25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile

Though it may be the narrowest country in the world, Chilean architects’ reach is far and wide.

Architizer Editors Architizer Editors

A vast yet narrow topography and a booming design community, Chile continues to gain recognition for its architectural achievements and innovative experimentations of space. From Pritzker Prize-winning Alejandro Aravena to Cecilia Puga, an impressive cohort of Chilean architects have taken center stage in the international design community, and many new studios are on the rise, setting the bar high for continual national architectural feats.

Chile’s geological structure has posed both ideal spaces for construction as well as its challenges. Nestled between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the varying landscape – deserts, coastlines and mountainscapes – has led to interesting design variations and organizations. On the other hand, as a nation prone to seismic activity, Chile has experienced its fair share of natural disasters, leading to significant advances in earthquake-resistant structures.

Chile’s political history has greatly impacted the nation’s design sensibilities. From its Spanish colonial history to the present, economics and foreign influence greatly changed the built environment. The end of the Pinochet regime was an important moment for architecture in Chile, leading to a boom in architecture schools and a broader curriculum. Many architects fuse local practices and materiality with Modern sensibilities. This fusion remains a guiding principle for many Chilean architects today. Though it may be the narrowest country in the world, Chilean architects’ reach is far and wide.

With so many architecture firms to choose from, it’s challenging for clients to identify the industry leaders that will be an ideal fit for their project needs. Fortunately, Architizer is able to provide guidance on the top design firms in Chile based on more than a decade of data and industry knowledge.

How are these architecture firms ranked?

The following ranking has been created according to key statistics that demonstrate each firm’s level of architectural excellence. The following metrics have been accumulated to establish each architecture firm’s ranking, in order of priority:

  • The number of A+Awards won (2013 to 2023)
  • The number of A+Awards finalists (2013 to 2023)
  • The number of projects selected as “Project of the Day” (2009 to 2023)
  • The number of projects selected as “Featured Project” (2009 to 2023)
  • The number of projects uploaded to Architizer (2009 to 2023)

Each of these metrics is explained in more detail at the foot of this article. This ranking list will be updated annually, taking into account new achievements of Chile architecture firms throughout the year.

Without further ado, here are the 25 best architecture firms in Chile:


25. Tidy Architects

© Tidy Architects

© Tidy Architects

Albert Tidy Architects is an architecture office based in Santiago, Chile. We define our work as an exploration of architecture and design as plastic phenomenoma. Our search centers in the reduction of perceptible constructive complexities, to try to shorten the distance between the original idea and the complete building. This process is taken through a wide spectrum of scales, from object design, furniture design and architecture in a variety of scales.

Some of Tidy Architects’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Tidy Architects achieve 25th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 2

24. Alex Plana Arquitecto

© Alex Plana Arquitecto

© Alex Plana Arquitecto

Alex Plana Arquitecto is a design practice led by architect Alex Plana in Chile. The principal has completed several residential projects.

Some of Alex Plana Arquitecto’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Alex Plana Arquitecto achieve 24th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 2

23. Elton + Léniz Arquitectos Asociados

© Elton + Léniz Arquitectos Asociados

© Elton + Léniz Arquitectos Asociados

Since 1993, the elton_léniz office has carried out a wide spectrum of requests independently, along with a varied list of associated collaborators in which there are included artists, architects and designers. This diversity and versatility in the designing capacity on different levels and topics has been developed as one of the main features of this office. Within the projects developed there are objects and furniture, mounting of exhibitions, commercial spaces, interior design, single-family and collective dwellings, art galleries, offices and residence buildings, urban development, educational spaces and more.

Some of Elton + Léniz Arquitectos Asociados’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Elton + Léniz Arquitectos Asociados achieve 23rd place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 2

22. Etcheberrigaray – Matuschka Arquitectos

© Etcheberrigaray - Matuschka Arquitectos

© Etcheberrigaray - Matuschka Arquitectos

Etcheberrigaray – Matuschka Arquitectos is an architecture practice based in Santiago, Chile with a focus on residential design.

