Valparaiso School

The School of Architecture at the Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile, underwent a transformation in 1952 when a group of young architects led by Alberto Cruz began teaching at the school. The Valparaiso School, as it became known, acquired an international reputation for its radical stance and its commitment to dialogue between architects and other disciplines. From 1970 onwards, it began to focus much of its research and design activity on the Open City project, which had been created by a group of architects, artists and poets with a vision of a city with "no master plan, no imposed ordering devices, and no hierarchical networks of infrastructure." Originally set up as a laboratory-type environment, this alternative community has since become a place of residence and work for like-minded people. Valparaiso School: Open City Group provides an insight into this radical experiment in urban development through a series of essays and photographs.

Fernando Perez Oyarzun was dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts at the PUCCh in Santiago, Chile.