This building is located on Apoquindo Avenue, which carries the name of the ‘Cacique’ (Amerindian chieftain) who reigned over these lands when the Spaniards arrived in the continent. The Avenue functions as a transverse axis crossing the Santiago Valley and joining the Andes Mountains and the ocean. It strings together a number of sub-centers that have developed as a result of the sustained -but rather inorganic- urban growth of the city from the historical center out to the eastern periphery.
The urban environment for this project features a number of isolated autonomous buildings. It is in the context of this area, which strives to consolidate as a center, that the public building housing the Las Condes Town Council emerges.
The plot of land available for construction was narrow. Additionally, local bylaws require that buildings be set apart a certain distance from one another, leading to the development of isolated volumes connected merely by a 7-meter-high unbroken baseboard. Thus, in order to promote urban continuity, the lower volume of the baseboard was covered with travertine marble, like that of the neighboring building. The transparency of the entrance hall and the projected patio attest to the urban spirit of the building.
The Tower has a 15-by-15 meter open plan with inner structure, which rests on a hard nucleus that brings together vertical circulation areas, restrooms and technical service areas. In the face of the structural rigidity of the service nucleus, it was necessary to create a structure that would be capable of counterbalancing this effect, as well as a ‘fabric’ that would be as transparent as possible. In other words, we wished to balance utter rigidity and utter transparence. Thus we designed a diagonal beam structure, which allowed us to meet the dynamic seismic demands while clearing the view to the outside.
On the other hand, we intended to intensify the structural tension by laying the facade diagonals outside the beam surrounding the flagstone. The link between the diagonal pillar structure and the flagstone is established by means of a ‘cube’ that supports the load of the facade and transmits it to the flagstone.