Some of Etcheberrigaray – Matuschka Arquitectos’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Etcheberrigaray - Matuschka Arquitectos achieve 22nd place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 2

21. COMUNarquitectos

© COMUNarquitectos

© COMUNarquitectos

COMUNarquitectos is a firm created in 2010 in Tokyo, Japan with the idea of make architecture mainly for the community. We, its founders think that architecture is a social-design issue and our goal is designing for and by people without neglecting art. Now we are in our mother land, Chile sharing all that we learned.

Some of COMUNarquitectos’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped COMUNarquitectos achieve 21st place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 3

20. DX Arquitectos

© DX Arquitectos

© DX Arquitectos

We are a professional support that promotes individual and collective undertakings for the development of a conscious and consistent architecture.
We work as a network, with passion and commitment, generating proposals that fully resolve the uniqueness of each project.

Some of DX Arquitectos’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped DX Arquitectos achieve 20th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 3

19. Gonzalo Iturriaga | Arquitectos

© Pablo Casals Aguirre

© Pablo Casals Aguirre

The design exercise of the office is based on establishing a broad and reflective look around the multiple variables that each assignment presents. Under this gaze, each project is considered as a particular formal and spatial investigation, on the program, the place, the material and the client’s requirements. Resolving in this exercise, a project that seeks to respond to the imperative needs of the order, but advancing in the design practice of the office.

Some of Gonzalo Iturriaga | Arquitectos’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Gonzalo Iturriaga | Arquitectos achieve 19th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 3

18. MAPA Arquitectos Consultores

© MAPA Arquitectos Consultores

© MAPA Arquitectos Consultores

MAPA Arquitectos Consultores integrates the experience and knowledge of its partners in the development of strategic projects and for public use and on a large scale (sanitary, educational, sports, research, residential, etc.). It constitutes a team capable of dealing with professional practice with solvency, understanding it as a multidisciplinary collective project whose purpose is to provide an effective, varied and natural response to complex problems. MAPAAC is a company with the capacity to form multi-professional teams capable of addressing all aspects involved in the planning, design, construction or analysis of building complexes.

Some of MAPA Arquitectos Consultores’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped MAPA Arquitectos Consultores achieve 18th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 3

17. Masfernandez Arquitectos

© Nico Saieh

© Nico Saieh

Our office seeks to develop projects that fit into their surroundings, adding real value to their owners and users, with a contemporary architectural language. Since we started 26 years ago, we have combined the traditional work of the architectural firm, the use of new technologies and constructive innovations to design memorable buildings and houses. Our team is a blend of multiple talents that work together with our clients to achieve strategic and creative designs that put people at the center and improve their environments.

Some of Masfernandez Arquitectos’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Masfernandez Arquitectos achieve 17th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 3

16. Alejandro Soffia

© Alejandro Soffia

© Alejandro Soffia

Alejandro Soffia Arquitecto is an architect based in Santiago, Chile. He focuses on material optimization and prefabrication, as a way to improve buildings impact on the environment, and give access to good design, to a wider range of population. Projects have been done in different scales and destinations, but they have been focused on materials, techniques and details.

Some of Alejandro Soffia’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Alejandro Soffia achieve 16th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 4

15. REPUBLICA PORTATIL

© REPUBLICA PORTATIL

© REPUBLICA PORTATIL

In 2003, República Portátil was born as a community of creatives related in a transdisciplinary way. Their interests and obsessions converge in the theoretical-practical development of projects related to living, the temporality of architecture and the social production of space.
Among their works are medium and large scale pavilions, made in cities in Chile and abroad. Among their works are medium and large-scale pavilions, made in cities in Chile and abroad, as well as shelters, art installations and modular equipment. República Portable is currently operating between Concepción, Valdivia, Valparaíso and Santiago de Chile.

Some of REPUBLICA PORTATIL ‘s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped REPUBLICA PORTATIL achieve 15th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 8

14. 2DM

© 2DM

© 2DM

2DM arquitectos is an architecture office based in Santiago de Chile, founded in 2014 by Daniel Díaz Miranda. The office is dedicated mainly to the development of private projects of varied scale, in residential, commercial and industrial fields.

Some of 2DM’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped 2DM achieve 14th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 2

13. Alvano y Riquelme Architects

© Alvano y Riquelme Architects

© Alvano y Riquelme Architects

Alvano y Riquelme Architects is a Santiago-based design practice founded by Pablo Riquelme and Renzo Alvano. The firm specializes in residential and real estate architecture.

