Hybrid building for Valparaiso Part 2 Project 2012 Claudio ViñUela Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Santiago | Chile A vacant lot containing architectural remnants and enjoying local urban prominence at the World Heritage Site of Valparaíso is the starting point for the project. Its aim is the regeneration of the Artilleria Hill neighbourhood by completing the triangle-shaped circuit made up of a cliff railway “ascensor” (lift), a stairway and a street, which link the three corners from the Customs House Square on the foot of the hill, a public promenade at the top, and the selected area, halfway between the top and the foot. The proposed mixed use of flats, shops, cafés, restaurants and public spaces, seeks to provide a more vibrant urbanity to the area thus leveraging its potentials to the full.The project takes the shape of two overlapped pieces, a public plinth which solves the steep topography, the different entrances and the relationship with the existing architectural remnants; and a block of flats, raised on the plinth to provide views of the city and the bay, and to give the building the condition of a landmark, the prow of the urban block. The materiality of the building is stony and bulky in the plinth, forming an artificial topography, whereas the housing block is a lightweight, wooden brass lined box placed on top. The program is organized with local commerce and access to the flats within the plinth facing the street, while touristic commerce and public spaces are revealed through the walk in the public stairs between the building and the hillside. Within the housing block, three types of flats are arranged around a central core, all of them enjoying sunlight and views.Internally, flexibility of use and partitions are proposed requirements for the flats, as a response to the target user, who enjoys the street culture, taking out into the city some domestic uses like dining and socializing, and bringing into the house some urban uses like work, body exercise, hobbies, etc. For this reason, each unit is composed of stationary and mobile elements, allowing for different spatial arrangements.The hybridization is the driving idea throughout the project; mixed uses, public and private, local and foreign, old and new, architectural and urban fabric, are re-organized, which results in a new, rich, and complex reality: a new encounter space. Claudio ViñUela Tutor(s) Sebastian Gray