corte reja tipo / fence section
Elevación reja tipo, calle Vasconia / fence elevation, vasconia Street
Inés de Suárez Park
Project and tree planting
Architects:
Teodoro Fernández Arquitectos
In the tradition of parks and promenades of the district, the structure of the Inés de Suárez Park was based on its entrances and roads; a central axis; four elliptical meadows; a wooded edge that contains different places and shaded promenades; a system of uniformly distributed water fountains; several minor programs for games, multisport fields and kiosks. The standard for general planting was to use just a few tree species, robust and at the same time exotic, commonly used in parks and gardens of Santiago, with proven rusticity and good resistance to public use. They were arranged in orderly rows lining walks on the park’s edges, or surrounding and defining the open spaces. The grassed areas were left open and free to allow for a greater occupation. Appropriate undergrowth species were planted under the trees. Some of these were placed in retaining planters directly on the gravel of the walks. At the access plazas, places for more delicate flowers were designed as modern parterres, with hedges of clipped plants. The central theme is a system of fountains and reflecting pools. The fountains are located at the center, under the sun, marking the shapes of the meadows in the meeting of the ellipses; still waters that can each be enlivened with a single large vertical jet so that their linear arrangement can be appreciated as a system from various locations. At the center the various programs are linked to a path lined with palm trees. The kiosk gazebo and the multisport court or dance floor are placed at the confluence of the main roads. These two programs give a utilitarian character to the park. Six controlled accesses were built, the main ones on Bilbao Avenue and Carlos Wilson Street.
Associate Architect: Paulina Courard Collaborating Architect: Smiljan Radic Location:
1510 Antonio Varas Avenue, Providencia Municipal Government of Providencia
Commissioner:
Area:
6.75 hectares
Construction Year:
1994
Surrounded by tall buildings, the location of the park suggested a design that could be clearly appreciated from an immediate height above ground level. The composition is based on clear geometric shapes: straight lines as circulations and ellipses as places to rest, a continuous strip of varying width with beds of flowering perennials. The trees were planted in rows, as on streets, walks and avenues, of which Providencia has very good examples of. These form a willful and artificial “drawing”, which tends to emphasize the gentle topography of the valley that not only follows the walker in the park but extends as a carpet at the foot of the buildings. Taking advantage of the openings the waterworks company and the Police Academy grounds allow for to the north and south respectively, the open meadows of the ellipses are arranged so as to guide and open the sightline of each one to the various mountains of the Santiago basin. These are, from north to south: the Inés de Suárez Square; towards the snowy peaks of El Plomo mountain through the opening of Pocuro Avenue; south of Bilbao, towards San Cristobal Hill through the grounds of the Emos water company; and finally, the south ellipse towards the San Ramon Hills.
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