Some of Alvano y Riquelme Architects’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Alvano y Riquelme Architects achieve 13th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 2

12. Azócar Catrón

© Azócar Catrón

© Azócar Catrón

AZÓCAR CATRÓN is an architecture and urbanism office established in Concepción, Chile in 2015 by Ricardo Azócar and Carolina Catrón.

Some of Azócar Catrón’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Azócar Catrón achieve 12th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 2

11. Jorge Figueroa + Asociados

© Jorge Figueroa + Asociados

© Jorge Figueroa + Asociados

Jorge Figueroa + Asociados is a Chilean-based architecture firm. The studio has accomplished a series of residential, commercial, educational and offices designs.

Some of Jorge Figueroa + Asociados’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Jorge Figueroa + Asociados achieve 11th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 2

10. CONOR

© CONOR

© CONOR

CONOR® brings together enthusiastic professionals, who seek to create a new way of treating architecture, through innovation in design and works.
We have developed projects in Chile, USA, Peru and maintain constant openness towards the international market. CONOR®, manages to maintain a constant growth, from its beginnings to the present, generating trust bonds with its clients, expanding, improving the quality of its services and the work environment. Currently the company is made up of a team of qualified professionals, technicians, consultants and practitioners.

Some of CONOR’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped CONOR achieve 10th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 3

9. L A N D

© L A N D

© L A N D

L A N D was founded in 2007 by Ángela Delorenzo Arancibia and Cristóbal Valenzuela Haeussler. The firms is made up of architects, landscape architects, urban planners, artists and environmental specialists all committed to improving the relationship between built and natural environments.

Some of L A N D’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped L A N D achieve 9th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 3

8. Cazu Zegers Arquitectura

photo: Isabel Fernandez - © Cazu Zegers Arquitectura

photo: Isabel Fernandez - © Cazu Zegers Arquitectura

Cazú Zegers proposes a different angle of approach towards architecture, in an expressive search, closely related to Latin America, its territory, landscape and traditions. From here arises a task “in progress” that involves a poetic reflection on the way in which we inhabit the territory.
Cazú Zegers Arquitectura has established itself as a world leading company in proposing new ways of understanding and inhabiting the territory, with a truly Latin American language, shaping the ways that various human groups inhabit the space, without seeking to impose themselves, but rather to enter in dialogue with the environment allowing to inhabit almost without leaving a trace on the territory and being a kind addition to Nature. A low technology position is proposed that learns from local processes and their ancestral techniques.

Some of Cazu Zegers Arquitectura’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Cazu Zegers Arquitectura achieve 8th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 3

7. Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto

© Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto

© Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto

Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto is a studio directed by Gonzalo Mardones V. Hon FAIA, based in Santiago de Chile with offices in Miami and Madrid. The workshop is characterized by working on commissions of all scales and uses. It has carried out housing, office, commercial, hotel, educational, sports, religious, cultural, etc. projects, accumulating more than 2.5 million square meters built.

Some of Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto achieve 7th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 3

6. Pezo von Ellrichshausen

© Pezo von Ellrichshausen

© Pezo von Ellrichshausen

Pezo von Ellrichshausen Architects was established in Concepción, Chile, Chile in 2001 by Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen. With a cross production between art and architecture, the studio has built a series of singular houses, art pavilions and residential buildings.

Some of Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Pezo von Ellrichshausen achieve 6th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 4
Total Projects 5

5. Grupo Arquitectos

© Grupo Arquitectos

© Grupo Arquitectos

Grupo Arquitectos is an Architecture firm founded in 2002 by architects Jorge Hasbun N. and Catalina Valdés Tocornal. The firm develops architecture design focused in housing, commercial architecture (retail and corporate), master plans and real estate buildings. Our design principles are based in the direct study and concept analysis of each project as an individual case, characterized by exhibiting and akin diverse architecture results.

Some of Grupo Arquitectos’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Grupo Arquitectos achieve 5th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

A+Awards Finalist 1
Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 39

4. ValdesHagemann Architects

© ValdesHagemann Architects

© ValdesHagemann Architects

ValdesHagemann is a Chilean practice launched in 2009 by architects Nicolás Valdés and Constanza Hagemann. ValdesHagemann, as the word explains, aims to research every possible aspect of an assignment. We emphasize the idea that every client is different, every site is unique and the formal outcome must be true to all those parameters.

