portfolio grupo toma _ june/junio 2016

T O M APORTFOLIO

SANTIAGO DE CHILE June 2016

1INDEX

CONTENTSTOMA

ESPECULOPOLIS

LA SEDE

INFANTE#1: MONSTERS OF THE THREAD FACTORY

INFANTE#2: THE PATIO

EL COMEDOR

EL LABERINTO

LA OCUPACIÓN

...AND NAKED (YAP)

LA AZOTEA

COMEDOR

EXPLORACIONES URBANAS

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2TOMA

TOMA is a professional collective that has operated since 2012 in Santiago de Chile.

The office develops experimental and collective projects -action and research- in conflictive or forgotten territories in the contemporary neoliberal context, in order to generate alternative social ecosystems. Its practice is affected by the global stage of several massive crisis and social movements. Its production is self-managed, hands-on and constructed with scarce resources.

TOMA is currently is composed of 5 architects: Leandro Cappetto, Mathias Klenner, Eduardo Perez, Ignacio Rivas, and Ignacio Saavedra.

TOMA

PROFESSIONAL COLLECTIVE

grupotoma.org grupotoma.wordpress.com#grupotoma

3EXHIBITION / RESEARCH

ESPECULOPOLIS

FOUR SPECIFIC TERRITORIES FROM SANTIAGO DE CHILE

UTOPIA REMIXThe old socialist housing project “Villa San Luis”, demolished and turned into the business center “Nueva Las Condes”

THE WHITE ELEPHANT STORAGEThe dream of the largest public

medical facilities in Latin America, “Ochagavía Hospital”, is today being re-interpreted as a business and

logistics center, “Núcleo Ochagavía”

THE PLAQUE OF HISTORYFirst known as UNCTAD III, then

“Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center”, a former popular hub that after the coup became the headquarters of Pinochet’s dictatorship. Today

called “GAM”, a fashionable cultural facility with exclusive shops.

THE GENTRIFICATION FACTORYThe “Girardi hat factory,” partially demolished and converted into a chic innovation center, “Factoría Italia”.

THREE COLLECTIVE ACTIONS

CASES PARLIAMENTA discussion scene that relates the four case studies through historical facts and relevant

actors, building up a territorial cosmogony over the last 50 years.

SPECULATIVE TRIBUNEA collective newspaper, generated by the Especulópolis community. It

contains reflections on the contemporary city, declassified documents, comments about the biennial, speculations about possible post-neoliberal cities, photo reportages, etc. The newspaper will be launched on several occasions.

THE EVIDENCE BOARD AND ARCHIVEThe archive gathers information

detailing the history of neoliberalism in Santiago de Chile, and its

foundations around the world. The Evidence Board organizes this history and its manifestations

in the urban environment.

SEARCHING FOR THE TRACES OF URBAN NEOLIBERALISM***

SPECULATING ABOUT POSSIBLE POST-NEOLIBERAL URBAN SCENARIOS

The case study for ESPECULOPOLIS is Santiago de Chile, the neoliberal city par excellence, shaped by the thoughts of the “Chicago Boys”, a group of Chilean economists indoctrinated by Milton Friedman and Arnold Harberger at the University of Chicago, whose ideas became prominently influential during Pinochet’s dictatorship and still resonate deeply within

Chilean society today.

Collaborators: Simón Sepúlveda, Rocío Ibáñez, Ignacia Monardes, Laura Catra, Pedro Silva, Juan Pablo Klenner, Rayco Tejera, José Llano, Javier Rioseco, Milm2,

Liliana de Simone, Francisco Díaz, Rayna Razmilic, Raimundo Pérez.

Sponsorship: Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes de Chile,Universidad de las Américas de Chile.

In contemporary society, we see the results of the neoliberal model in our urban environment: segregation of the poor to the periphery of the city, deregulated urban growth of the city by the hands of private interests, privatization of all public services, rich uptown ghettos, trendy renovations of old buildings and the displacement of communities due to changes in land value.

We believe that the unique history of Santiago has much to communicate about the possible futures of other cities that have developed similarly. ESPECULOPOLIS exposes this historical process and offers an opportunity for open discussion and reflection.

ESPECULÓPOLIS will be active for two weeks accompanied by the presence of the members of TOMA, who will invite visitors, citizens and participants to take part in the development and improvement of this collective speculation.At the end of this period, ESPECULÓPOLIS will remain as an exhibition demonstrating an approach to the state of the art of urban speculation in Santiago and the cooperative and global production yielded during the two-week period of active engagement.

Period: Oct 2015 - Dec 2015

The case study for ESPECULOPOLIS is Santiago de Chile, the neoliberal city par excellence, shaped by the thoughts of the “Chicago Boys”, a group of Chilean economists indoctrinated by Milton Friedman and Arnold Harberger at the University of Chicago, whose ideas became prominently influential during Pinochet’s dictatorship and still resonate deeply within Chilean society today.

In contemporary society, we see the results of the neoliberal model in our urban environment: segregation of the poor to the periphery of the city, deregulated urban growth of the city by the hands of private interests, privatization of all public services, rich uptown ghettos, trendy renovations of old buildings and the displacement of communities due to changes in land value.

We believe that the unique history of Santiago has much to communicate about the possible futures of other cities that have developed similarly. ESPECULOPOLIS exposes this historical process and offers an opportunity for open discussion and reflection.

PROJECT FOR THE CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL

SEARCHING FOR THE TRACES OF URBAN NEOLIBERALISM.SPECULATING ABOUT POSSIBLE POST-NEOLIBERAL URBAN SCENARIOS.


ESPECULOPOLIS brought and exposed four specific territories from Santiago de Chile

Utopia RemixThe old socialist housing project “Villa San Luis”, demolished and turned into the business center “Nueva Las Condes”

The White Elephant StorageThe dream of the largest public medical facilities in Latin America, “Ochagavía Hospital”, is today being re-interpreted as a business and logistics center, “Núcleo Ochagavía”

The Plaque Of HistoryFirst known as UNCTAD III, then “Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center”, a former popular hub that after the coup became the headquarters of Pinochet’s dictatorship. Today called “GAM”, a fashionable cultural facility with exclusive shops.

