In the centre of Santiago, Chile there’s a square by a metro station that lots of people walk through without stopping to chat or admire the view of the city. But that changed when 100architects added some colour!
Huellas Artes is a project by 100architects, a Chilean architectural studio, aimed at revitalising a square in the centre of Santiago, Chile. Underused despite high pedestrian traffic due to the nearby metro station, the square became a vibrant urban rainbow overnight.
Intended as an artistic path following pedestrians’ route across the square, the coloured stripes linked different "hotspots" created in the square. Examples included an artists’ space, a meeting point, a space for salespeople and a selfie wall, which alone appeared in more than a thousand photographs on the social networks in two days! The plan was in fact to ensure that the changes in the square would be noticed by as many people as possible, through online posts.
But the project only lasted 3 days, after which the square turned grey again. What remains is the consciousness of the people who participated in the event, who will start to see urban spaces as potential places in their own right and not just streets to walk through on their way somewhere.
Francesco Cibati
Location: Santiago, Chile
Area: 744sqm
Design: 100architects – www.100architects.com
Photos: Ines Subtil – www.subtilography.com
