ER R Á Z U R I Z — S EP Ú LV EDA — B R AVO

What iF We tear the Wall doWn?

Empowered owners, mutant houses and
the twilight of confined architecture

tomás errázuriz
Profesor asociado,
Campus Creativo, Universidad Andres Bello,
Santiago, Chile

caroLina sepúLveda
Master in Design Studies,
Graduate School of Design,
Harvard University, USa

Juan bravo
Arquitecto,
Universidad Andrés Bello,
Santiago, Chile

As long as it does not affect others

– as in the public space or in society’s
self-imposed rules – an owner is free
to do whatever he wants within his
property. Architecture does not always
contemplate that kind of freedom, to
Keywords the point that it could go against its own
Freedom values. The survey of the changes made
Building
to a house by Luciano Kulczewski allows
Processes
observing how freedom to intervene
Essay
Domestic space
operates indifferent to architecture.

W hat would Luciano Kulczewski say if he saw

how the house he designed in 1930 for Ana
Castañón was transformed over the years (mutations
that are illustrated in the following pages)? What would
many architects say if they could go back to the houses
they once imagined, designed, and assessed their faithful
transfer from drawings to building?
The trajectory of disciplinary-originated residential
architecture has rested on the notion of authored
work – a work designed and built from scratch from
98 plans and sections. Paradoxically, while the uncertain

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 A R Q 101   —  S A N T I AG O , C H I L E
Dibujos y levantamiento del caso estudio
Simón Morgado

Luciano Kulczewski,
Casa Castañón, Ñuñoa, 1930.
Plano ingreso municipal /
Original floorplan
Dibujo / Drawing: Simón Morgado

Planta nivel 2 / Plan level 2

E. / S. 1: 200

Planta nivel 1 / Plan level 1

E. / S. 1: 200

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 Luciano Kulczewski, Casa
ER R Á Z U R I Z — S EP Ú LV EDA — B R AVO

Castañón, Ñuñoa, 1930.

Mutaciones – Intervención /
Mutations – Intervention
Dibujo / Drawing: Simón Morgado

Planta nivel 2 / Plan level 2 31

11
E. / S. 1: 200
10 10

7 31
11
7

10

34 15
31 34 31

15
15
8 15
34

34 10
10
24

31 11
10

10 31 11

Planta nivel 1 / Plan level 1 35

E. / S. 1: 200

3
13 29

30
11

11
14
31 4 10
23 26
2 11
25

10

6
35 11 31
6

35
19
6
11

9
10 11

21
31 12
11
22
33

20 10
31
5 27 28 18 1 17

16

32

Original Adición Sustracción

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Le yenda / Legend
1. Colocación de parra sobre
estructura de madera en
patio, c. 1960 / Placement
of grapevine on wooden
structure in the yard,
c. 1960
2. Protección de medianeros
con vidrio picado, c.
1960 / Dividing walls’
protection made out of
broken glasses, c. 1960
3. Ampliación ochavo
esquina del terreno,
c. 1960 / Extension of the
plot’s corner, c. 1960
4. Modificación de
artefactos de gas y
lavaplato de cocina,
c. 1990 / Modification of 

