With a national and international call for proposals, the search begins for the architectural offices that will design a space of the highest standard for the city of Viña del Mar, which will be transformed into a multifunctional green area in the future neighborhood. The assignment is to design a large park in a strategic location in the city, with the purpose of becoming an important work of integration; an open space, for public use and accessible to all, a place for social, cultural, sporting and educational gatherings. As a result of the Urban Dialogues that Las Salinas developed with communities interested in the subject, the company expanded the hectares of parkland included in the Master Plan for the future neighborhood, moving from a civic plaza to a green recreational area. The next step was to define and organize the best way to develop the project: a competition open to architecture offices worldwide, but always accompanied by a local office, in order to obtain different views, but respecting the identity and culture of the people of Viña del Mar. says Esteban Undurraga, Development Manager of ILS. This competition encompasses ideas of sustainability, operation, territorial integration, connection; a democratic space for exchange and efficient operation, which is at the heart of a strategy of territorial integration and socio-economic integration. In addition, it will establish a biological connection with the wild environments of the region, thanks to the use of native flora, generating mobility of all types of organisms, allowing the regeneration of the native ecosystem, being a strategy to better cope with the effects of climate change. Although the competition seeks the design for the specific area of the central park of Barrio Las Salinas, this will be a space that should allow the connection between the hill and the sea, through the new 19 North promenade that Las Salinas is also developing at the preliminary design level. says Esteban Undurraga, Development Manager of ILS. Participating teams should include professionals from diverse specialties: architects, landscape architects, biologists, water infiltration specialists, structural engineers, etc. They must be multidisciplinary teams to technically support the design proposal. The composition of the jury is fundamental to attract good participants. It incorporates renowned architects and specialists with experience in the areas that the competition seeks to highlight. The AOA, the Chilean Association of Architects’ Offices, will be in charge of organizing the competition in conjunction with Las Salinas. The concept of the Las Salinas Urban Park is based on the concept of the Las Salinas Urban Park,” adds Lucía Ríos, Director of the Las Salinas Urban Park Competition and Executive Secretary of the Chilean Association of Architects’ Offices. The concept of the Las Salinas Urban Park involves highlighting not only the biological aspects, but also the importance of the uses that are integrated, opening a place for free use, but which generates sufficient income to make its maintenance feasible over time, in an autonomous and sustainable manner. The Central Urban Park covers an area of 1.8 hectares, in addition to the 1.1 hectares covered by the South Slope Park, which together represents 18% of the land, not counting the green areas for public use, such as the Linear Park, which runs from south to north, which includes the entire area of the land. All the details of the competition at