The Gentrification FactoryThe “Girardi hat factory,” partially demolished and converted into a chic innovation center, “Factoría Italia”.


While TOMA stayed in Chicago, three collective actions were developed.

Cases ParliamentA discussion scene that relates the four case studies through historical facts and relevant actors, building up a territorial cosmogony over the last 50 years.

Speculative TribuneA collective newspaper, generated by the Especulópolis community. It contains reflections on the contemporary city, declassified documents, comments about the biennial, speculations about possible post-neoliberal cities, photo reportages, etc. The newspaper will be launched on several occasions.

The Evidence Board And ArchiveThe archive gathers information detailing the history of neoliberalism in Santiago de Chile, and its foundations around the world. The Evidence Board organizes this history and its manifestations in the urban environment.

FREE TO CHOOSE by TOMA

T H E

A R C H I V E

L E T T E R T O J O S E P H G R I M A A N D S A R A H H E R D A

D E C E M B E R 1 9

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H O W T O B U I L D A C O M M O N A G E N D Aa collective manifesto

Day #0: the research for Milton Friedman have began. The brigade google

his name and aware that, in fact, Milton has died. The research begins

with a false step. Others clues should be the guide for this adventure.

But is enough for today, we have to rest now, it has been a difficult day.

D I D Y O U K N O W T H AT. . . c a p i t a l i s m i s f r e e d o m a s l o n g a s y o u c a n p a y f o r i t .

E D I T O R I A L “...is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable.” Milton Friedman

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In 1949 Harry Truman was elected President of the US. In his inaugural speech he said: “We have to make the benefits of our technical knowledge and industrial advances for the improvement and growth of undeveloped areas”. The “Project Chile” began, and so did it the Milton Friedman training program for South American young economists at the University of Chicago.

In 1973 Augusto Pinochet and his army interrupted the Chilean democratic and socialist government of Salvador Allende, a group of young Chileans trained in free market policies in Chicago -the “Chicago Boys”- had the occasion to try out their lessons. El Ladrillo -The Brick- was the plan which guided a national economic experiment, with the support of the military dictatorship and the US government. The successful “neoliberal” model was exported, first to Argentina and then to others non-

Dear Joseph and Sarah, As you may know, between 2015-2016 there will be at least 37 Biennials related to the fields of architecture, design and arts in different cities across the world (Berlin, Boston, Bristol, Brno, Bucharest, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Detroit, Dubai, Gwangju, Houston, Ireland, Istanbul, Kochi, Kortrijk, Krakow, Lisbon, Liverpool, Łódź, London, Los Angeles, Ljubljana, Marrakech, Oslo, Portland, Prague, Rotterdam, Saint-Ettienne, Sao Paulo, Shenzhen, Skopje, St. Petersburg, Sydney, Tallinn, Valparaíso, Venice, Vienna).

Not only each one of these cities aims to promote itself as a place for innovation/[insert-your-cliché-here]/creativity—as if Biennials were the new way of putting cities in the map without hiring Gehry, Zaha or Calatrava—but also the curators of these biennials may surely want to propose an original/groundbreaking/novel point of view towards architecture/art/design—which is of course very refreshing for the discourse of our disciplines.

But if these 37 curatorial teams were right—and each of their proposals would really be a groundbreaking position—they would be changing the debate 37 times in two years; that is, a new point of view each 2.59 weeks. Considering this pace I was wondering, how can we really know that the actual state of the art of architecture won’t change in three weeks? What if what actually defines the state of art of architecture is precisely this anxiety to change the debate?

Thanks in advance for your response.And all the best from Santiago,

Francisco Díaz

O R T H E P L A N F O R A C O M M O N A G E N DA

C H I C A G O B O Y S

SPECULATIVE TRIBUNE #0F r i d a y , O c t o b e r 2 , 2 0 1 5

Among the huge number of people involved in installation work, a wedding takes half of the Chicago Cultural Center. Love and ar-chitecture live, for a while, under the same roof.

A group of young Colom-bians are building their structure, while some Australian enthusiasts try to decipher the neo-liberal code along the indopacific coast.

The SEARCH FOR MILTON FRIEDMAN begins.Where is he? What is he doing? Is he free to choose?

A B O U T S P E C U L A T I V E T R I B U N EThis periodic newspaper is part of the project ESPECULOPOLIS, developed by TOMA within the context of the Chicago Architecture Biennial between October 3, 2015 and 3 January 2016. This publication, as every action that takes place in ESPECULOPOLIS, is “Searching for the traces of the urban neoliberalism” and “Speculating about possible post neoliberal urban scenarios”. The editorial process is cumulative and collective. It works independently, as a critical instrument to the context in which it is inserted. The newspaper is a platform of collective reflection.

Each section of the newspaper is open to be produced by any interested person. These contributions can be made in person in Expo 72, 72 E. Randolph St. or through our email to [email protected] This publication is distributed for free. Printed editions are available and will be distributed in different locations of Chicago. At the time, the issues will be freely available online through various media.

# s p e c u l a t i v e t r i b u n e

THE MANIFESTO WAS PRODUCED THROUGH THE CONTRIBUTION OF 7 COLLABORATORS: LUIS FELIPE MAUREIRA (1), RODRIGO TORO (2), FRANCISCO VERGARA (3), BERNARDO VALDÉS (4), NICOLÁS VALENZUELA (5), PLAN COMÚN(6) AND JAVIER RÍOSECO (7)

democratic countries in South America, even to strong democracies with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as local partners. The success of the model was so great, that democracy returned to Chile and to the other countries in South America, and neoliberalism became a global political and social system.

But today we are in crisis. Our territories are in conflict and our communities are suffering. They have to leave their lands. They have to constantly move from one place to another. In their retreat they have to see others change the names of their neighbors and erase their territorial identities. They are the losers of this story of concentrated power and concentrated decisions.

