Albert Tidy Arquitectos

Emilio Pugín Building

EMILIO PUGÍN BUILDING

Albert Tidy

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

ARCHITECTS
Albert Tidy Arquitectos

AREA
10620.0 m²

YEAR
2012

PHOTOGRAPHS
Pablo Casals Aguirre, Albert Tidy

LOCATION
Valdivia, Chile

CATEGORY
University, Renovation

ENGINEERING
ByB Ingenieria

LIGHTING
Paulina Sir.

ELECTRIC PROJECT
Heuser Ltda.

SANITARY PROJECT
Patricio Olivares

TECHNICAL ADVISOR
Pinedo y Cepeda

MANUFACTURERS
Ahosa, Copromet, Dynal, Flexit, Glasstech, Lp Building Products, Proindar, Valdilum, Vidrios Lirquen, Volcan

COLLABORATORS
Víctor Bustos, Valentina Marín, Cesar Osorio, Eduardo Tapia, Claudia Tidy, Nicolás Solís de Ovando, Tom De Soete, Roberto Jacob.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

In December 2007 Valdivia’s Austral University was struck by tragedy. A fire that burned relentlessly for three days destroyed one of its most important buildings: the Science Faculty. 

A sooty, reinforced concrete skeleton was left as sole remainder of the disaster.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

Along with the building, the fire consumed years of research, thesis work in progress, and zoological collections of tremendous value.

Two years later, the University launched a national architectural competition to recuperate the building while preserving the residual structure.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

Both cost efficient and sustainable, this strategy diminishes the carbon footprint that demolishing the building would produce.

The winning entry leaves this structure exposed, and by way of its unusual height (4.5 meters) and a glazed envelope, opens the hermetic former building towards the magnificent botanical garden that sits next door.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

In a sense, making inhabitable the barren but transparent image left by the fire.

The program is divided mostly between research labs and offices. The layout places the latter on the perimeter of the plan, with views of the surroundings and natural light.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

Research labs, because of their introspective nature and the need for controlled lighting systems, sit at the core of the floorplan. 

All new spaces are built as autonomous containers, never reaching the full height of the original building. This allows the space to be perceived as a continous whole colonized by these volumes and frees the ceiling for HVAC ducts and a utilities network.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

The building is conceived in three conceptual levels: The lower one, a full floor below the street level, has a hybrid skin of prefab concrete shaders and glass windows, giving it a solid podium-like appeareance.

The top two floors of the building are clad with a glass curtain wall that covers their full height, like a glass box, in contrast with the bottom level. The facade reflects the surroundings during the day, and lights up like a lamp at night.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

The mid-level or “mezzanine” is the heart of the project. Its appearance is the absence of the building, achieved by leaving half of the floor´s space a covered public plaza.

Conceived as a social hub, it connects inside to outside through three long-reaching arms or bridges, and lower to upper levels through two sculptural staircases (one of concrete and one of steel) that pierce every floor.

Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre

Finally, the old tower structure adjacent to the main building is restored to provide restrooms, storage and machinery spaces.


Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Albert Tidy
Emilio Pugín Building
© Albert Tidy
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre
Emilio Pugín Building
© Pablo Casals Aguirre


Emilio Pugín Building
Perspectiva
Emilio Pugín Building
Perspectiva


Emilio Pugín Building
Plan 01
Emilio Pugín Building
Plan 02
Emilio Pugín Building
Plan 03
Emilio Pugín Building
Plan 04


Emilio Pugín Building
Corte Longitudinal
Emilio Pugín Building
Corte Transversal
Emilio Pugín Building
Elevación Norte


Emilio Pugín Building
Detail
Emilio Pugín Building
Esquema Proceso de Recuperación
Emilio Pugín Building
Isométrica Explotada

Albert Tidy Arquitectos
T +56 2 26325947
Albert Tidy Arquitectos
Merced 156, 8320131 Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile