A few days ago, representatives of the Maratué urban housing development project presented the master plan to the Puchuncaví municipal council. The plan envisions the construction of 14,000 homes over a 45-year period, 2,000 of which will be subsidized.
This US$2 billion investment was approved by the Valparaíso Environmental Assessment Commission (COEVA) and is currently awaiting a decision from the Committee of Ministers regarding an appeal.
The project encompasses 1,015 hectares of land facing the Quirilluca cliffs, an area of significant biodiversity. Fifty percent of the land will be designated as green space, in addition to a 125-hectare nature sanctuary.
“We face many challenges,” says Juan Frigerio, the project’s architect and a partner at Foster + Partners, one of the world’s most renowned architecture firms, led by British architect Norman Foster, who is also familiar with the project.
“We are very careful when choosing which projects to undertake (…), we have all the necessary specialties on our team, such as structural, environmental, and ecological engineers,” emphasizes Frigerio, who is the director of the firm’s Buenos Aires office, which oversees all of Latin America.
URBAN CENTERS
– What do you consider the most challenging aspect of this project?
– It’s a very large and generous plot of land. I would say that the most challenging thing for us was creating an identity for the place. To do something new, but one that is aligned with the character of Puchuncaví and the region. To create a development that forms, I wouldn’t call them small cities, but rather urban centers within nature that interact with each other. That’s what we thought could be truly attractive, both for the residents of Puchuncaví and for those with second homes. To be in a place with a vibrant urban life, but immersed in nature, and taking care to enhance the landscape, making the most of it and improving it even further.
– What is the main feature of the master plan?
– The most important thing for us is to reconnect Puchuncaví with the Pacific. To do this, the first thing we analyzed was how residents of the town get to Quirilluca, Playa Luna, and other places; maintaining existing public access routes and creating new ones. Then, a major challenge was the Puchuncaví bypass. The land has been cut in two, and we want to reconnect it so it becomes a single, continuous road.
– Restoring continuity.
– And not only to be a corridor for native wildlife, but also so that people can enjoy walking or cycling safely with children from Puchuncaví, passing through nature, creating a continuous park that links these areas until you reach the Pacific and find the sea.
– There are some features that had been made public regarding the project. One of them is that less than half of the total land area was going to be built upon.
– Yes. When we came on board the project, very large conservation areas had already been defined, including the entire coastline and the cliffs. There’s already a distance of about 140 meters from the cliff, and we set back even further, because what we want to achieve is to ensure that this remains unchanged, that it continues to be wild, perfect for hiking. We don’t want to lose the character it has today. While there’s a lot of development in the surrounding area, we want this to maintain that feeling of an isolated, exclusive, pristine place. No buildings will be visible from the beaches; they will remain completely protected, just as they are now.
– Green areas have been increased.
– The amount of green areas has been increased even more than in the initial project (…) so that this truly becomes a natural park and provides this reserve for the region.
– What will these urban centers be like?
– In general, these centers will be low-density, with walkable streets, shops, meeting places, and mostly low-rise buildings so that you really feel like you’re in a small town, and from there you can go to your destinations, whether it’s Valparaíso, Santiago, or somewhere else. But the moment you arrive, you’ll be in a green space.
– Will these urban centers you’re talking about be uniform, or will there be differences?
– We have a starting area in Puchuncaví, which will be subsidized housing, and it’s divided into three small centers. And then, beyond this green park, closer to the coast because there’s a destination there, there will be another connection of three towns, but they will all be interconnected.
– Regarding the heights you mentioned, what will the limit be?
– We are defining the heights, but we are proposing to lower them. The tallest buildings will be between six and seven stories, but on average they will have more than three or four. We want nothing to be higher than the treetops. That is, we want the buildings to be surrounded by them, giving the feeling of being in a forest.
URBAN CODE
– What characteristics, for example, will the homes have?
– Well, we’ve just finished the conceptual master plan; that is, we’ve already defined the general guidelines. And we’re going to begin a new stage, which is defining the more specific characteristics of the homes. We’ll create an urban code specifying the types of materials, roofing, and maximum dimensions. This urban code will outline our vision for how these communities will be. We want each sector to have its own defined identity.
– Can we talk about what a sustainable project is?
– Absolutely. And sustainable both environmentally and socially.
– One of the things you always mention in projects is that, in addition to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), they need a social license. Do you think this project has it?
– Without a doubt, because the project is providing a solution for the region and the area to grow organically and in a controlled manner, while also giving access to housing to a significant number of people who need it. So, I would say that this is a project that, from the perspective of social inclusion and integration, is key for the region. Instead of doing things haphazardly, it’s a way to do them right and create places and destinations that truly enhance the region. (…) The natural conservation of the landscape is unique in this project, and in fact, the amount of conservation land we have is about six times the size of O’Higgins Park.
-Can environmental considerations be reconciled with housing construction?
– Of course. We live in the environment, and we also have housing needs. So, both things can be done harmoniously. That’s why the planning process, the urban design, and the conceptualization are so important, with a range of specialists we’ve had in all areas of urban development, so that this is harmonious with the environment. But in this case, because the landscape of this land is so unique, it only adds value, and we have an obligation to take care of it, which is the goal of the master plan.
– What amenities will it have?
– Well, there will be all kinds of amenities: parks, play areas, and eventually schools, health centers, shops, cultural spaces, places to study the flora and fauna—in other words, everything is integrated with the environment.
PROJECT START
– When will the project itself be able to be completed?
– Well, we’re waiting for the final decisions on moving forward in the coming months, but we think that in the second half of this year we can start defining the first plots of land and begin the projects for the first subsidized homes. So I think the expectation is that we can begin the first physical work on the land within this year.
– In fact, we could start seeing the first social housing units soon.
– I think that if the approvals move quickly as we expect and the subsidized housing projects begin in 2025, I think that in the next two to five years we should have that materialized. The need is now, and if they allow us, we’ll move forward even faster.
“The natural conservation of the landscape is unique in the project, and in fact, the number of hectares of conservation is about six times the size of O’Higgins Park.”