Re-thinking The Lot
Like most Latin American cities, profound political, economic and regulatory changes in national governance have played an immense role in shaping the urban fabric of Santiago. As a result of the introduction of Neoliberal policies in 1973 and the subsequent privatization of the city through the selling of public enterprises, abolition of urban boundaries and the deregulation of public transport, the city today exists as a fragmented fusion of the distinct changes in urban planning policies.
With the rapid decline in population density in the inner city, the cities socio-economic hierarchy and subsequent spatial organization remains polarized. As a response to the peripheral development, distances between origin and destination became subject to 'localized' migration. With this in mind, the notion of transport becomes the primary and necessary element in determining the efficient functioning of the city, whilst the action of commuting becomes a fundamental part of everyday city life.
This project feeds off this context and looks at mega parking structures as a potentially dominant typology in the future urban fabric of Santiago. Thus the need to reconfigure these spaces as crucial urban entities that stimulate a diversity of actions and interactions.
