 1961, but its remoteness reduced attendance. The stadium was partially used in 1962, although it remained unfinished because the construction company abandoned the project. 4 R MADECO (Copper Manufacturing Company), 1967-1969 On February 14, 1969, MADECO's plant in Antofagasta was inaugurat- ed, an imposing industrial building with a metal structure measuring approximately 80 × 120 meters. Located in the industrial zone of the northern regulatory plan, the pavilion is articulated with the slope of the land and rises on a plinth towards Pedro Aguirre Cerda. Its sawtooth roof acts like skylights, and a hidden body in the northwest corner high- lights the entrance. Over time, the building has housed various uses, including the first EXPOIN in 1985, and today it belongs to Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas. 5 R Salar del Carmen / Corvallis Complex, 1959–1964, Mario Pérez de Arce, Jaime Besa The Salar del Carmen Housing Complex, better known as Corvallis, in Antofagasta, was designed by Mario Pérez de Arce and Jaime Besa following a competition organized by CORVI in 1959. Designed for working-class families of five to six members, it was located on the outskirts of the city, on a slope with an 8 to 10% gradient, near the Salar del Carmen ravine that connects to the Pan-American Highway. The plan included 885 homes, arranged in tiers to adapt to the terrain, with vehicle access via perimeter roads and three main entrances. Parking spaces were concentrated at the entrances, and access to the houses was provided by six-meter-wide passageways. The project also included public buildings, although only a few were built. Its design took into account the orientation towards the ocean and the slope of the land, using stepped platforms to control unevenness and create interiors adapted to varying heights. International publications such as Architectural Design (1964) and the International Handbook of Contemporary Developments in Architecture (1981) highlighted its sen- sitivity to the subtropical climate, the use of open space, the horizontal roofing, and the layout of the houses around courtyards. They described the complex as an example of modern architecture with regional ex- pression and adaptation to the northern environment and landscape. 6 R INACAP (National Institute for Professional Training), Sergio Larraín García Moreno, Jorge Swinburn, & Ignacio Covarrubias, 1967-1968 The National Institute for Professional Training (Inacap) was formally established in 1966, and in 1967, it held restricted competitions for its centers in Concepción, Las Condes, and Antofagasta. The competition for the Antofagasta headquarters, documented in Ciudad y Arquitectura (No. 2, March 1968), awarded first prize to the team of Sergio Larraín, Ignacio Covarrubias, and Jorge Swinburn; second prize to Jaime Besa and Higinio González; and third prize to TAU Arquitectos and collabora- tors. An honorable mention went to Carlos Albrecht and Iris Valenzuela. The Antofagasta building, with its exposed metal structure, was
pounded by a global economic crisis. The complexity arising from this situation prompted resistance strategies, such as the development of urban structure, defining new urban boundaries, as can be seen in a map from August 1934 (Ahumada et al., 1982). There was an urban boundary decreed on May 5, 1922, which was reformulated by a decree of June 30, 1934, modifying the boundary line between the city and the hill, acquir- ing a profile more faithful to the urban and geographical morphology. It also expanded by almost two kilometers to the south and almost one kilometer to the north. In addition, it reveals expansions towards the area of the current neighborhoods of Salar del Carmen, Pablo Krugger, Favorecedora, and Gran Vía. Therefore, in this dossier, we will focus on the period of the city's formation, from the planning and modern architecture that emerged from these early urban initiatives to the success of the major projects carried out in the 1960s and early 1970s. In terms of urban planning, at the other end of the spectrum of modern production, we found the first regulatory plan organized into a zoning system developed since 1956 by Jorge Poblete of TAU Arquitectos, com- pleted in November 1965 ( MOP Decree No. 1,614) and officially published on January 6, 1966. This new instrument, planned for an Antofagasta approximately 16 km long and, at its widest point, close to 2 km wide. In addition, there is the 1967-1968 Pre-Investment Study for “regional urban development,” prepared for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development by a multidisciplinary team led by Emilio Duhart, Juan Casanova, Helio Suarez, and Walter Witt. This two-volume document established the guidelines for many of the actions that have been imple- mented to date. The study was the first document to critically examine the city and the region. 