Chile seeks to explore and contribute new perspectives in order to refocus the process of planning and developing cities in the future.
The Chilean Pavilion aims to show that problems of the current city model result from the fact that we have disregarded the essential reason for coming together in cities: that human beings exist in relation to others and to our natural surroundings, and that it is in those relationships of positive exchange where we create value for ourselves and others.
The causes of social and environmental problems, lack of well-being and energy waste in modern cities lies in the fact that we put most of our effort into the private and individual aspects of the city, neglecting the collective aspects.
We favor private homes, private offices, private transport, private shopping centers, private occupation of land, private use of time, personal consumption and highways for automobile use.
Buildings are conceived of as groups of private spaces; public space barely works for people to move from one private space to another.
Industrialized construction, although it resolves one part of what is called the “housing problem”, produces another problem: a uniform landscape that limits the expression of human uniqueness.
The “private” modern city undermines its essence and ultimately isolates human beings, creating a profound contradiction that leads to the problems described earlier.
Humanity now finds itself in a cycle of change. Societies governed by rules conducive to individual good are becoming uncomfortable, even more so as the greatest value is produced in collective structures such as those created by the Internet, industrial clusters and global trade.
Chile’s thesis is that today’s city must change its paradigms in order to adapt to the new state of human development.