It looks like anything can be done. It looks like we are not free to choose. We are confused, it´s not easy to know what to do and what we

do doesn’t work. Never is enough. We think that we should start all over again, from zero, but it looks impossible. We need to “develop alternatives to existing policies”. Collective alternatives.

The opportunity to use the Chicago Architecture Biennial as a instance to explore and discuss the actual situation of the relation between territory and communities, let us redirect the collective confusion to an open discussion about how architecture can be an active tool in the actual scene of disputes.

This newspaper is an invitation to debate ideas, to exchange experiences, to support actions, to make visible the conflicts. This is an opportunity to create together an alternative common agenda.

- Inhabitate is create. Wherever, and with whatever there’s available. 1 - We see the world as one single platform. As the universe of the local. Without frontiers there are no immigrants, only passers. 2

- We desire a human scale development. 3 - We consider the global ecosystem as the base of political participation, conscious of biological and cultural scales. - We give priority to the ecosystemic value of land over social collective value. In an even lower priority level there is familiar and individual value. 4

- The mastery of complexity will be necessary to break the capitalist cultural construction. - We need more and new institutions. Constituent power resides in the people and not in politicians or the elites. 7 - We only trust in beauty of chaos and the authentic. We understand the city as a creative collage, heterogeneous, spontaneous. 2 - Today’s cities are the supreme capitalist manifestation, on them, it’s contradictions and self destruction are hosted. 3

- We need to de merchandize architecture. Social transformation is urgent, and it compels us to concentrate on the revolutionary potential as antidote for neoliberalism crumbs. 6

- We will fight to bring public services back to the State. 5

- We shall consolidate real estate cooperatives for collective housing projects. 3 - We will take back the totality of military urban properties, for the production of integrated social housing. 5 - We will put an end to private interests on social housing. Land and projects must be managed by the State, with private participation on public tenders to promote efficiency and innovation. 5 - We trust in education on Architecture, geography and design regarding to the search of a new future social utopia. 3 - We want mixed culture, environmental equilibrium, distributed GDP. No more patriarchy, let’s de colonize. 7

- Throw them all out! We want new politicians. No more economists. Make the inheritance and business generated on dictatorship stop. 7

C A B - O U T

MIDDLE EASTRussia Carries Out Airstrikes in Syria for 2nd Day

REPORTING FROM THE LAKEFRONT

R E S I G N I F Y I N G by TOMA

Day #1: Today we continue the research a little later than we expected. In an exhausting night, the brigade visited the Crown Hall following the track of a student that informed having seen Milton eating pretzels in Mies building. We found the bag of pretzels but nothing inside.D I D Y O U K N O W T H A T . . . t r a f f i c l i g h t s a n d z e b r a c r o s s i n g s a r e a n t i n e o l i b e r a l

E D I T O R I A L

E L U S I V E M O D E R N I T Y : U N C T A D I I I

CRAC ValparaísoPaulina Varas – José Llano Loyola

S E A R C H I N G F O R M I L T O N F R I E D M A N

Architecture that reopens, changes its use and appearance, endures the passage of time and generations. Despite this, its structure remains. The UNCTAD III building in Santiago de Chile, built in 275 days during the socialist government of Salvador Allende was made to receive a United Nations conference on trade, commerce and development. After housing the conference it was transformed into a popular cultural center, with the largest dining room in the city, open and affordable to everyone. 1973: The coup strikes Chile and the building turns into the headquarters of the dictatorship. Democracy returns 17 years later, but the government constitution designed by the military remains, and the building keeps its aura of terror until a fire almost destroyed the entire structure: people in the streets celebrate its agony. The state decides

to reclaim its original cultural function, so they decide to cover its history with a thick layer of “corten steel”, and the building is reborn as GAM, the biggest cultural center in Chile, with exhibitions and plays from around the globe. Different political wills may share places, changing their use and significance: the skin can be transformed but in its structure the history remains.How long can a work of architecture remain? How many political wills can be sustained under the same infrastructure? Where does memory reside on a building, the skin or the core? We want to take a look at the possible articulation between the architectonic discipline and the political agenda when the very moment of the opening and reopening of a building arrives. The CAB opening could be a good occasion to do it.

In 2008, the boss decided to close our windows factory on Goose Island and fire everyone. In 2012, we decided to buy the factory for ourselves and fire the boss. We now own the plant together and run it democratically. This is our story.

In 2008, after many decades of operation, Republic Windows and Doors went bankrupt and was shut down. This seemed odd as the windows business appeared profitable. Meanwhile, members of the family business opened new windows factories in Chicago, hiring workers through temp agencies. They were also investigated by authorities over irregularities in their bankruptcy and were sued by banks over outstanding debts. It seemed the reason workers were losing their jobs might not be because they weren’t doing profitable work.

When the announcement to close the plant was made, the workers were told that their jobs would be terminated immediately, and that they would not be given their contractually obligated back pay or severance. While workers were being fired, banks were being bailed out for having taken on too much risk in the pursuit of profits. The workers decided to occupy the factory in protest, and the community came out in extraordinary numbers to support them.

The workers and the community won enough of this struggle to get the money that was owed to them. A new green construction company, Serious Energy, took control of the factory and partially reopened it. Things seemed to have turned around.

Unfortunately, Serious Energy’s business plan, which only involved the windows factory in a tertiary role, never functioned, and the company had to severely cut back on its operations, including closing the factory. Once again, the workers, despite their profitable work, found themselves being sacrificed in a financial game they did not control.

Everyone decided enough was enough. If we want to keep quality manufacturing jobs in our communities, perhaps we should put in charge those who have the most at stake in keeping those jobs — the workers. The plan to start a new worker owned cooperative business began.

Today, we are putting that new cooperative business together, and we have decided to call it New Era, as we hope it will be an inspiration for how future jobs can be created in America. Everyone can participate in building the economy we all want, and no one should be treated as temporary or just raw material for someone else’s business.

We have built the highest quality windows ever made in Chicago, ones that are soundproof and extremely energy efficient, meaning they are both green and save money. Our windows will be the best on the market at prices no one can beat.

Sales aim to begin early 2013. We are striving to support our community, to keep quality jobs in America, and make our economy stronger. Please support us and check out our windows. We know you’ll love them, and please recommend them to a friend if you do.

