Unique collaboration and creative reconstruction is driving the city’s recovery
-
2 / 11
Project update August 2016 - Sustainable post-tsunami reconstruction master plan, Constitución, Chile
The forest will also serve another purpose – increasing public space in an otherwise cramped city. Alejandro Aravena says that before the earthquake, there were 2.2 square meters of public space for each of Constitución’s 50,000 inhabitants – and this is set to treble once the plan is fully implemented.
-
7 / 11
Project update August 2016 - Sustainable post-tsunami reconstruction master plan, Constitución, Chile
The tourist promenade and cycle lane consists of a series of coastal lookout points along the way from Maule River’s mouth (downtown) to Maguellines Port, in order to reinforce and highlight the natural heritage embodied by the huge rocks of this landscape.
-
10 / 11
Project update August 2016 - Sustainable post-tsunami reconstruction master plan, Constitución, Chile
Elemental designed “half a good house.” Residents get what they couldn’t easily build or pay for on their own: a two-story, two-bedroom home, with roof, kitchen and bathroom — plus an equivalent empty space next to it. Residents complete the second half, if, when and as they can.
-
11 / 11
Project update August 2016 - Sustainable post-tsunami reconstruction master plan, Constitución, Chile
Aravena has championed an approach he describes as "incremental," in which governments fund construction of "half a good house," with residents completing the other portion as resources allow.
Instead of implementing a construction ban or massive barrier along the risk zones, this project in Chile developed creative ways to improve resilience in the city of Constitución, using a process of extensive community participation. Construction of 484 dwellings in Villa Verde, the Cultural Center, and coastal cycle path has been completed, with additional reconstruction works and riverside forest/park zones underway.
Last updated: August 12, 2016 Constitución, Chile
Instead of implementing a construction ban or massive barrier along the risk zones, this project in Chile developed creative ways to improve resilience in the city of Constitución, using a process of extensive community participation. The planning phase of the project lasted only 100 days. “That’s an eternity if you’re living in a place that’s been devastated, but it’s very little time to redesign an entire city,” says Alejandro Aravena.
The interventions included planting forests along the flood-prone foreshore to dissipate the energy of tsunami waves, urban planning to limit use of ground floor spaces in the risk zone, and an evacuation plan as the third protection element. In addition to responding to the threat of tsunami, the approach enabled long-term preservation of the city at its historical position, created public spaces along the banks of the river that alleviate the lack of inner-city recreation areas, and also support the dissipation of rainwater runoff to avoid further flooding.
The riverside forest park – the first line of defense against tsunamis – is currently under construction. Other projects including the new Cultural Center of Constitución and the scenic seaside promenade and tourism path have already been completed. Further interventions to enhance public infrastructure will include a heated swimming pool, harbor theater and civic hall.
Construction of 484 dwellings in the Villa Verde housing complex has been completed. Work began in March 2012 with USD 13 million in funding from the Chilean Ministry for Housing & Planning. Elemental proposed combining the funds available for temporary emergency shelters and social housing to provide better-quality shelters that could later on be dismantled and building materials be reused in an incremental social-housing scheme. Completion of the social housing project has enabled displaced residents to return to the area and already some houses have been extended as planned. The neighborhood contains three social centers, one multi-purpose court and green areas.