Aldea del Encuentro Park
“Projecting in community”
Fernando Castillo Velasco
The Aldea del Encuentro is a space dedicated to the arts, culture, and nature located in the commune of La Reina, Metropolitan Region. It was promoted and built by the architect and former mayor of this commune, Fernando Castillo Velasco, who wanted to make this a space for social encounter and integration.
Since 2019, the Cosmos Foundation has collaborated on the Aldea del Encuentro project, working with the community to design spaces that meet current usage needs without losing sight of its founding objective: social gathering as a shaper of healthy and holistic communities.
Meeting Square
The Plaza del Encuentro is the first area to be renovated, seeking to transform it into an open, natural space inviting contemplation of nature. It is located between the main building of the Aldea del Encuentro Corporation and the Aldea del Encuentro Access Park. Previously, this space served as a secondary parking lot and garbage disposal area, but since January 2020, it has been used as a space for visitors to stop, wait, and enjoy the surrounding species. The 1,000 m² plaza features native species, seating areas, children’s games, and a wooden deck that serves as an anteroom to an art gallery and is used daily as a space for relaxation or gathering.
This space was also built thanks to the Ministry of the Environment’s Environmental Protection Fund and the Aldea del Encuentro Corporation’s own resources. Through participatory activities with community members, in which the native species selected for this new green area for community gathering and recreation were planted, an identity-building action was fostered. Although the Plaza del Encuentro is a limited space, this project was the prelude to the Parque de Acceso del Encuentro, as it planted the idea that it was possible to renovate underutilized spaces and transform them into spaces for gathering and well-being.
“Infrastructure is being reimagined as a connector rather than a barrier. More precisely, it functions as a substrate: no longer solid ground, but a platform upon which multiple human and non-human actors move, interact, and evolve. (…) the emphasis is now on networks, processes, and flexibility.”
Emily Eliza Scott, Infrastructure from the Inside Out, Towards an Urban Ecology (SCAPE)
Encounter Access Park
In the southern sector and main entrance to the Aldea del Encuentro Village, there is a 7,000 m2 plot of land belonging to the Aguas Andinas company. Through a loan to the Aldea del Encuentro Corporation, it was made available to improve access to the park. Until recently, the entrance to the Village had poor exterior visibility and was primarily accessible by vehicles, making pedestrian access to the various community spaces difficult.
That’s why the first phase of the Encounter Access Park was inaugurated in 2021. Thanks to resources from the URCOREI company, 3,500 square meters of land were transformed into green spaces. These spaces invite pedestrians to enter and explore the village, connecting the entrance with the spaces and programs inside the village.
The new Access Park extends 30 meters toward Mayor Fernando Castillo Velasco Avenue and is comprised of a natural area with native species such as maitén, quillay, puyas, belloto del norte, and huilmos, which accompany spaces designed for all those who use this cultural center. It features children’s playgrounds, a café, and universally accessible trails, transforming it into an area that invites the surrounding residents to connect with the Village. In this way, it contributes to the original objective of this center dedicated to the arts, culture, and the environment, while also enhancing the character of a large park.
Work is currently underway on the second phase of the project, which seeks to include the site of a 48-meter-diameter pond in the Encuentro Access Park, transforming gray infrastructure into green infrastructure that serves as a space for connecting with nature, a food source for birds and pollinating insects in the area, and expanding the role of connecting this urban park with the ecosystem and landscape of the Andes foothills.
North Park
In 2024, we will open Parque Norte , a new space within the Aldea del Encuentro that reflects the community’s transformations and the park’s everyday use.
The main challenge was to connect the southern sector , historically more active and visited, with the northern sector , where valuable spaces such as the Paseo de las Artes and the Urban Gardens are located.
Parque Norte seeks to consolidate this sector as a meeting point for the Village’s various groups, creating a new hub for activities linked to heritage, the environment, culture, and healthy living.
The design takes advantage of the existing tree cover and natural light, prioritizing the use of wood and native species in different layers. The proposal includes shade areas, covered patios, a café, two plazas, a renovated multi-workshop room, storage, and a stage , among other spaces.
These spaces can be used by various groups, such as eco-fairs, the orchestra, artisans, and gardeners. Thus, through quality meeting spaces , the community values that Fernando Castillo Velasco dreamed of for La Reina in the 1960s are strengthened.
