PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE: THE ACTION OF THE STATE

Abstract

In Chile and Latin America, the State has built the city. Thus, from buildings and public spaces, institutional, school, housing, hospital, industrial, and transportation architectures, to the most diverse spheres, the State’s action in the production of public architecture is undeniable. At different times, this fact has been more or less valued or recognized. For example, during the presidency of José Manuel Balmaceda (1886-1891), his administration undertook numerous public works that sought to spread modernization throughout the country through buildings and infrastructure. Likewise, during the 1940s, with the boost of the Popular Front governments, there was a sustained institutionalization action that resulted in the construction of numerous buildings, that spread the benefits of modern architecture for public architecture and working-class housing. With the application of a capitalist economic-social model, which privileges market fluctuations, from the 1970s to the present, the private sector has been favored, so that the State’s action in the production of the city has been curtailed and, on many occasions, muted or vilified.