gas appliances and kitchen
dishwasher, c. 1990
5. Construcción de bodega
en sector norte de la casa,
c. 1990 / Construction
of warehouse in the north
sector of the house, c. 1990
6. Eliminación divisiones
interiores primer nivel,
c. 2000 / Removal of
internal walls on first
level , c. 2000
7. Techado y cierre de
terraza segundo nivel
para habilitación de
espacio de trabajo, 2002 /
Roofing and enclosing of
second-level terrace for
workspace, 2002
ARQ101_libro_V2.indb 101
8. Cambio de superficie
de piso del espacio de
trabajo por cerámica,
2002 / Change the
workspace’s floors to
ceramic, 2002
9. Cambio de superficie
en baño principal por
porcelanato, 2002 /
Change of main bathroom’s
floors to porcelain
stoneware, 2002
10. Cambio en material
de marco de ventanas,
madera por aluminio,
2002 / Change in window
frame material, from wood
to aluminum, 2002
1 1. Instalación de barras de
seguridad en ventanas,
2006 / Installation
of security bars in
windows, 2006
1 2. Construcción de baño
en primer piso, 2006 /
Bathroom construction on
first floor, 2006
1 3. Habilitación de acceso
vehicular oriente, 2008 /
Opening of east vehicular
access, 2008
14. Cambio de superficie
exterior en acceso por
piedra pizarra, 2008 /
Change of access exterior
surface to slate stone, 2008
1 5. Cambio de superficie
piso segundo nivel por
alfombra, 2008 / Second
level floor change to
carpet, 2008
16. Implementación de
losa de cemento pulido
para estacionamiento,
2008 / Implementation of
polished cement slab for
parking, 2008
17. Cambio de superficie
exterior casa por
pastelones, 2008 /
Exterior surface change to
flagstones, 2008
18. Incorporación de
sombreadero en parrón,
2008 / Incorporation of
shading in exterior wooden
structure, 2008
19. Habilitación de
lavamanos externo en
closet existente, 2008 /
Incorporation of external
sink in existing closet, 2008
20. Instalación de calefont,
2008 / Water heater
installation, 2008
21. Remodelación general
de revestimiento baño
primer nivel, 2008 /
General remodeling of
first level bathroom
cladding, 2008
22. Remodelación general de
baño 1er nivel (artefactos
y terminaciones)
2008 / General
remodeling of first level
bathroom (artifacts and
finishing) 2008
2 3. Construcción de radier
en patio acceso principal,
2008 / Slab construction
in main access yard, 2008
24. Remodelación general
de baño segundo
nivel (artefactos y
revestimientos) 2008 /
General remodeling
of second level
bathroom (artifacts and
finishing) 2008
2 5. Remodelación de
artefactos y muebles
de cocina, 2008 /
Remodeling of
kitchen artifacts and
furniture, 2008
26. Habilitación de nuevo
acceso peatonal,
2009 / Opening of new
pedestrian Access, 2009
27. Habilitación de logia e
instalación de calefont,
interior de bodega norte,
2010 / Loggia opening
and water heater
installation, north
warehouse interior, 2010
28. Instalación de lavadero en
logia, 2010 / Opening of
loggia laundry, 2010

29. Construcción de bodega
oriente para objetos y
vehículos pequeños,
2010 / Construction of
east warehouse for objects
and small vehicles, 2010
A R Q 101   —  S A N T I AG O , C H I L E
30. Cierre de sector bodega
oriente de patio acceso
principal, 2010 / Closure
of east warehouse area at
main access patio, 2010
31. Revestimiento de fachada
con estuco granulado,
2010 / Façade covering with
granulated stucco, 2010
32. Construcción de baño
dentro de bodega norte,
2010 / Construction of
bathroom inside north
warehouse, 2010
33. Instalación de reja
metálica en patio para
aislación de mascotas,
2015 / Installation of
metal fence in patio for pet
isolation, 2015
3 4. Cambio revestimiento
por piso flotante,
2015 / Change to
engineering wood
floor, 2015
35. Colocación perimetral del
puntas de seguridad, 2015
/ Placement of perimeter
safety fence, 2015
101
04-04-19 1:25 p.m.
 Luciano Kulczewski, Casa Castañón,
ER R Á Z U R I Z — S EP Ú LV EDA — B R AVO

Ñuñoa, 1930.
Mutaciones – Ocupación /
Mutations – Occupation
Dibujo / Drawing: Simón Morgado

Planta nivel 2 / Plan level 2

E. / S. 1: 200

Planta nivel 1 / Plan level 1

E. / S. 1: 200

Cosas que no han variado Cosas existentes Cosas que ya no están

de posición en el tiempo

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 destiny that awaits these houses is trapped in the

A R Q 101   —  S A N T I AG O , C H I L E
sphere of the private, their photographs and original
plans have the power to crystallize and ensure the
transcendence of that fleeting and idyllic initial
moment. The consequences are worrisome. The
architect is like a father who treasures and proudly
shows photographs of his newborn children, but who
knows nothing about who they have grown to be or
the life they currently live.
What is the point of thinking about a house
design as an outcome or final form when its
subsequent mutant life becomes evident? Would it
be better to migrate towards more receptive design
strategies that enable this nature? Evidence of
this need is the legitimacy of the so-called ‘Sketch
Law’ (Law 20,898) that since the late 1990s offers
the possibility of legalizing the huge number of
expansions and modifications that affect small
houses. Contrary to what could be concluded from
such legislation or from the literature available,
mutability in domestic architecture is not exclusive of
the lowest-income sectors.
It is surprising that the unique traces of a designer
such as Kulczewski back down silently to give space
to a myriad of requirements that the different
dwellers had for this house. Unknown to experts, the
Castañón house is definitely not one of the architect’s
representative works. Its current form and each of
the steps that gave rise to this ‘mutant’ result are
representative of the changes affecting its residents,
neighborhood, and city. The home was fenced and
fortified in response to the importance acquired
by security; the need to house several cars favored
the construction of a hard courtyard and a new
access point; storage spaces increased through the
construction of exterior rooms; the second level was
expanded to accommodate a call center that worked
there for a few years; walls were thrown and the
distribution of several rooms changed; a new bathroom
was added and all artifacts and furniture in the other
bathrooms, as well as the kitchen’s, were renewed;
facades were coated, floors, doors, and windows
changed, and so on. And life goes on. New alterations
(not recorded in these drawings) are being made while
these words are written and countless future designs
wait for their moment.
The increase in residential, labor, and family
mobility, added to shifts in trends and lifestyles,
certainly has consequences on living spaces. The
house is valued to the extent that it stresses its
potential condition: its ability to work as an open
project and a tangible expression of individual
freedom, in order to welcome the innumerable needs
of those who inhabit it.
The acceptance of this mutant condition – though
little explored by the architectural discipline – is
validated daily by a culture that conceives the house
as a space of freedom. Far from the idea of the
container for domestic life, the house is a place for 103

