Patio 29 Memorial

Santiago, Chile

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Patio 29 Memorial

Santiago, Chile

Firm

Memopolis

Type

Cultural ›

YEAR

2010

Location: Cementerio General, Santiago de Chile.Plot size: 3600 m2Built area: 550 m2Year of project: 2008Year of construction: 2010Main materials: 3032 pieces of precast concretePatio 29, located on the northern end of the General Cemetery, is a place where bodies of victims of State repression were hidden. However, Patio 29 also became one of the first places of resistance against the regime, thanks to its being a sheltered public space.The project sought to protect the original state of the site-monument, while at the same time framing, differentiating and highlighting Patio 29 with respect to its surroundings. Forming a large “L” that touches the East and North of the monument, the memorial is configured as a platform. It is the only projected material intervention. It was decided not to intervene the inside of the polygon of the Patio, contrasting the site through the frame and thus taking advantage of its own symbolic eloquence.The narrowest part of the memorial, in the North-South direction, the memorial is a simple walkway; in the East-West direction, however, it gains amplitude and height due to the lowering of the ground and the distance from the street, which transform the plinth into a stage and a stand. Towards the North end, the memorial transforms into a great staircase, which, due to the positioning of its pieces, becomes a place to stop. In front of the South face of Patio 29, the plinth is vertically cut, which allows for two ways to approach the monument: the seats, spaces for reflection and rest, and the voids, placed to allow mourners to leave their offerings. Finally, the square with the sound sculptures is the only place that maintains the natural ground level. Its aural sculptures and benches make it a place for users' actions, both with respect with the music as well as during potential cultural activities. The whole memorial is made up by 3032 equal pieces of precast concrete, especially made for Patio 29. The pieces, which measure 78 cm by 28 cm and are 15 cm tall, are parallel in their long sides and angular in their width. The angles of the piece are a geometric solution that responds to the angles of the perimeter of the plot. The surface of the pieces is made up by a faceted mesh produced through a CNC system, which in the full horizontal plane of the memorial, resembles a slightly rough sea. Therefore, the Patio 29 Memorial is a monumental plinth made up by a single piece, but at the same time it is a simple urbanized sidewalk with a material quality that differentiates it from its surroundings, contrasting with and highlighting the monument that it frames.