Extracted from “Our Story” of New Era Cooperative

Between June 1971 and April 1972, during the government of the socialist president Salvador Allende, a building was erected in Santiago de Chile to hold the United Nations Congress on Trade and Development (UNCTAD III).

The building’s history is driven by a number of social and political “facts” that go across the singular and the collective. The dialectic relation between functionalism and modernism became reflected through the role of the CORMU (Urban Enhancement Corporation) and the policies of the CORVI (Housing Corporation), in the design of a new conception of urban space, strongly influenced by the Bauhaus and the CIAM principles. This also happened from the ideological aspect – development and modernization – by the CEPAL (Public Studies Center for Latin America) and CORFO (Production Development Corporation). The material history of UNCTAD III splits reality, which is to say that the political, economic and symbolic events superimposes over it. By understanding events as an historic singularity – in relation to memory of site and building – it is then possible to break into present, redefining a genealogic dimension as a platform from where our paths can be traced. Activating and naming the experience of inhabiting and going through the memory of the UNCTAD III proposes an expression of resistance to oblivion for the construction of a new present, a way to reside out of an objectified language. This is why interrogating this singularity and bringing up matters of belonging on an “us” or “formulating the problem of the community we are part of ”, would allow us to understand and take up a critic ontology on spaces of discourse – of memory - , and discourses of space – produced and conceived – que would differentiate and introduce a “current us”.

Atlanta - Groups of protesters continued trying to interrupt the closed-door meetings.

The Crown Hall was one of the selected places to the Fridays parties.

Architecture parties are not something really funny... and in a Mies building...

The party was, actually, boring, until a bag of pretzel fell onto the granite floor. The particular combination between both materials generated the perfect conditions to dance in circle and demonstrate that architecture is not so boring. The party is over, but the pretzel continues there... thank you Mies for the party.

SPECULATIVE TRIBUNE #1S a t u r d a y , O c t o b e r 3 , 2 0 1 57 2 E . R a n d o l p h S t r e e t , C h i c a g o I L


Each section of the newspaper is open to be produced by any interested person. These contributions can be made in person in Expo 72, 72 E. Randolph St. or through our email to [email protected] This publication is distributed for free. Printed editions are available and will be distributed in different locations of Chicago. At the time, the issues will be freely available online through various media.


REPORTING FROM THE LAKEFRONT

SEND YOUR REPLICA TO [email protected] OR COME TO 72 E. RANDOLPH STREET, CHICAGO IL

C A B - O U T

REOPENINGARCHITECTUREREOPENINGARCHITECTURE

The first stage of the construction is ready. The workers, architects, engineers, artists,

signers and politicians involved in the project are having a big lunch in the street

in front of the building.

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The Coup D´Etat marked the end of the cultural life of the building. The military

government uses this place as headquarter, after the bombing to La Moneda, the

government palace.

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The United Nation Congress of Trade and Development arrives to Chile. Salvador Allende must show an alternative way to undeveloped countries. The building is

build especially for this occasion.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Sarah Herda and Joseph Grima in one of

the Chicago Architectural Biennial openings.

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After a mysterious fire occurs in the building, the night before the opening an earthquake occurs. Bachelet’s opening was

canceled.

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The UNCTAD III building becomes a cultural center for popular culture. People of different social classes use together this

enormous building.

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A powerful earthquake makes suspend the original inauguration. Finally, the

first democratic right-wing government inaugurates the building like an exclusive

cultural center.

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“Here is wHat we Have to offer you in its most elaborate form -- confusion guided by a clear

sense of purpose.” gordon matta-clark

N E W E R A W I N D O W S C O O P E R A T I V E

N E G OT I A T I O N S O N T R A N S -

PA C I F I C T R A D E PA C T A R E

E X T E N D E D

WHEN SUPERMAN CAME TO POWER, THE SOVIET UNION ALLIANCES WERE FRAGILE. TWO DECADES AFTER, THE

WHOLE WORLD IS OUR ALLY.

ONLY THE UNITED STATES AND CHILE REMAIN

INDEPENDENT. THE LAST TWO ECONOMIES OF THE

EARTH, BOTH ON THE VERGE OF FISCAL AND

SOCIAL COLLAPSE.

1 2 3 4 5 6

F R E E D O M T O C H O O S E

T H E P L A Q U E O F H I S T O R Y , T H E S C H I Z O P H R E N I C L I F E O F T H E U N C T A D B U I L D I N G

Day #5: the brigade fol lowed a trai l to Cabrini Green. Among abandoned buildings, empty blocks and new buildings under construction, Mil ton Friedman didn’t appear. Robert Taylor Homes, said a neighbor, could be a better place to continue the pursue. The brigade ends a new day, without further f indings.

D I D Y O U K N O W T H AT. . . a r c h i t e c t s h i t i n t o p a r t i e s a n d t h e n r u n h o m e

S E A R C H I N G F O R M I L T O N F R I E D M A N

V I L L A S A N L U I S

SPECULATIVE TRIBUNE #2W e d n e s d a y , O c t o b e r 7 , 2 0 1 57 2 E . R a n d o l p h S t r e e t , C h i c a g o I L


Each section of the newspaper is open to be produced by any interested person. These contributions can be made in person in Expo 72, 72 E. Randolph St. or through our email to g r u p o t o m a @ g m a i l . c o m This publication is distributed for free. Printed editions are available and will be distributed in different locations of Chicago. At the time, the issues will be freely available online through various media.


DEMOLISHED U T O P I A S

Pruitt-Igoe (Architect: Minoru Yamasaki). First occupied 1954. Demolished March 16, 1972.