1 R Cerro Moreno Airport Terminal in Antofagasta, Architect Jorge Patiño, 1969–1975. The first project for the Cerro Moreno airport terminal, developed in 1958 by the MOP under the direction of Gonzalo Rudolphy S., was never built, although its latticework design was published in the 1959 Architecture Report. In 1968, in view of the runway's deterioration, the Ministry of Defense and the Intendencia negotiated with INCONOR for a contribution to a new project. In November 1969, Jorge Patiño González developed the design plans, which were presented in a model in January 1969. The construction was awarded to CONEST for the Department of Studies of the Airport Authority, financed by the Airport Authority and CORFO Norte, representing an exceptional investment for a project of this magnitude. Work began in March 1970 and, according to the MOP's 1970 report, by the end of 1971, the building was already taking shape, standing alone in the vast desert plain, with extensive flat roofs providing shade. Its scale and expressiveness were evidence of monumental architecture, adapted to the bright, desert environment. The terminal was finally completed in 1975, overcoming the challenges imposed by the military coup and establishing itself as a landmark in the airport infrastructure of northern Chile. 2 R Lookout Point & Restaurant in La Portada, Architect Carlos Con- treras, 1967–1968 The Mirador de La Portada was designed by architect Carlos Contreras between 1966 and 1967, defining an observation platform suspended over the cliffs facing the iconic geological monument in the ocean, ac- companied by a volume that housed a restaurant. Contreras' proposal, with its organic expression, was characterized by the use of curves: the slab on the rock resembled the tongue of a mollusk, and the restaurant building's floor plan evoked the shell of an ammonite. Although construction was practically completed in 1967, the munici- pality lacked the resources to deliver it and planned to do so in 1968. The local press promoted the work as an important contribution to tourism,
now the Cumbres de San Pedro de Atacama Hotel by architect Cristián Boza, incorporated into the architecture of the Atacama Desert. It is important to note that the first signature hotel in San Pedro de Atacama was the Terrantai hotel by Mathias Klotz and Felipe Assadi in the mid-1990s. In southern Chile, we can find the Tierra Patagonia Hotel by architect Cazú Zegers, which is more than just a project; it is a poem of wooden architecture located in southern Patagonia, Chile. Likewise, the Singular Patagonia hotel, located in the old Puerto Bories cold storage facility by architect Pedro Kovacic; the Hotel Remota by architect Germán del Sol in Puerto Natales; and the Índigo hotel by Sebastián Irarrázaval are notable options for travelers seeking a unique, high-end experience. In Castro, Chiloé, the Tierra Chiloé hotel by MOBIL architects and the small-scale hotels on Calle Pedro Montt by architects Tania Gebauer and Eugenio Ortúzar have helped to put this archipelago in southern Chile on the map. In downtown Santiago, as well as in other cities such as Valparaíso, Pucón, Castro, Puerto Varas, and La Serena, small hotels are being de- signed that adapt existing buildings or construct new facilities that are transformed into boutique hotels, with careful design and attention to detail and the context of the historic city center. Among them we can mention the Hotel Magnolia, by Cazú Zegers, who respected the historical character of the original building together with associated architects Hsu-Rudolphy; the Luciano K hotel –La Gárgola–, a notable intervention by the Max+A office on a building designed in 1920 by architect Luciano Kulczewski; The Singular hotel, with its interesting neoclassical archi- tecture by Prieto-Schaffer Arquitectos; and the Ismael hotel by architect Rodrigo Larraín, with its magical use of moving planes in the windows, are testimony to a period of a hotel boom with fine architectural lines that have created an architectural heritage in harmony with the pre-existing traditional neighborhoods of Santiago. In conclusion, public policies not necessarily aimed at the development of tourism or lodging are reflected in the different decades mentioned; first, the vision of a leader to provide the country with a new space to welcome international guests, then the decision to propose a building to recover a deteriorating sector, later a foreign investment policy to re- cover the country's economy or the enactment of laws that with different objectives promoted the construction of new hotels in the country. !
MODERN MOVEMENT
Antofagasta began to take shape in 1866, at the height of the Indus- trial Revolution, thanks to the power of technology and scientific knowledge that allowed a settlement to be developed in an adverse location that defied all logic of creating cities. In this sense, its modernity has been inherent. Its life depended on devices such as distillation machines to obtain water, the railroad to connect the port with mining deposits, and naval development with new iron steamships to transport minerals, people, and products over long distances, which shaped a global city that culminated in the early decades of the 20th century. By: Claudio Galeno-Ibaceta, PhD in Architecture Associate Professor / School of Architecture Director, Universidad Católica del Norte. Secretary General, Docomomo Chile. Principal Researcher, Millennium Nucleus NupatS Antofagasta, Dossier on Modern Architecture
However, towards the end of the 1920s, there was a severe crisis in saltpeter production in the hinterland of Antofagasta, which was com-
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