The monastery is connected to the city while protecting the enclosure. This model is replicated in locations with a mountainous geography, as is our country. In 1938, Father Pedro Subercaseaux founded the Benedic- tine Monastery in Santiago, in a remote part of the capital, today it is the Fach Hospital in Las Condes. The proximity of a stadium forced the monks to look for a more distant location. The Los Piques hill guaranteed an effective permanence. In a quote, Father Gabriel Guarda, says that when they made the inspection visit, to evaluate the land´s suitability, they entered through the Los Piques hill, walking halfway up the slope, from west to east. Halfway, with the view of the mountain range and the view of the La Dehesa valley, their expressions of satisfaction were 'shouts of joy» (1. Page 35).
The geographical location
Los Piques Hill is a promontory located in the center of the first valley that opens up from the Mapocho River to the northeast, at the beginning of Santiago´s sloping plain, on the edge of the Andean foothills. It is located in an equidistant position from the surround- ing hills, which gives spatial measure to this small valley, both the horizontal distance and the vertical dimension given by the peaks that form it. They articulate the aerial space, defining the visual extension of the geographic location oriented by the summits that are significant landmarks. The slopes and the profile of the peaks reflect the path of light during the day and through the seasons, showing both the relief and the shapes of the hills, as well as the land´s crevices reinforced by the natural vegetation. Between the hills, the perspective opens up to other val- leys, such as La Dehesa to the north, the Santiago valley to the southwest, and the Apoquindo ravine to the southeast. To the east, the mountains come one after the other forming the Cordillera massif and, to the west, small island hills appear, jutting out into the Santiago valley. Los Piques Hill is not a symmetrical hill and offers dif- ferentiated landscape characteristics on its slopes. It rises to a medium height, about 15 to 20 m from the buildings´ intermediate level, towards the southeast, forming the summit, leaving space for access from the south, along Otoñal Street, and from the east, along Bulnes Correa Street. - To the north and west, it forms a natural watchtower, a lookout at a height of 50 to 55 m. towards the surrounding area, which forms a strip of steep slopes towards the lower plane, where it borders Charles Hamilton Street, a natural plinth. - To the northeast is the San Francisco ravine, a natural outlet for winter and occasional snowmelt from the mountains, and a geographic figure that is repeated in rhythms that identify the foothills of the Santiago valley.
El lugar geográfico
↥ Hacia el oriente, el macizo cordillerano, las altas cumbres y los grandes hitos orientadores del valle de Santiago. To the east, the massif of the Andes, the high peaks, and the great guiding landmarks of the Santiago valley.
El cerro Los Piques es un promontorio que se ubica en el centro del primer valle que se abre desde el cajón del río Mapocho, por el nororiente, en el inicio de la planicie incli- nada de Santiago, en el borde del pie andino. Se sitúa en una posición equidistante de los cerros circundantes, que otorgan la medida espacial de este pe- queño valle, tanto la distancia horizontal como la dimen- sión vertical dada por las cumbres que la conforman. Ellos articulan el espacio aéreo, definiendo la extensión visual del lugar geográfico orientado por las cumbres que son hitos significantes. En sus laderas y en el perfil de las cumbres se refleja el recorrido de la luz durante el día y a través de las estaciones, mostrando, tanto el relieve y las formas de lomajes, como las hendiduras del terreno reforzadas por la vegetación natural. Entre los cerros se abre la perspectiva hacia otros valles, como La Dehesa por el norte, el valle de Santiago hacia el surponiente y la quebrada de Apoquindo hacia el suroriente. Hacia el oriente, los montes se suceden uno tras otro for- mando el macizo cordillerano y, hacia el poniente, aparecen pequeños cerros islas que sobresalen en el valle de Santiago. El cerro Los Piques no es un cerro simétrico y ofrece características paisajísticas diferenciadas en sus laderas. Se eleva a media altura, unos 15 a 20 m desde el nivel inter- medio de las edificaciones, hacia el sur oriente, formando la cumbre, dejando el espacio para el acceso, desde el sur, por la calle Otoñal y desde el oriente, por la calle Bulnes Correa. - Hacia el norte y poniente, forma una atalaya natural, una situación de mirador a una altura de 50 a 55 m. hacia el espacio circundante, que conforma una franja de pen- diente abrupta hacia el plano inferior, donde limita con la calle Charles Hamilton, un zócalo natural. - Hacia el nororiente, se encuentra la quebrada San Fran- cisco, desahogo natural de las aguas de deshielo, inver- nales y ocasionales desde la cordillera, y figura geográfica que se repite en ritmos que identifican la precordillera del valle de Santiago.
The neighborhood. Stages of urban development
In the area´s occupation, four historical stages can be recognized. They originated the creation of the current urbanization with its arborization. In the first stage, the avenues with large trees, the old houses of the Lo Fontecilla hacienda, and the surround- ing park - remodeled by Prager in the 1930s - made up a complex whose presence enhanced the value of the area. It was in the center of large crops, natural meadows for animals, hawthorn trees on sunny slopes, and evergreen trees in the ravines.
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Reportaje / Feature Article
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