Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritage

Buildings, as all things, age. They are not static entities, but change, get wrinkled, get stained. In that sense, their behavior resembles that of living organisms but, generally, these changes are seen as a decline, as processes that ought to be avoided. What would happen if we began to think abou...

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Main Author: Armando Caroca Fernández
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad San Sebastian 2017-10-01
Series:Materia Arquitectura
Subjects:
Online Access:http://materiaarquitectura.com/index.php/MA/article/view/134
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author Armando Caroca Fernández
author_facet Armando Caroca Fernández
author_sort Armando Caroca Fernández
collection DOAJ
description Buildings, as all things, age. They are not static entities, but change, get wrinkled, get stained. In that sense, their behavior resembles that of living organisms but, generally, these changes are seen as a decline, as processes that ought to be avoided. What would happen if we began to think about buildings as dynamic systems affected by entropy, in such way that the passing of years actually adds value to them The paper illustrates the case of the Plaza de Armas building, built in 1954 in the foundational center of Santiago de Chile, a building that turns paradigmatic in two ways: as an example of the introduction of the modernist ideals in the country and as an often cited example of “bad aging”. It is then proposed to imagine a possible refurbishment, reformulating traditional ideas of heritage preservation. This new approach will allow to re-insert this structure into the ever-changing fabric of urban centers, so that the building can evolve into useful heritage for the city in which it is located.
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spelling doaj-art-9fdc0e83c8e14e0291a1eb55dcbd02392025-08-20T02:11:21ZengUniversidad San SebastianMateria Arquitectura0718-70332735-75032017-10-011110.56255/ma.v0i11.134Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritageArmando Caroca FernándezBuildings, as all things, age. They are not static entities, but change, get wrinkled, get stained. In that sense, their behavior resembles that of living organisms but, generally, these changes are seen as a decline, as processes that ought to be avoided. What would happen if we began to think about buildings as dynamic systems affected by entropy, in such way that the passing of years actually adds value to them The paper illustrates the case of the Plaza de Armas building, built in 1954 in the foundational center of Santiago de Chile, a building that turns paradigmatic in two ways: as an example of the introduction of the modernist ideals in the country and as an often cited example of “bad aging”. It is then proposed to imagine a possible refurbishment, reformulating traditional ideas of heritage preservation. This new approach will allow to re-insert this structure into the ever-changing fabric of urban centers, so that the building can evolve into useful heritage for the city in which it is located.http://materiaarquitectura.com/index.php/MA/article/view/134Plaza de Armas buildingentropystructureModernist Movementheritage
spellingShingle Armando Caroca Fernández
Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritage
Materia Arquitectura
Plaza de Armas building
entropy
structure
Modernist Movement
heritage
title Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritage
title_full Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritage
title_fullStr Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritage
title_full_unstemmed Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritage
title_short Entropy and structure: Re-thinking the Plaza de Armas building as Modernist heritage
title_sort entropy and structure re thinking the plaza de armas building as modernist heritage
topic Plaza de Armas building
entropy
structure
Modernist Movement
heritage
url http://materiaarquitectura.com/index.php/MA/article/view/134
work_keys_str_mv AT armandocarocafernandez entropyandstructurerethinkingtheplazadearmasbuildingasmodernistheritage