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 ER R Á Z U R I Z — S EP Ú LV EDA — B R AVO Luciano Kulczewski, Casa
Castañón, Ñuñoa, 1930.
Mutaciones – Ocupación /
Mutations – Occupation
Detalle / Detail
Dibujo / Drawing: Simón
Morgado

Planta nivel 1 / Plan level 1

E. / S. 1: 75

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 Planta nivel 2 / Plan level 2

A R Q 101   —  S A N T I AG O , C H I L E
E. / S. 1: 75

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 Tabla 1, recintos /
Chart 1, rooms Hijo 2
Padre Padre
Madre Madre Hijo 1

recintos (1) living (2) comedor (3) cocina (4) baño 1 (5) habitación 1 (6) habitación 2 (7) baño 2 (8) bodega 1 (9) bodega 2 (10) bodega 3
Alfombra (2) Mesa comedor Mesa de diario WC Cama dos plazas Plancha ropa WC Caja herramientas (4) Casco construcción (4) Caja embalaje (2)
Sillón dos cuerpos Silla comedor (3) Horno cocina Lavamanos Velador Clóset Lavamanos Repisa (2) Rueda camioneta Mesa plegable
Sillón un cuerpo (2) Lámpara de pie Silla (2) Perfumes Mueble pie de cama Cómoda Basurero baño Herramientas (10) Casa perro (2) Mesa cocina
Mesa de centro (2) Ventilador Microondas Mesón lavamanos Clóset Radio Bicicleta (3) Herramientas (4) Silla exterior (3)
Mesa de arrimo Aparato deportivo Refrigerador Mueble lavamanos Lámpara de velador Máquina coser Fitting Fitting
Mesa chimenea Mueble escritorio Tostadora pan Pesa TV LED TV Análoga Casco construcción (3) Pinturas
Lámpara de mesa (2) Silla comedor (2) Secador Loza Alfombra Bajada de cama Mesa escritorio Caja embalaje Rueda camioneta
Poltrona Mueble escritorio (9) Repisa cocina Jacuzzi Armario Bicicleta estática Árbol navideño
Mueble de TV Silla escritorio (9) Armario cocina Lavamanos de pie Decodificador Silla Bateria
Sofá dos cuerpos Estante cocina Basurero baño Silla Ropero
Estufa a parafina Despensa Ducha Mueble escritorio (7) Mueble escritorio (1)
Alfombra Lavaplatos Lavamanos (2) Silla escritorio (7) Silla escritorio (1)
Mueble escritorio (2) Hervidor WC (2)
Cama dos plazas TV LED Closet
Silla espera (2) Frutera (2)
Silla escritorio (2) Sandwichera
TV Análoga
Hervidor

Abc Cosas que no han variado de posición en el tiempo

Abc Cosas existentes
Abc Cosas que ya no están

investment and a platform for consumption. It is a

kind of hardware whose validity and value depend on
the well-timed installation of a series of updates and
improvements. This condition is reinforced by the
empowerment brought by the diy culture manifested
in the explosion of tutorials, reports, and shows on
houses that are transformed, or the commercial success
of large stores that provide the materials and tools for
concreting such projects.
Looking to overcome the obvious statement that
‘architecture changes over time,’ the ‘chrono floor plans’
executed as a complement to this text are an invitation,
on the one hand, to question the confined nature of the
architectural project – restricted to design and building
moments – and, on the other, to reflect on the mutant
lives that these houses have despite their creators’
wishes. Finally, we must not forget that although
today we recognize these mutations as exclusively
material, everything indicates that in the short term
the proliferation of augmented reality experiences will
involve a whole new spectrum of mutations.
Once established these insurmountable distances,
the only thing left needed is the courage to undertake
that healthy exercise that involves questioning
disciplinary bases and to appeal to the urgent need to
create new languages that allow the architect to keep
participating actively in the building of the contemporary
domestic world. ARQ

