Architectural Heritage at Estacion Central Commune (Chile): Towards a Sustainable Conservation

Under a neoliberal policy established since the seventies, Santiago de Chile has faced the huge consequences of an accelerated urban sprawl, related to population increase and unlimited horizontal and vertical growth. In recent decades, architectural heritage has not been considered as a central factor in Santiago's urban development. The lack of attention towards heritage can be observed in this capital city. Estación Central commune is located at Santiago's central area, attached to the city's historical center. This commune reflects the recent effects of Santiago's urban transformations, with no consideration regarding constructed memory. The origin of this neighborhood, is related to the location of the first capital city train station, in the middle of the 19th century. Local heritage is composed, in consequence, by residential and industrial buildings of that time. Nowadays, this heritage can be seen in a complex conservation state, abandoned and neglected. In recent years, several non-listed historical sites of this commune, have been demolished. Non-strong legal preservation framework was established, and construction regulations were permissive. In recent months the explosive construction of high density buildings in this commune has reached local authorities opinion and national press. Non-quality apartments of reduced surfaces are progressively replacing and erasing the historical tissue of this area. The lack of an adequate heritage policy is related to this process: in fact, Estación Central commune has only 12 listed buildings in its whole territory of 1 550 hectares. Chilean preservation policy works around a monumental heritage concept. Lower scale architecture remains, often, outside the preservation framework. Also, monumental, but not yet identified historical buildings remain out of legal protection. The absence of a sustainable urban policy in Chile related to architectural heritage conservation, has led to historical buildings' deterioration and demolition. Linking cultural heritage with urban planning, is nowadays a pending challenge. Conservation public policies should start from the knowledge of local cities urban memory. Understanding the past, could lead us to project its future. New ways of dealing with constructed memory should be proposed, in order to reach a new equilibrium related to our collective memory. This article analyses the amnesic phenomenon in progress at Estación Central, and identifies non-listed heritage existing in this commune, as a first step for its valorization.