Renca Hill – Lookout
“The hills are not only the guardian mountains of the Santiago Valley, but they are also part of our landscape and the potential of nature.”
Teodoro Fernández
The urban area of Santiago has 26 island hills, which provide an immense opportunity to improve the quality of life of their residents by serving as public spaces for connection with nature, recreation, and environmental education. Seventy percent of these hills are located in communities with low square meters of green space per inhabitant, so the creation of natural parks in these areas is an opportunity to reverse territorial inequality in the city and provide spaces for well-being and connection with nature for their residents.
One of these communes is Renca, which is home to a group of hills called the “Cerros de Renca”, formed by the summits of the Renca, Colorado, Puntilla, Lo Ruiz, Cóndor, La Cruz and Las Perdices hills, which together cover an area of 839 hectares distributed between the communes of Renca and Quilicura, constituting one of the largest areas of land designated for urban parks in the Metropolitan region.
The municipality of Renca has more than 200 hectares designated for the future Metropolitan Park of Renca Hills, a project that includes the construction of a network of trails and viewpoints, community spaces, a metropolitan nursery, and the Mirador Cumbre, a lookout point with panoramic views of the city of Santiago. It will be located atop Renca Hill, the largest in the mountain range.
Following the development of a Master Plan, in which more than 7,000 residents of the commune participated, the Cosmos Foundation was invited to be part of this important project by contributing to the design of the Mirador Cumbre.
Summit Lookout
Based on the Master Plan roadmap developed, we designed the Mirador Cumbre, which will have the distinction of being the only natural urban point with a panoramic view of the city of Santiago. From the different cardinal points of the viewpoint, a series of characteristic landmarks of the capital can be seen, such as the summits of other hills, as well as architectural, hydrological, cultural, and historical landmarks, creating a complete visual tour of Santiago from a single vantage point.
The Mirador Cumbre project in the Cerros de Renca Metropolitan Park includes a cornfield trail that circles the summit with smaller viewing platforms that showcase important views of the city, marking the cardinal points, and leading to a staircase that ascends to the summit. An accessible route to the top is also being considered.
At the top, a ring-shaped platform is planned, offering views of the entire city, with a circular bench for resting. At the center of the ring is the summit, crowned by the base of the pre-existing cross. Signs are arranged in a radial pattern on the floor, referencing geographical and urban landmarks throughout the city, also detailing their distance from the hill.
Finally, the proposal includes the incorporation of plant material in specific areas, the selection of which respects the species of the site and subtly incorporates some groupings that respond well to the requirements of the xerophytic landscape (vegetation adapted to dry environments).
The creation of the Cerros de Renca Metropolitan Park is a major step forward in territorial equity and in regenerating the relationship between Santiago residents and their territory.