Secchi points out, " the systematic commutes between home and work, which, like a pendulum, marked the rhythm of the modern industrial city, have been increasingly replaced by a chaotic dispersion of journeys between dispersed origins and destinations, carried out by very different individuals with equally varied purposes and schedules".¹ However, this disconnect between housing and industry presents an opportunity for recovery, not only of obsolete parts and degraded fragments of the contemporary city, but also for us, in our time, in very different circumstances. It represents an opportunity for cultural recon- struction within our discipline and profession, allowing us to revisit and reinterpret the ideas, theoretical and operational principles, that in the past guided the design of new forms of residence based on the reduction and optimization of travel to services, facilities, and workplaces. We believe that, in this context, we should revisit Robert Smithson, an important American artist who considered that the post-industrial landscape of the present and the little we can say about the future are strongly determined and influenced by the past. Indeed, in 1967, while visiting Passaic, in a photograph of abandoned industrial facilities, he interpreted them as ruins with the potential to be heritage buildings and spaces, proposing the thesis that “the future is lost somewhere in the garbage dumps of the non-historical past”.² Therefore, it is possible to say that, depending on our awareness and memory of the events, references, and ideas of this landscape that we inherit from previous generations, these will form the foundation for the development of our actions. In agreement with Hartog: “Heritage, iden- tity, and memory are also, in a sense, notions for times of uncertainty”.³ One way to enrich these reflections can be found and understood in the construction of our own cities, particularly from the practices that emerged in the context of productive activities that promoted urban and social transformation. Over time, they have become assets of great value due to how workers' housing and that of an emerging middle class were conceived, in relation to industries and infrastructure. An example of this is the different neighborhoods and building types located on the land surrounding the ring railway or a short distance from workplaces, railway lines, stations, and various facilities. These were established by a pre-modern planning system and public management that set the boundaries of the municipality of Santiago in the early decades of the 20th century and gave rise to sectors with their own identity and memory.⁴ The history of the nineteenth-century city of Santiago is inextricably linked to the shape of many neighborhoods that originated around the railway ring, stations, and industrial establishments, such as Barrio Yun- gay, Estación Central, Fraternal Ferroviaria, San Eugenio, Matta Sur, and Franklin, among others, or the cases of workers' towns and villages such as La Unión, Central de Leche, Población Yarur, and Población Pedro Montt. During the 20th century, even though the railroad had lost importance and large industrial plants were located along road corridors or in more peripheral industrial parks, the state strongly promoted the construction of modern residential complexes with higher housing density. These included Villa Portales, Mapocho Bulnes, Remodelación República, and San Borja in the central city, seeking to capitalize on their proximity to the historic center and thus ensure access to services, commerce, and facilities located in the central city. 1 Secchi, Bernardo. Modern City and Contemporary City. pp. 96. Chapter 5 in “First Lesson in Urban Planning.” Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning. Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Lima 2000. 2 Smithson, Robert. “A Tour of the Monuments of Paissac, New Jersey.” Gustavo Gili Editorial. January 2006. 3 Hartog, Francois. “Believing in History.” pp. 59. Finis Terrae University Press. Research and Publications Department. Santiago 2014. 4 Benavides, Juan; Pizzi, Marcela; Valenzuela, María Paz. “The Industrial Architectural Heritage around the Former Santiago Ring Railway: Testimony to Industrial Manufacturing Development in the 19th Century.” Universitaria Editorial. 2009.
With regard to the contemporary city project, and despite the fact that the State has abandoned its role in constructing a unitary and uni- fying vision of the different urban functions, it should be noted that the municipality of Santiago has maintained an interest and concern for land use. Indeed, given the obsolescence of the areas that housed industries in the past, which were largely located around the ring railway line, the Santiago Inner Ring project⁵ has gained relevance, the construction of La Aguada Floodable Park and the Ukamau neighborhood on the grounds of the former State Railways workshop.⁶ To conclude, we return to Secchi's reflection that “urban planning is an eminently project-oriented discipline aimed at a possible future that seeks to build on experience.”⁷ For this reason, his book is Lessons. !
Lessons on Spatial Organization Methods for Work and Housing. Exemplary Cases from Two Corfo Companies: ENAP and IANSA
By: Mauricio Sánchez & Santiago Canales
The genesis of any republic implies the need to provide its inhabitants with food, housing, and work. In this spirit, during the first half of the 20th century, the Chilean state was oriented toward the welfare of the population, whose management of social and economic life resulted in new forms of urban and rural spatial organization. From this arose the goal of building integrated and interconnected cities with adequate infrastructure as an alternative solution to housing, production, education, and leisure. This challenge increased globally in the years following the Great Depression of 1929, particularly in countries without the capacity for self-sufficiency, such as Chile, whose dependence on foreign trade was considerable. In order to reduce fiscal spending and achieve stable production and savings, during the government of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (1927–1931), a series of policies were implemented to promote domestic production 5 Moris, Roberto; Reyes, Marcelo. “Santiago's Inner Frontier. Alternatives for the Urban Recovery of Inner Voids.” Thesis. School of Architecture. Directed by professors Gustavo Munizaga and José Rosas. 1999. 6 Ukamau + FCV Office. “Maestranza Neighborhood, Santiago, Chile 2020.” ARQ Magazine No. 109, Santiago, December 2021. 7 Secchi, Bernardo. “Prologue.” op. Cit. pp. 8
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