Minister of Public Works Inaugurates Chile’s Week of Architecture, Engineering and Infrastructure in Chile’s Pavilion at Expo Shanghai

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At 4pm in Shanghai, with a humidity of practically 100% and an apparent temperature of 35°C, the Minister of Public Works, Hernán de Solminihac, inaugurated the “Architecture and Engineering Services Promotion Week” organized by ProChile, CORFO’s Committee of Sector Brands and the Architectural Office Association of Chile (AOA).

This week, Chile will have the great opportunity of showing the world the knowledge, experience and way of working of its professionals in a country with a significant seismic tradition like ours. Graphic exhibitions, seminars and a complete revision of the challenges set by the February 27 earthquake are all part of the exhibition of Chilean architecture, which seeks to position itself in China.

“Chilean architecture and engineering are not only very creative, but also they respond to Chile’s varied climatic and geographic conditions which have the corresponding conditions in determined zones of China. At the same time, the fact of being a seismic country, has made Chile reach a high level of development in anti-seismic technology, something that may be applicable to Chinese buildings”, said Hernan de Solminihac, the Minister of Public Works, after the inauguration.

The Chilean pavilion will receive a delegation of architects, all members of the AOA, who will participate in a series of conferences where they will talk about the main strengths of Chilean architecture, including its anti-seismic, sustainable and cutting edge design. Also, they will provide details of some projects recently developed in the country like the Titanium and Costanera Center towers, which will be among the tallest in Latin America.

The economic development that Chile has reached over the past decades in productive areas like the mining, forestry, fruit, agriculture and wine industries, among others, has also brought about the development of knowledge and know how in areas like transportation, telecommunications, infrastructure, concession systems and architecture. These different efficient services have permitted Chilean companies venture into foreign markets.

In Chile, the services sector has steadily climbed in its position in the country’s economy accounting for approximately 60% of GDP and 70% of employment. During 2008, cross-border services exports totaled approximately 11 billion dollars and the sector’s average annual growth for the past six years has been in the order of 20%.

Interest in anti-seismic architecture

The attendants of Expo Shanghai, on the other hand, will have the chance to know details about the reasons that permitted Chilean buildings successfully resist this year’s February earthquake, an event that was qualified as “a miracle of anti-seismic architecture” by the Chinese press.

“That was the harshest test that Chilean architecture has been subjected to over the past decades,” expressed Fernando Marín, the head of “Chile’s Architecture” project and director of the AOA. “But it made it possible to show that we have carried out world-class construction, in line with the objectives of this universal exhibition, which is contributing to the quality of life of people in the cities.”

For China, the work of Chilean architects is particularly relevant because according to the information in the press, half of the deaths caused by earthquakes in the XXth century occurred in China, 49% of which were due to the collapse of a building.