V IL L A SAN L UIS

“M y ne ig hb or s have turned ag a ins t me b ec ause I d id no t want t o se l l , b u t I am a woman o f war, I f i g h t . I have never asked a any th ing fo r f ree , b u t I d id ask fo r a c hanc e to have an op p or tun i t y, and when A l lend e c ame he sa id tha t here they wou ld b u i ld hous ing fo r wor ker s , b ec ause here we a l l l i ved in c amp s : nann ies , g ard ener s , wor ker s , then A l lend e thoug ht tha t we need ed to s tay c lose to our wor k b ec ause tha t a l l owed us to take c are o f our

c h i ld ren . Tha t was a soc ia l p o l i c y o f imp rovement tha t I resp ec t ”

Ana , San L u is H ous ing c omp lex ’ l as t inhab i tan t in 2014 .

C ABRINI GRE E N

“One ear l y morn ing w i th my husb and watc h ing over me , I ven tured in to the d emol i t i on s i te . We wa lked in to an inner c our ty ard sur round ed b y two b u i ld ing s in p roc ess o f b e ing d emol ished and one tha t was s t i l l i nhab i ted . Onc e we were in the c our ty ard , a l l o f

my pe rce p t i o ns a bo u t Ca br i n i Gre e n cha nge d . I t wa s to o e a r l y f o r the c re ws to ha ve s ta r te d the b u l ldo ze rs pa rke d a ro und the s i t e . I t wa s qu i e t . I sa w a ch i ld c om e o u t o f the a c t i ve bu i ld i ng , c ross a p laygro und a nd he a d for the scho o l l o ca te d i n the c our tya rd . I l o o ke d up a nd sa w h is m o the r wa tch i ng h i m f ro m he r w i ndo w e nsur i ng h i s sa fe ar r i va l t o scho o l . Be i ng i ns i de o f the co ur tya rd I co u ld se e wha t I ha d no t be e n a b le to a l l the t i m e s I ha d dr i ve n pa s t i t . Th i s wa s som e o ne ’s co nce p t o f a u to p i a .

In a d i f f e re n t t i m e , so m e o ne ha d tho ught tha t th i s de s i gn wo u ld pro m o te a se nse o f co m m uni t y. Tha t i t wo u ld ca use i t s re s i de n ts to re l y o n e a ch o the r to e x i s t a nd to s t r i ve fo r a be t te r l i f e . Th i s i s no t wha t ha ppe ne d , bu t s ta nd i ng the re , i n a p la ce o n ly 4 b lo cks f ro m whe re I ha d l i ve d m y e n t i re l i f e bu t a s a l i e n to m e a s the sur fa ce o f the m o o n , I co u ld f i na l l y se e the se nse be h i nd the se fa i l e d p la ns . ”

Ex t ra c te d f ro m a le t te r wr i t t e n by Je nn i fe r Gre e nburg i n 2011 .

SEND YOUR REPLICA TO [email protected] OR COME TO 72 E. RANDOLPH STREET, CHICAGO IL

Lack of respect, though less aggressive than an outright insult, can take an equally wounding form. No insult is offered another person, but neither is recognition extended; he or she is not see as a full human being whose presence matters. When a society treats the mass of people in this way, singling out only a few for recognition, it creates a scarcity of respect, as though there were not enough of this precious substance to go round. Like many famines, this scarcity is man-made: unlinke food, respect cost nothing. Why the should it be in short supply?

Sennet, respect in a world of inequality, 2003

T H E D R I F T

C A B R I N I G R E E NO C T O B E R 4 , 2 0 1 5

E D I T O R I A L

Utopia is a pristine and radical idea, an idealized idea. The term itself stands in direct opposition to realization, to material existence. The actual construction of a utopia is effectively its destruction.

It is a result of this interaction that those whom we know as utopian architects (from Piranesi to Ledoux, from Boullée to the 60s avant-garde groups) could not establish their oeuvre very far from its theoretical form.

However, actual cit ies are made of fragments of utopias, of partial truths. Within the urban framework, conflicts and consensus of individuals nest up, and many zeitgeists coincide. In their territories, the battle of thoughts and beliefs clash in combat: their physical manifestations and the shapes of their organizations witness and express this divergence, opposition, overlaying, juxtaposition and/or coexistence. In some cases, these exchanges evolve and find resolution in an organic manner, often accompanied by a tacit social agreement and by the grace of t ime. In other scenarios, the encounter is abrupt, violent, annihilating and traumatic.

Perhaps because the city accommodates this convergence of such a great number of ideas, a utopia

U N R E A L I Z A T I O N b y T O M A

is not able to exist in it . The utopia is exclusionary, and ultimately it can either ignore what already exists or destroy it .

Let´s not deceive ourselves: the utopian vision of Cabrini Green and racial inclusion in Chicago, or of Villa San Luis and social class mixture in Santiago have both experienced rather disappointing outcomes and the patterns of exclusion were far from reversed. Instead, these housing complexes consolidated as ghettos, crystalizing a grievous paradigm.

Then, we could say that only through their demolition, on their material disappearance from reality that these projects would finally afford the opportunity to consolidate as utopias. They could not f ind their place in this world nor fit into its reality. By their demolition, they can return their ideal state: that of the immaterial. The long agony of Villa San Luis and Cabrini Green is about to come to an end, to become again unobjectual: what was previously as an idea will later become as a memory. In this non-physical state, prior to birth and after death, the utopia cannot be demolished.

C A B R I N I G R E E N R E D E V E L O P M E N T

RADICAL INSTITUTIONS De m o cra cy a nd go ve rnm e nt a s the pra c t i ce o f co ns t ruc t i o n o f ne w so c i a l re a l i t i e s – e xpre sse d by the Un i da d Po pu la r, the Ch i le a n so c i a l i s t go ve rnm e nt ba ck i n the e a r l y seve n t i e s- m a rks the a ppa r i t i o n a nd t ra ns fo rm a t i o n o f p ro fe ss i o na l pr i n t m e d i a , wh i ch g i ve a n a cco un t o f the o b je c t i ve s a nd pro je c ts m a de by go ve rnm e nta l i ns t i tu t i o ns tha t he ld a ra d i ca l p ro gra m . Am o ng the se e xpe r i e nce s , o f g re a t i m po r ta nce a re : the pre fa br i ca t i o n a s ho us i ng so lu t i o n , the i n te gra t i o n o f de s i gn w i th pro ce sse s o f deve lo pm e nt fo cuse d o n i ndus t r i a l i za t i o n , a nd the re o rga n i za t i o n o f the

Excerpt from the letter written in 2008 by the architect Miguel Lawner to Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, denying the information about the housing project of the Villa San Luis.

