Valparaíso School: Open City Group

Since 1950 the avant-garde architect Alberto Cruz has had such a defining influence on the Faculty of Architecture at the Catholic University in Valparaíso that the phrase Valparaíso School was soon coined. Out of this work emerged in 1070 the anonymous group "Open City Group". Architects, students, artists and scientists went on to form the Open City outside the town of Valparaíso. They chose the word "open" to convey their unique attitude to dialogue and work where members of the collective are the architects, the inhabitants and also the clients – and also to show their experimental form of architecture which included erecting 1:1 size models! "Open" also refers to the act of creating and confronting oneself with an unknown result. Architectural solutions emerge from the dialogue between architects from different schools with architects from different schools with artists, scientists, painters, sculptors and writers. In this way many highly expressive buildings have been created.