Alberto Hurtado University

Collaboration for academia, education and infrastructure

We want to support the UAH’s educational project by developing infrastructure for the university community and strengthening its ties to society.

The Cosmos Foundation’s commitment to Alberto Hurtado University is to permanently support the educational project that this institution embodies and promotes. Thus, we have developed a comprehensive plan for common spaces that fosters internal connections between the different faculties that make up the campus, through safe spaces equipped with vegetation, furniture, and good lighting. These spaces also capture the value of the facades of existing buildings to enhance their heritage value and university life.

Furthermore, our mutual collaboration has led us to expand this alliance to the academic and research areas with various faculties, such as:

• Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Geography; in the development of the master plan for the Maipo River Wetland Nature Sanctuary (2020-2021)
• Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Work; in the development and implementation of an evaluation of the use and impact of the Healing Gardens
• Faculty of Education; creating a new pedagogical model through the Transformative Nature program.

UAH Heritage Campus Connectivity

Until 2014, Alberto Hurtado University was comprised of a group of buildings with no interconnected structures or common areas that would foster a proper university life. That’s why, that same year, Fundación Cosmos, together with the Fundación Mar Adentro and the UAH itself, launched a joint project to transform the area into a heritage campus, improving interior connectivity between buildings, restoring and beautifying the interior facades of the heritage buildings, and providing a welcoming and distinctive space for more than 7,500 students, staff, and faculty.

The connectivity courtyard is divided into three spaces: the central courtyard, which was the first to be built, connecting the main campus entrances, administrative areas, classrooms, restrooms, and departments for some programs; the assembly courtyard, on land belonging to the archbishopric, which is transformed into a civic space for open-air ceremonies and presentations; and the north courtyard, following Erasmo Escala Street, where the same style of paving and facades as the previous courtyards is continued, complemented by xerophytic landscaping.

Restoration of interior facades at UAH:

Alberto Hurtado University is located on the central axis of Santiago, within the Yungay and Brasil neighborhoods, which were declared Historic Preservation Districts and Typical and Picturesque Zones by the National Monuments Council. Its campus has been shaped over time with the remodeling and connectivity of its spaces and buildings, respecting and safeguarding its heritage value, which has ultimately generated an adequate infrastructure for meeting and meeting places in the city.

Together with the Mar Adentro Foundation and the UAH’s professional team, we worked on the restoration of 12 building facades facing the campus’s interior courtyard. This project continued the previous developments regarding connectivity between the multiple houses and buildings that make up the university, while also providing a unified landscape for the outdoor spaces and new furnishings.

Through the various projects developed within the university, we have sought to contribute to creating welcoming meeting spaces that seek to promote creativity, thought, and the well-being of the university community.

UAH Lighting

The lighting project developed at Alberto Hurtado University focused on the central courtyard—although it has also been replicated in the auditorium and north courtyards—where we developed a plan for new, energy-efficient lighting. The objective of this project is to take advantage of outdoor spaces during low-light hours without incurring high electricity consumption. It also highlights the heritage facades, creates comfortable living spaces, and provides security for interior spaces.

On this project, we worked with a team from outside the University, led by Oriana Ponzini, architect and lighting designer.

Remodeling of Vicente Huidobro student space

This new interior renovation project at Alberto Hurtado University—developed in conjunction with the Mar Adentro Foundation—focused on the heritage campus, featuring the houses on Cienfuegos Passage—one of which was the residence of poet Vicente Huidobro—which have gradually been acquired by the university to consolidate its campus. This year, with the goal of creating new meeting spaces for the university community, three houses on this passageway were restored. In an effort to create greater spaciousness, the dividing walls were removed, creating meeting and circulation spaces for students, as well as new offices for faculty, administrators, and the Student Affairs Office. Of the original walls, only the oak pillars were retained, creating a network of interconnected spaces furnished with furniture suitable for meetings, study, and recreation. In addition, glass panels were installed on the second floor to separate the spaces. Linear lighting was installed on both levels, extending beyond the boundaries of the rooms and flowing randomly through the space, creating a sense of continuity.