THE SAD STORY OF THE VILLA SAN LUIS

The Villa San Luis was built by the CORMU -Urban Improvement Corporation- during the government of the President Salvador Allende to meet the housing needs of homeless in the area. 1038 apartments in blocks of 4 or 5 stories were handed from April to March 1973. All beneficiary families comply with the requirements requested by the government.

After the military coup, the families began to be evicted by the army without a good reason. About five thousand compatriots were deprived from one of the most essential human rights: the right of housing. Some were transferred to old institutional housing of the army, and others simply thrown into

L E T T E R F R O M M I G U E L L A W N E R

pastures away from the city. The eviction ended in 1978. Only 100 families were able to avoid the military eviction and continued living in their apartments.

In 1997 the Army sold the land and homes of the Villa San Luis to a real state company, publicly announcing that the transaction amounted to the sum of 80 million dollars. Inexplicably, the Ministry of National Assets has not challenged the sale: the Army was not authorized to use the land for purpose other than institutional.

Consequently, the source of the current conflict resides in the unjustif ied and cruel dispossession of which a thousand of Chileans have been victims during the military dictatorship, and the complacency of the democratic governments, who allowed the Army to sell the land.

Miguel Lawner, ex Executive Director, CORMU (1970-1973)

s ta te a ppa ra tus ba se d o n na t i o na l i za t i o n a nd fo cuse d o n urba n a nd ho us i ng pro gra m s.

I t co u ld be sa i d tha t , un l i ke o the r co n te x ts whe re a c l i m a te o f so c i a l o ppre ss i o n co rne re d the fo rce s o f t ra ns fo rm a t i o n o n ly i n the spa ce o f u to p i a , i n Ch i le , th i s t ra ns fo rm a t i o n wa s pu t i n pra c t i ce , wh i ch le d to the ra d i ca l i za t i o n o f the i ns t i tu t i o ns a nd the i ns t i tu t i o na l i za t i o n o f the ra d i ca l .

Extracted from “Introduction.” In “Editar Para Transformar“ edited by Fernando Portal and Pablo Brugnoli . 1st ed. Santiago: Capital Books, 2015.

6EXPERIMENTAL WORKSHOP

LA SEDEPeriod: Oct 2015 - Dec 2015

The school of Architecture of UDLA (Universidad de las Americas) commissioned TOMA to lead a new infrastructural intervention at the rooftop of its campus in the district of Providencia, Santiago de Chile. The project scope was to develop a space for creation, recreation and experimentation for the students from all disciplines. The intervention is intended to house various programs and uses and also to foster further cultural development; generating a community gathering space or a prototype laboratory are two such possible outcomes of the project.

THE HEADQUARTERS EXPERIMENTAL WORKSHOP


Toma developed a workshop consisting of two stages: Imaginary and Community Linkage, and Design and Construction.

During the first stage, the students approached the project through different perspectives: The Utopy, the Matter and the Community. The group got to a definition of the program and a first design through a number of activities and products; surveys, models, a theater play, a public event, a Manifesto, etc.

As the first stage finished, the program was defined: The Students Headquarters, a place made by and for them, an infrastructure that aims to trigger a new empowered organization.

In the second phase, the students designed and built the Headquarters, stablished the protocols of its functioning and presented the project to the community.

9IDENTITY

INFANTE 1415 _ #1Period: Jul 2015 - Sep 2015

In 2014, the local government of Providencia, Santiago de Chile, acquired a central plot of land which included two buildings formerly part of a Thread factory that were of historical value. After years of underuse, the facilities would be rehabilitated to preserve their original productive purpose, but the program would take a new direction; Infante 1415 would become the first public Creation Factory in Chile, a government sponsored cultural center to encourage the creative activities of the local community.

Within this framework, TOMA was commissioned to develop the furniture as part of the refurbishment of Infante 1415. It was necessary that the proposal addressed both functional and symbolic issues, as it was a basic requirement to provide space for a wide range of activities and uses which could integrate the new space into the community.

THE MONSTERS OF THE THREAD FACTORY

10IDENTITY

The MONSTRUITOS DE LA HILANDERIA furniture series developed for this project explores two basic principles: the reclamation of found materials from the factory and the application of simple construction techniques. Through these two approaches, a series of objects were created, each piece formed as a unique individual, an inhabitant of the space.

11IDENTITY

12COMMUNITY

INFANTE 1415 #2

THE PATIO Period: Nov 2015 - Jan 2015

A few months after the opening, the local government of Providencia commissioned Toma to participate in a second phase of the rehabilitation of the Infante 1415 Creation Factory. This time we were tasked with transforming the exterior space of the factory into a patio.

The central approach for the Patio phase was the inclusion of the members of the local community into the design and construction process. As in the first phase, the scope of the project transcended the structural requirements. The most essential part of the project was the development and strengthening of the local community, a group of empowered neighbors who would be able to organize, appropriate and make decisions over the territory.

13COMMUNITY

For the process of cultivating this community, the first task was to render the planning process completely open and visible. A series of expository devices were employed to reveal the decisions, resources and reflections of the group. It is in this method where the project expresses its political dimension, as an active condition of the citizens’ ability to democratize public resources and processes.

In the same manner, the design and building processes are open and inclusive, allowing active participation of all interested individuals. In that sense, the materialization of the project is understood as a tool for the locals to claim full ownership over the process as a method to boost self-organization and self-management of the community..

14COMMUNITY

15COMMUNITY

16TEMPORARY INFRASTRUCTURE

Period: 2013-14

The second headquarter of the collective: TOMA, was in the Communitary Cultural Center Milm2 inside the cultural factory: Factoría Italia, this project responds to the necessity of a reunion place inside the cultural factory.

The project proposes a temporary dinning room which can be used in different contexts. It was composed by a textil cover, modular furniture and an aerial garden.

