2016 MCHAP
Renovation of the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art
Smiljan Radic
Santiago, Chile
January 2014
PRIMARY AUTHOR
Smiljan Radic
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
Pedro Bartolome (Engineer)
CLIENT
LarraÃn Echenique Family Foundation
PHOTOGRAPHER
Cristobal Palma
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of the intervention were to maintain and integrate the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art more effectively and fully into its urban environment, improving the standards of preservation and the exhibitions of the collections.
CONTEXT
The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, located in downtown Santiago. This building was constructed in 1805 as a Royal Customs. And opened its doors to the public in 1981 as a Museum. The new 'Chile before Chile' room is a unique opportunity to consolidate the institutional building and rework the spatial imaginarium of the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, neatly characterizing each of its various areas, one by one.
PERFORMANCE
The newly built showroom, located on level -1, is a large 450 square meter space by black reinforced-concrete. And also the charm of the colonial courtyard is restored; the north patio is covered by PTFE membrane, allowing for year-round use by citizens, and the southern patio features a gravel floor.
