#10. Fortuitous Encounters

            In August 2022, I emailed the Fundación Frágil in Chile to inquire about contacting Smiljan Radić, as he has no website or publicly listed contact information. In October, I received a response indicating that he was looking forward to discussing a potential future conference in Romania. Smiljan was very kind and open to our invitation. I also shared Mazzocchioo’s intention of hosting a double conference and expressed our profound admiration for Cecilia Puga's work. He enthusiastically welcomed the idea of their coming together in Bucharest.

            While preparing this issue in anticipation of the conference, we interviewed Smiljan and Cecilia. Additionally, we wanted to include a third voice – someone well-acquainted with Chilean architectural culture. Thanks to Ana-Maria Zahariade, we connected with Rodrigo Pérez de Arce, an important architect who is a teacher, practitioner, and theorist. He worked in both Chile and the UK, teaching at the Architectural Association during the heroic days of the ‘80s.

Additionally we have asked their permission to republish a text they had written – so that a certain more general image would arise. Their projects receive a textual reflection, in the sense that theoretical approach and biographical notes come together as one: Rodrigo Pérez de Arce's essay A Brief History of Amnesia explores Santiago’s urban evolution, reflecting on forgotten urban practices and personal memories to examine shifting cultural values tied to landscape, memory, and city planning; in the essay Pereira Palace: Recovery as Sociocultural Care Cecilia Puga, Paula Velasco and Alberto Moletto discuss the restoration of the Pereira Palace as a means to preserve cultural heritage and foster community identity through architectural conservation; in Casa Chica. This House No Longer Exists, Smiljan Radić reflects on the impermanence of architecture through the story of Casa Chica, exploring themes of memory, loss, and the ephemeral nature of built spaces.

            Now, a few weeks before the conference, after having had the chance to talk with Rodrigo, Cecilia and Smiljan, a phrase comes to my mind: coincidence is the laic name of destiny.  Rodrigo had left Chile during the dictatorship and, when coming back, he was part of the diploma commission of both Smiljan and Cecilia. So he met them at a very early stage. The other important discovery was that Smiljan and Cecilia are very good friends: they know each other since their studies period; they have even shared a workspace – sometimes a room, even the same table – though they have not actually collaborated on projects. They respect and admire a lot each other’s work. Smiljan has even written a text about Cecilia’s house in Bahia Azul. And Cecilia, as director of the Pre-Columbian Museum  in Santiago de Chile, has been able to choose Smiljan to be the architect of the renovation/expansion of the edifice. Finally, Rodrigo’s wife is a friend and colleague of Cecilia’s at the Pre-Columbian Museum.

            The following interviews, generously provided by the three Chilean figures, are truly captivating and transport us into the stories and realities of the Chilean architectural world in the 20th century, both before and after the dictatorship. They illuminate a world that is as different as it is strangely familiar to ours in Romania – not only because we have experienced similar traumas at similar moments, but also due to a certain resonance in our approach to the profession. There is a shared quest to create relevant architecture while exploring alternative paths.

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