EL COMEDOR

TEMPORARY PUBLIC DINING ROOM


El Comedor, functioned as a reunion place and dining room, during september 2013 to february 2014, for the people who worked inside Factoría Italia.

It also was used as a backup infrastructure for fairs, music concerts, political meetings and art exhibitions inside the Cultural Center.

Because of its adaptability, the project was also used for a fair in a public park in the center of Santiago as a pic-nic cover. And finally its structure was replicated for covering a playground inside the Museo Interactivo Mirador (MIM) located at the south of Santiago.

20URBAN INTERVENTION

EL LABERINTO

LABYRINTH FOR THE HECHO EN CASA FESTIVAL OF URBAN INTERVENTIONS.

Period: December 2013

The Hecho en Casa Festival of urban interventions launches an open competition every year. We developed one of the selected projects.

We choosed an specific site, a residual place from the urban transportation projects, a place with no use, abandoned in the center of the city. A few blocks from one of the biggest open markets of Santiago La Vega and a few steps from one of the largest Cultural Centers in the city Estacion Mapocho.


The project proposes a labyrinth, made of modular wooden frame panels covered by a red translucid plastic. The labyrinth is the only architecture without a function, a place to get lost, and works as an irony for the city and its complex configuration which leaves residual places all over the town. One of those places which is transformed into a place of mistery, game, trap, desorientation, loneliness and reunion along side a regular crosswalk.

24COLLECTIVE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT

LA OCUPACIÓN

THE OCCUPATIONAN OCCASIONAL CITY

Period: January 2014

La Ocupación (The Occupation) was a project developed by TOMA and MilM2, which ocurred in january 2014 in the Cultural Center MilM2 in the Italia neighborhood of Santiago.

It was an exercise of temporary occupation which pretended to figure out different ways of collaboration, building an occasional city with the objective of producing new forms of collectiveness.

It functioned day and night from 5-11 of january 2014, with a continous program.

It was a collective space of action and reflection, which researched about new possibilities on the common action.

The figure of the occasional city was constructed by the occupation of two warehouses, an exhibition room and a backyard, occupied by eight institutions developed by different collectives.


The Institutions were:

1. The Press Room: Developed by Pablo Brugnoli, Francisco Díaz and Rayna Razmilic. It produced five numbers of an independent newspaper inside the occupation. Interviewing different experts about problems of collectiveness and cooperativeness.2. The Nocturnal University: Developed by CAPA. It produced several chats about architecture, urbanism and participation.3. The World: Developed by José Abasolo y Juan Pablo Corvalán. Functioned as an art Installation with luminic and sound interventions during the night meetings.4. The Sanatorium: Developed by Andrea Moro y Eduardo Saubidet. It produced different workshops about alternative methods of healing.5. The Music House: Developed by Do-Ce-Na, Cristóbal Martínez and Macarena Ovalle. It produced a continuos music improvisation, with different workshops and guests.6. The Bakery: Developed by Rodrigo Tisi. Functioned as a participative project, linking the neighbors with the project.7. The Identitorium: Developed by Pedro Sepúlveda and Elias Santis. Functioned as a recopilation of the identity and image of the project.8. The Dining Room: Developed by TOMA and MilM2.

The Dining Room.

The Sanatorium.


The Identitorium.

The Music House.

The Nocturnal University.

The Press Room.


The World.

The World.

The Identitorium.

28ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION

www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/yap/2014santiago_TOMA.html

...AND NAKED

SELECTED PROJECT FOR THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS PROGRAM (YAP) SANTIAGO 2014, ORGANIZED BY THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, MoMA/PS1 AND CONSTRUCTO.

Period: 2014

Assignment: Develop of an outdoor installation in the Araucano Park in Santiago de Chile.

The project develops as a continuos research in our work: How to build cities in another ways?

The proposal is a story, a tale about a place, between the real and the utopic, between the pain and the game which tries to unmask hidden histories and set free the imagination.

Activate a place is not only make it habitable is also make it speak. And this place the Araucano Park, in front of the remains of the utopic socialist housing project Villa San Luis of the Allende’s goverment, beneath the towers of the new economic district of Nueva Las Condes and near from Kidzania, has a lot of histories to tell.

PLANTA 1ESCALA 1:100

PLANTA 2ESCALA 1:100


The project recovers traces from the history of the context, from its future, present and past.

The facade of the Villa San Luis housing project is used as a support of the project in the ground, above this broken and reconstructed facade appears eight wooden characters, between bridges and plataforms, who builds observation points and places for discussion about our future cities.

An observatory that rises above the theater of the city, to look from another perspective.

AXONOMETRICA DESPLEGADAESCALA 1:200

REVESTIMIENTOpino cepillado 1x4”

ESTRUCTURA pino seco cepillado 2x4”

PISOpino seco cepillado 1x4”

BARANDApino seco cepillado 2x4”

PILARES COMPUESTOSpino seco cepillado 4x4”

VIGASpino seco cepillado 1x4”

PIEZASadobe compactado con moldaje de madera

POZOS DE AGUAimpermializados con polietileno


The Wooden Characters.

32ACTION-RESEARCH PROJECT

http://proyectolaazotea.blogspot.com

LA AZOTEA

THE ROOFTOP A COMMUNITARY LABORATORYACTION-RESEARCH PROJECT

Period: 2014

Associated Collaborators: School of Architecture of the Universidad Finnis Terrae, School of Architecture of the Universidad de Chile, Denise Elphick and Diana Santiago Cultural Center.

La Azotea (The Rooftop) was a project developed by TOMA between march to september of 2014, which occupied a part of an old monastery with a communitary laboratory which tried to research about how to think and construct our future cities. The Rooftop would be built as an occasional city, a urban utopia in the San Diego district in the downtown of Santiago de Chile.

The development of the project occurred in the abandoned rooftop of the Blessed Sacrament ex-monastery, inside the cultural center Diana Santiago, an incipient cultural space. The Rooftop reached only a preliminary development, being interrupted because of difficulties with owner of the cultural center.


During the seven months of work different groups and entities made acts of territorial research, citizen participation, architectural workshops and cultural activities.

