Tourism and modern architecture in the exploration of the desert territories of northern Chile: The Consorcio Hotelero Nacional and HONSA

Abstract

Architectural modernity in northern Chile has been scarcely researched, and even fewer studies have been made of the revaluation of its landscape as a tourist destination. To date, publications have focused more on the landscape of central and southern Chile. Therefore to investigate the relationship between modern architecture, desert landscape and tourist culture allows us to identify initiatives that led to interesting works of architecture, mostly along the desert’s oceanic coast. The process began with a series of events: for example, in 1944 the Consorcio Hotelero (Hotelier Consortium) was founded, which declared its plan to build hotels in northern Chile and, since the late 1950s, the Consorcio and the Organización Nacional Hotelera (National Hotel Organization) have been part of the Hotelera Nacional SA (HONSA).