106

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 Hijo 1
Hijo 2 Hijo 2 Hijo 2

(9) bodega 2 (10) bodega 3 (11) logia (12) baño 3 (13) estar (14) habitación 3 (15) habitación 4 (16) habitación 5 (17) baño 4 (18) terraza / patio
oficina
Casco construcción (4) Caja embalaje (2) Lavadora WC Aparato deportivo Escritorio Cama una plaza Cama dos plazas Lavamanos Escritorio en L Mesa terraza
Rueda camioneta Mesa plegable Centrifugadora Ducha Sitial Computador escritorio Alfombra Clóset WC Escritorio (4) Silla terraza (4)
Casa perro (2) Mesa cocina Lavadero Lavamanos Trotadora Guitarra Clóset Mueble apoyo Ducha Silla escritorio (7) Macetero (11)
Herramientas (4) Silla exterior (3) Estante logia Mueble escritorio Velador Repisa TV LED Cepillo de dientes Impresora (3) Automóvil Hatchback
Fitting Secador de ropa Punching bag Impresora Mueble apoyo Playstation Cremas Estante (2) Camioneta
Pinturas Tendedero de ropa Mesa dibujo Casco seguridad Maquetas Mueble de TV Jabón Sitial Parrilla
Rueda camioneta Sillón dos cuerpos Silla Zapato seguridad Almohada Repisa (2) Perfumes Mueble apoyo Colgador de ropa
Silla escritorio Teléfono Mueble escritorio Decodificador Basurero baño Mueble TV (3) Casa mascota (2)
Alfombra TV LED Casco moto Alfombra Silla escritorio (7) Automóvil sedán
Estufa eléctrica Router Sitial Desodorantes Caja embalaje Basurero
Mueble escritorio Decodificacor Cama una plaza WC (2) Punching bag Mueble TV
Silla escritorio (2) Mueble escritorio (5) Lavamanos (2) Lavamanos (2) Bolsa Mueble escritorio
Alfombra Silla escritorio (5) WC (2) Pantalla escritorio (5) Automóvil Hatchback
Batería Clóset Teclado (5) Automóvil Hatchback
Cama una plaza Mueble escritorio (9) Maqueta (5) Camioneta
Mueble escritorio (5) Silla escritorio (9) Estufa eléctrica Camioneta
Silla escritorio (5) Mueble escritorio (8) Parrilla a gas
Silla escritorio (8)

Tomás Errázuriz
<tomaserrazuriz@gmail.com>

Historian, Doctorate in Architecture and Urban Studies, Pontificia

Universidad Católica de Chile. Has been a researcher for Milenio
(icm), Fondecyt, Fondart and has been awarded other funds,
scholarships and prizes from institutions such as Conicyt, Mecesup,
University of Sydney, The Society for the History of Technology,
Guggenheim Foundation, and T2M, among others. Additionally, he
co-directs Editorial Bifurcaciones, a publishing house devoted to
urban cultural studies, and the collective Cosas Maravillosas. He
is currently Associate professor at Campus Creativo Universidad
Andrés Bello and partner at Reddo Arquitectura.

Carolina Sepúlveda
<carosepulvedav@gmail.com>

Architect, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2014). Candidate

for the Master in Design Studies, Harvard University gsd (2020).
Her work focuses on the interception of art, architecture and
design, with a focus on contemporary issues such as politics, gender,
the media, or social movements. Has worked as a coordinator for
different architectural exhibitions, such as Housing, What’s Next?
(Washington dc, 2018) for the idb, the Chile’s Architecture and
Urbanism Biennale (Valparaíso, 2017), and El espacio entre las cosa,
by the architects Emilio Marín and Juan Carlos López for lig a df
(Mexico City, 2014).

Juan Guillermo Bravo

<juanbravoolivares@gmail.com>

Architect, Bachelor of Arts, Universidad Andrés Bello (2018).

His projects and research work focus on the relationships
between public space and social housing, especially in
vulnerable urban sectors. Has also developed projects on
the role of architecture in educational institutions, with an
interest in the relationships between architecture and politics,
philosophy, or psychoanalysis. 107

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