A compact, brutalist Chilean pavilion is peeking out from the trees in the South American country's richly forested Yungay region; discover Miel Pavilion, the newest project by prolific local architecture studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen. Set in the district of Santa Lucia Alto, the small, concrete structure cuts a powerful figure among snowy slopes and white-sprinkled foliage.
Tour this brutalist Chilean pavilion in the countryside
A self-initiated project, the small structure sits within the grounds of studio founders Sofía von Ellrichshausen and Mauricio Pezo's own property in the Yungay region – Luna House, which serves as both an expansive home and a workspace.
'The pavilion is a kind of self-commission, since it is located within the same farm in which Luna house sits – a 150-hectare property adjacent to the Cholguan river, which demarcates the Ñuble Region, at the foot of the Andes mountains, about 1,000m above sea level,' explains von Ellrichshausen.
She continues: 'The project is part of the Artificial Foundation, a non-profit initiative we have founded, which aims to protect the native forest while promoting the production (and contemplation) of art within such a natural environment. The whole purpose of this philanthropic project, including the land and its constructions, is [for it] to be left for public use.'
The architects, acting as custodians of the land and actively promoting the arts in their country, crafted the pavilion as a home for an organisation that could attend to both preoccupations and serve as a symbol of their intentions. It is also a form that mirrors the values of the nearby Luna House, bringing together making and exposed concrete; texture and geometric compositions; brutalism and minimalist architecture.
'The pavilion has a double purpose. It is a room that serves the processing of honey while also providing an open infrastructural function when the room is closed [and not in use]. The volume has a strong asymmetry, with an altarpiece-like façade facing the sunset and an amphitheatre facing the sunrise, towards ancient trees,' adds Pezo.
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