The Santa Clara church and architectural experimentation at the UCV Institute of Architecture, Chile

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17979/aarc.2025.12.12911

Keywords:

experimental sacred architecture, natural light, Miguel Eyquem, Santa Clara Church, UCV Institute of Architecture

Abstract

This article examines the preliminary design for the Santa Clara Church, designed by Miguel Eyquem Astorga between 1954 and 1956, and situates it within the context of a series of religious architectural works developed at the Institute of Architecture of the Catholic University of Valparaíso (UCV). These works responded to the same question regarding the architectural form capable of accommodating prayer, generating a body of knowledge focused on liturgical and lighting aspects. Santa Clara stands out for the radical way in which Eyquem conceived the interior light: a cube whose envelope filters the light, dematerializes the wall, and transforms it into a radiant surface. The research reveals a design method based on the observation of natural phenomena and experimentation with full-scale models. The analysis of archival documentation argues that Santa Clara functioned as a design laboratory, from which the Institute consolidated its own position, introducing an experimental perspective to the architectural avant-garde and to architectural education in Chile.

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Author Biography

  • Oscar Andrade Castro, Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso

    Óscar Andrade Castro is an adjunct professor at the School of Architecture and Design of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV). He earned his PhD in Architecture in 2021 from Delft University of Technology with his dissertation, Ronda: Architectural Education and Practice from the Construction of a Milieu in Common, which explored the collective production of knowledge in architectural teaching and practice. His research focuses on how disciplinary knowledge is generated and transmitted within communities of practice. He currently leads a project funded by the Chilean National Research and Development Agency (ANID) entitled “The Tacit Dimension of Natural Light in the Practice and Teaching of Architecture: Cases of Modern Religious Architecture in Chile” (Fondecyt Grant No. 11231173). This study examines how architects at the UCV Institute of Architecture explored and taught the design of natural light in religious projects developed between 1950 and 1970.

References

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Published

2025-12-15

Issue

Vol. 12 (2025): Sacred Architecture of Canonical Modernity: References

Section

Papers

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Copyright (c) 2025 Actas de Arquitectura Religiosa Contemporánea

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How to Cite

The Santa Clara church and architectural experimentation at the UCV Institute of Architecture, Chile. (2025). Actas de Arquitectura Religiosa Contemporánea, 12, 38-53. https://doi.org/10.17979/aarc.2025.12.12911