FRAY LEON BUILDING

Fray León Building is a small group of nine apartments, located on the area of San Damián, Las Condes Commune, Santiago de Chile. The architectonic proposal consists on breaking a body into small fragments, which generates different and unique volumes, without repeating. Each apartment has its particularity and characteristic. The more important thing of the proposal is the access, which is a public space that is generated by a large hard square and contains the two vertical circulation cores. This square is formed by layers of loose walls, separated from the main structure of the building, and separated of the “liveable”, creating a double skin, which protects and gives intimacy within the departments. These walls create a sculptural space, a significant place, an area of contemplation very unusual in this type of orders. Light gardens pierce the building in all its height; it gets to the underground parking, taking the light, vegetation and air to a usual dark space. The same happens on the public circulation spaces between the stairs, elevators and apartments. They surround the areas of interior gardens and of vertical gardens. The apartments on the first floor comes out directly to the garden of exclusive use, and the third floor apartments, goes up through a stair that is on a double height space, to the roof top where it is a great terrace/ garden. On the facade, they are combined concrete reinforced concrete in sight and white stucco, highlighting lattices that filter light into the interior.