Centro Cultural Cobquecura. Alberto Campo Baeza
Collaborator: Miguel Ciria
Cobquecura sits in the crossing of two valleys, between the Coastal Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and a small transversal valley indenting the Coastal Mountains. The Cobquecura River runs along the North of the settlement while 54 km of beach, where surfing is popular, lines the west.
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Cobquecura comes from the language of the native Mapuche and means “bread of stone.” Some
buildings of vernacular colonial architecture left in Cobquecura are the only
historic national monuments in the Región del Bío Bío. The great majority of
the buildings were destroyed due to the remarkable proximity of the epicenter,
just 17 km off the coast.
The terrain is a linear site. A vast, seemingly endless beach faces the west
part, while to the east, a more uneven topography prevails.
Meandering low hills in the background create a gentle limit with a small
valley that is almost on axis to the site. A natural habitat for sea lions is a
few hundred meters from the site; their raucous chatter can be heard nearby.
Rough winds are prevalent and should be taken into consideration. In terms of
planning and infrastructure, the site marks the end of a pedestrian promenade.
An artisan workshop is nearby to the south, while to the north, a small airport
runway is situated. To the east of the site, towards the hills, no definite
planning has been created to develop the area.
IDEA
We have been asked for a Cultural Center on the edge of the sea, in a flat
landscape in Cobquecura, Chile. The landscape has the beauty of desolation, of
the desert and the infinite. We have been asked to make a Cultural Center that
is sober and stable, its materials strong and lasting and easy to maintain:
concrete, glass and wood.
When Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago de Chile, he established a geometric
strategy for the creation of new cities, the universal Roman plan.
We propose a simple plan measuring 4 by 4 meters: a platform of 24 by 24 meters
with a 4 by 4 frame raised over the sand. A principle piece, the
multifunctional space that is no more than a 12 by 12 meter structure that we
simply glass in. A piece for services, offices, restrooms and storage that is
no more than a 4 by 12 meter structure that we close for these uses, leaving
the structure visible. An emerging piece, a tower or lighthouse that is no more
than a 4 by 4 meter empty structure and various heights. Like an empty skeleton
that we will later colonize. Its primary function is to serve as a reference
from a distance. As if it were a lighthouse. Its other function is to see the
ocean from on high, as the birds see it.
Between the highway and our platform, there is a 12 by 12 meter square with a 4
by 4 frame, with local trees planted to provide shade. Between our platform and
the sea, there’s another empty platform on which to view the open sky.
Alberto Capo Baeza
ENVIROMENTAL CENTER
Location: Camino a Lobería s/n°, Cobquecura
Client: Ilustre Municipalidad de Cobquecura
Architect: Alberto Campo Baeza
Collaborators: Julia Ayuso, Caja Bieniasz, Alejandro Cervilla, Ignacio Aguirre
Structure: Luis Mendieta, Tensar S.A.
Electricity: Carlos Martínez
Sanitary: Marcelo Valenzuela
Site Area: 2.576 m2
Building: 204 m2
Project year: 2011
Construction year: 2012
Estudio Campo Baeza
Almirante 4, 5º B
28004 Madrid, España
(34 91) 701 0695
