Housing Explorations. Unidad Vecinal Portales in Santiago

Abstract

This article explores the contribution of Unidad Vecinal Portales – built in Santiago de Chile by the studio Bresciani, Valdés, Castillo y Huidobro – to the debates on social housing in Chile between the 1940s and 1960s. A series of radical decisions, put into action in the complex, demonstrate a deep exploration at the urban, typological, and aesthetic levels. This exploration has given life to an important case study in Chile and Latin- America, where urban and architectural challenges of the second half of the 20th century blend harmoniously.