LA DEHESA
BARNECHEA
Cerro Alvarado
EL ARRAYÁN
Plaza Barnechea
LAS CONDES
Mario Pérez de Arce en el río Mapocho (2009). / Mario Perez de Arce at the Mapocho River, 2009.
(*) Mario Pérez de Arce Antoncich (1944) se unió como socio a la oficina de su padre tras titularse como arquitecto (PUC, 1968). Juntos participaron en la creación del curso de postítulo de Arquitectura del Paisaje en la universidad, del que fue alumno y luego profesor hasta la extinción del programa. Es autor de “Josué Smith Solar, un arquitecto del 900” (Ediciones ARQ, 1993) y “Smith Solar & Smith Miller” (Ed. Finis Terrae, 2011). Hoy comparte su estudio con su hijo Mario Pérez de Arce Ovalle. (*) Mario Pérez de Arce Antoncich (1944) joined his father’s office as a partner after graduating as an architect (Catholic University, 1968). They participated together in the creation of the Landscape Architecture postgraduate course at the university, where he was a student and later a teacher until the end of the program. He is the author of “Josué Smith Solar, un arquitecto del 900” (Ediciones ARQ, 1993) and “Smith Solar & Smith Miller” (Ed. Finis Terrae, 2011). He shares the studio today with his son Mario Pérez de Arce Ovalle.
Victim of irremediable cancer and contemplating the decision to undergo complex surgery – even more so considering his age - he took the risk: “I need to finish my homework”, he said. He almost died in the trance, but recovered and managed to assemble his project with the help of young architects of his School. The project was presented in a master class and soon, after declaring his work completed, he embraced death. His proposal is the only one that acquired the status of “Bicentennial project”, being adopted as such by the government of President Sebastián Piñera. Publications and Texts With a critical but permanently proactive attitude, he put his views in writing. He filled notebooks with texts both published and unpublished. He formally collaborated in two books referring to the landscape. The first, which he co-authored with Marta Viveros and Patricio Gross, is entitled Santiago, Urban Space and Landscape. In the second, The Mapocho River - by Diego Matte, current director of the Historical Museum – he participated in the drafting of a chapter. Some speeches have acquired a testamentary value, carefully prepared, reviewed and edited many times. Perhaps the most important is the one he read at the ceremony in which he was named Professor Emeritus of the Catholic University. The book Mario Pérez de Arce Lavín, part of a collection dedicated to notable architects alumni of the Catholic University, was commissioned to León Rodríguez, assistant teacher in his architecture workshop for many years, and who spent long hours of conversation and work with his subject. Some of his projects are also backed by written texts. Those of interest are the ones that support his theoretical projects for an alternative North Riverside Highway and the park along the Mapocho River. An educational intent is evident in all his writings; they are extensions of his activity as professor. He passionately dedicated his final years to the study of transcendental and philosophical themes. He did this with all seriousness and rigor while at the same time communicating with thinkers with whom he discussed in search for the great truths. He left a booklet entitled “My Search” with the final version of his thoughts, which he distributed among his closest. These philosophical reflections establish a consistency between the search for goodness, for beauty in architectural and artistic work and the pursuit of the supreme harmony of the Creator.
Las imágenes pertenecen al archivo de Mario Pérez de Arce Lavín con la excepción de los dibujos del edificio Lyon en página 32, gentileza de Gonzalo Navarro y las imágenes en páginas 50 y 51, gentileza de Sandra Iturriaga./ The images belong to the archivesof Mario Pérez de Arce Lavín except the drawings of the Lyon building on page 32, courtesy of Gonzalo Navarro and the images on pages 50 and 51, courtesy of Sandra Iturriaga.
1 Libro “Mario Pérez de Arce”, León Rodríguez. 1 “Mario Pérez de Arce” book, León Rodríguez.
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