Restoration of the Regional Archive and Library of Punta Arenas. First Prize in the National Architecture Contest

Abstract

The Magallanes Library and Archive complex restoration project emerged from a National Public Architecture Contest focused on the Historical Monument of the Punta Arenas Prison based on several heritage valorization criteria. The final aim was the restoration of the complex to house the new facilities of the region's Public Library and Archive and Document Repository. The project raised numerous design strategies which, through subtle conservation interventions, stitches, and new buildings is revitalizing a used precinct, transforming its original confinement space in an open and democratic area for the community. The project is an opportunity to test some hypotheses about how architectures with an intrinsic value based on the passing of time, use and modes of inhabiting can be recovered to accommodate different programs, in line with contemporaneous contexts.