Some of ValdesHagemann’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Panorama Arquitectos achieve 4th place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 5
Total Projects 4

3. GUBBINS POLIDURA ARQUITECTOS

This Santiago-based firm was born from the merging of Gubbins Arquitectos and Polidura Arquitectos and is dedicated to architecture and urban planning projects GUBBINS ARQUITECTOS is an architecture and urbanism studio, founded in 1996 by Victor Gubbins and Pedro Gubbins. In 2017 Antonio Polidura joined Gubbins Arquitectos as a partner and created Gubbins + Polidura Arquitectos studio. The studio has materialized a great diversity of architecture projects; interventions on heritage architecture, single-family homes, housing complexes, office buildings, universities, colleges, soccer stadiums, sports and cultural centers, shopping centers and retail.

Some of GUBBINS POLIDURA ARQUITECTOS’s most prominent projects include:

Top image: Escuela Panguipulli by GUBBINS POLIDURA ARQUITECTOS, Panguipulli, Chile

The following statistics helped GUBBINS POLIDURA ARQUITECTOS achieve 3rd place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 5
Total Projects 5

2. MARSINO Arquitectura

© MARSINO Arquitectura

© MARSINO Arquitectura

Marsino is a practice of architects, designers, engineers and consultants based in Santiago with an office in Lima. We work together with clients and users to create special places where people want to live, work, learn and be.

Some of MARSINO Arquitectura’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped MARSINO Arquitectura achieve 2nd place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

A+Awards Winner 1
A+Awards Finalist 2
Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 5

1. 57studio

© 57STUDIO

© 57STUDIO

57STUDIO is an architecture office founded in 2002. Its two partners are Maurizio Angelini and Benjamín Oportot, both architects from the University of Chile. Their work has been published, exhibited and awarded around the world. In 2004, they won the XIV Chilean Architecture Biennale and were selected in the Chilean sample to exhibit at the IX Venice Biennale. In 2016 they win the First Prize of Casa FOA Chile and are awarded at the X BIAU Ibero-American Architecture Biennial. And in 2018 they won the Best Object Design Award from ED Magazine. His work seeks to maximize the relationship between the building and its context. This search is developed through a design process with a technical and constructive approach, harmoniously combining form, function and materials.

Some of 57studio’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped 57studio achieve 1st place in the 25 Best Architecture Firms in Chile:

Featured Projects 5
Total Projects 5

Why Should I Trust Architizer’s Ranking?

With more than 30,000 architecture firms and over 130,000 projects within its database, Architizer is proud to host the world’s largest online community of architects and building product manufacturers. Its celebrated A+Awards program is also the largest celebration of architecture and building products, with more than 400 jurors and hundreds of thousands of public votes helping to recognize the world’s best architecture each year.

Architizer also powers firm directories for a number of AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chapters nationwide, including the official directory of architecture firms for AIA New York.

An example of a project page on Architizer with Project Award Badges highlighted

A Guide to Project Awards

The blue “”+”” badge denotes that a project has won a prestigious A+Award as described above. Hovering over the badge reveals details of the award, including award category, year, and whether the project won the jury or popular choice award.

The orange Project of the Day and yellow Featured Project badges are awarded by Architizer’s Editorial team, and are selected based on a number of factors. The following factors increase a project’s likelihood of being featured or awarded Project of the Day status:

  • Project completed within the last 3 years
  • A well written, concise project description of at least 3 paragraphs
  • Architectural design with a high level of both functional and aesthetic value
  • High quality, in focus photographs
  • At least 8 photographs of both the interior and exterior of the building
  • Inclusion of architectural drawings and renderings
  • Inclusion of construction photographs

There are 7 Projects of the Day each week and a further 31 Featured Projects. Each Project of the Day is published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Stories, while each Featured Project is published on Facebook. Each Project of the Day also features in Architizer’s Weekly Projects Newsletter and shared with 170,000 subscribers.

 


 

We’re constantly look for the world’s best architects to join our community. If you would like to understand more about this ranking list and learn how your firm can achieve a presence on it, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at editorial@architizer.com.

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