The School of Architecture of the Universidad Finnis Terrae (UFT) leaded by the architect Pablo Brugnoli and TOMA, made a research project called La colaboración en la construcción de espacios temporales which investigated all the actions that occurred inside The Rooftop project and the urban and social context around it . This research was made with the students of the school of architecture in a workshop called Territorial Reorganizations, where the students developed territorial researches, urban interventions and finally a exposure of the research which included a theater play about the district.

The project also included the participation of the 4th year design studio course of the School of Architecture of the Universidad de Chile (UCH), leaded by the architect Rodrigo Toro and TOMA. The students developed different projects for the rooftop of the ex-monastery and finally they builded two wooden installation on the roof.

For funding the implementation of The Rooftop, TOMA along with DIANA SANTIAGO produced several cultural activities, including communitary meals, concerts and dissertations about the project.

Toro’s design studio course wooden installations. UCH. Students working in one of the wooden installation. UCH.


Territorial Reorganizations Workshop, preliminary research. UFT.Comunitary meal and music concert for funding The Rooftop. Diana Santiago.

Students working in one of the wooden installation. UCH.


Students in the Workshop organized by TOMA and the UFT. Territorial Reorganizations Workshop, theater play about the district. UFT.

Comunitary meal and music concert for funding The Rooftop. Diana Santiago.Territorial Reorganizations Workshop, students dissertation. UFT.


COMEDOR

DINING ROOM URBAN INTERVENTION AND MEMORY RECOVERY PROJECT.

Period: September 2014

Associated Collaborators: Denise Elphick (cultural manager), Patricio Garcés (chef), Sergio Benavente (administrator) and GAM (Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center)

Dining room is a project of temporary occupation of the central plaza of the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center (GAM), the largest public cultural center in Santiago de Chile. This urban intervention proposes the appropiation of this space as a citizen, communitary and festive place.

Dining room is proposed as a recovery action of the memory of the building -current GAM, originally the UNCTAD III (United Nations Conference of Trade and Development 1972) then Gabriela Mistral Metropolitan Cultural Center 1972-73 and then Diego Portales (Pinochet dictatorship headquarters 1973-90)- specifically of the dining room which functioned in the original cultural center from august 1972 to september 1973 when the socialist democratic government of Salvador Allende was terminated by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. This cultural center represented the ideals and hopes of the first socialist government in Chile, and the dining room was the hearth of this space where artists, thinkers and workers who believed in this project met together.


Dinner Table x12, Large Bench x16, Short Bench x16.

The Ticket Office The Kiosk The mobile Table

The Kitchen, made of 12 modular wooden panels.


The project links the food and the culture as ritual practices associated to meeting, conversation and exchange. So the memory recovery appears as a link between a temporary community and a public space.

Dining room opened its door for the first time in September 2014, and remained in operation for five weeks. More than 7.000 of traditional chilean food dishes were served and more than 35.000 people used its infrastructure. The Dining Room also received music concerts, lectures about the building and an art installation. At the end of the project was agreed with GAM that the infrastructure will remain in the central plaza for resting, meeting and assembly of the regular users of the center.

This project is based in the original Dining Room project developed by TOMA in Factoria Italia and in the communitary meals occurred in The Rooftop project in Diana Santiago cultural center.

Photograph of the original public Dining Room in the GAM, 1972.

Chilean Folk music concert and dancing in the Dining Room.Proyecto Pregunta, art installation for citizen participation by Milm2 in the DR.

40UNIVERSITY PROGRAM / RESEARCH

EXPLORACIONES URBANAS

URBAN EXPLORATIONS (EXU)INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLECTIVE

Urban Explorations is an interdisciplinary collective who operates in Santiago de Chile. It develops urban territorial research through walking as a research tool, imparting classes and workshops in several universities.

Current Members:Camila KuncarJimena HeviaMathias Klenner (TOMA)Ignacio Saavedra (TOMA)Maria José ArayaPablo BustamantePauline Claramunt

http://exploracionesurbanas.blogspot.com/

Exploraciones Urbanas students from the UCH, second semester 2014. El Pajonal, Maipú Santiago de Chile.


The Urban Exploration collective was formed in 2013 and from the beginning it has imparted lectures in different universities, where the students have become part of the researches made by walking.

Since the second semester of 2013 until today the EXU collective has taught an alternative lecture in the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Universidad de Chile (UCH). This course mix theoretical lessons with walks through the city with a research objective determined by the students. The final examination is a collective exposure of the research made by the students, usually this research becomes into an experimental cartography.

This lecture was also dictated during the first semester of 2014 in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture of the Universidad de las Artes y las Comunicaciones (UNIACC) and in the School of Architecture of the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM).

EXU also has made several public walkings with specific routes of research, linking public institutions with peripheral neighborhoods.

Mixed Territories Walk with students from UCH, UNIACC and UTEM, first semester 2014. Mapocho river, Santiago de Chile.

Walk from the Museo Salvador Allende to the Victoria Village, Santiago 2013.


...walk across the city, observe it, dive into it by those diffused places that are unnoticed, break into the urban voids, in those parts where the city is dispersed, where it becomes meaningless, reveal the fractures in the architecture of the city, challenge the normal relations between the public and the private space, just walking in the city becomes a political act that allows to rethink the relation between power and public space.

Explore the urban environment without time or direction restrictions could be, in its political condition, a subversive response to late capitalism that promotes passivity prior to the active participation of citizens with their environment, and at the same time it seems as an act of nostalgia to our nomadic past...

...Urban Explorations invites to rethink how we construct and study our urban areas from the act of walking, from its speed and its scale, and also invites to think in another way of living that opposes to the privatization of an enviroment that belongs to all the citizens...

Final Exam, EXU students from UCH, UNIACC and UTEM. First semester 2014. Final Examination of the EXU course in the UCH, second semester 2014.

First exercise with the students of the second semester 2014 of the UCH.

44

MORE INFORMATION:grupotoma.wordpress.com

TOMASantiago, Chile

[email protected]

portfolio grupo toma _ june/junio 2016

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