Universidad San Sebastian, Bellavista,Santiago, Chile
The university is located in the Bellavista neighborhood of Santiago. One of the most well-known attractions in Santiago, the Cerro San Cristobal lays a few blocks away at the end of the street. 1/15/2014
This is a real show stopper…. one step inside and I was stunned with its beauty.
The Universidad San Sebastian Bellavista is a truly spectacular example of the innovative architecture being erected in Santiago. It simply was not there last time I visited Santiago five years ago. Standing at the beginning of Pio Nono, the main drag through this bohemian neighborhood, it's the most modern building within miles.
No photography is allowed inside (I couldn’t even find any photos of the interior on the Internet). My words are a poor substitute for the breathtaking, terraced interior design.
Just inside the entrance, the entire block-long length of the interior is in view.
Sound is beautifully muffled, floating up toward 20 translucent skylights eight stories overhead that suffuse the space with sunlight and energy. The terraced interior allows you to ascend by foot to the top level. Doors to classrooms and offices are tiered to the top floor on three sides. The entire open space is uncluttered, bathed in more ambient light from glass panels on the upper stories at the far end of the structure.
On several tiers of the lower terraces, students with laptops sit by information desks representing the areas of study. Although the rectangular structure fills a city block, the sight line from to the far end appears to narrow to a vanishing point. What I wouldn't give for one photo!
Immediately inside the entrance, students, many of them with their parents, wait to sign up for classes. The whole range of activity inside here appears calm and purposeful, kind of surprising given the amount of hormones in this space.
Two students representing the Faculdad de Ciencia sit at a low chrome and steel desk on the third terraced tier. They tell me in halting English that the building is six years old. Most of the people at desks in view are students, all friendly, approachable and knowledgeable.
As I reluctantly leave, two young men at a booth outside the entrance (one a student in nursing, another studying administration) tell me that there are five Universidad de San Sebastian’s. One believes the university in Valdivia is the most beautiful, the other thinks the University in Concepcion is the most beautiful.
The campus for this university is pretty much the lively, youth-oriented main street of Bellavista, Pio Nono, a delightfully scruffy enclave loaded with sidewalk cafés and bars. The other universities may have lovely campuses but I would bet a truckload of Chilean pesos that none of them has a building with the grace and elegance of this one.
Photos by Paul A.Tamburello, Jr.
Google translate got me this information.
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Sehool has a capacity for 3,900 students. The construction of 27,000 m², has eight floors, housing the faculties of Engineering, Business & Finance, Law, Education Sciences.
The modern building has 45 classrooms, each with a capacity for 60 students, libraries, study rooms, video libraries, sport fields, an auditorium with 450 seats, gym, casino and WiFi technology. Emphasize the Harvard graduate and rooms specially equipped classroom simulations to perform oral trials.
The northern sector of the campus is an Extension Center, with ample space and an auditorium for 200 people, to promote the university and academic life, as well as open to the community with artistic and cultural activities, among others.
Thanks for sharing! What a great read about an educational institute that I would never know about, both the education and the architecture. I forwarded this to Jonathan and Keegan, just to show them a great place to visit.
Freezing weather and lots of snow coming here. Have fun in the sun!
Posted by: Cathleen Cavanaugh | January 21, 2014 at 10:02 AM
Yikes I return on Saturday, I'd better get ready for a cultural and climatological shift! I'll soak up as much sunshine as I can till then.
This structure was one of the most creative designs i've ever seen. Your boys would love this neighborhood, tons of college kids hang out there. I'm sending post about it soon!
Thanks for the weather report!
Posted by: Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large | January 21, 2014 at 12:25 PM