A pavilion designed by Bartlett alumni Ken Qiu Sun (Architectural History MA, 2020) and Cristóbal Riffo Giampaoli (Architecture MArch, 2019), alongside architect Sebastián Simonetti Grez, was unveiled as the centrepiece of the prestigious Young Architects Festival (YAF) in Chile. Organised by CONSTRUCTO, the festival provides a platform for emerging Latin American architects to design experimental pavilions that enhance collective-use spaces while addressing sustainability.
Habitar la Sombra (Inhabiting the Shadow)
Set against the Ruinas de Huanchaca, ‘Habitar la Sombra’ explores Chile’s complex relationship with the Atacama Desert, blending light and movement to create a phantasmagorical interplay of presence and absence.
The circular structure is built from timber frames and features interior fabric membranes crafted from agricultural mesh. The membranes are suspended by cables from the timber framework to a floating central ring which acts as an oculus. The oculus connects the sky with the ground below, symbolising the desert’s multi-faceted identity – its scientific significance, economic importance and tragic history under military rule.
Describing the inspiration for the pavilion, Ken, Cristobal and Sebastián said:
The Atacama Desert is a unique place in the world, full of multiple cultural and historical meanings. Said to be hostile and barren, vast and overwhelming, it is the stage of extractive practices that economically sustain the country, it is the platform for world-renowned research in astronomy and the tragic destiny of those who were forcefully detained, vanished and buried below ground during the military dictatorship. To synthesise such complex topics in architectural design, we decided to explore shadow as shelter to inhabit the desert, shadow as an absent presence – a ghost representing the memory of the desert – and shadow as a nod to the pavilion’s ephemeral condition.
More information
- Find out more about Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2)
- Find out more about Architectural History MA
- Read more about ‘Habitar la Sombra’
Images: ‘Habitar la Sombra’ – photography by Cristóbal Riffo Giampaoli and Freddy Acevedo
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