In fact, it was this global interest that allowed Chile to act as the host, despite its lack of infrastructure to hold this event.
This representational aspect was crucial for Allende, whose tenure was followed worldwide due to its experimental approach to democracy – the ‘Chilean road to socialism’ – being an alternative to the Cold War’s capitalist/communist dichotomy. The conference, scheduled for May 1972, aimed to ‘facilitate the integration of developing countries into the world economy’, while showcasing the progress of under-developed nations on the global stage. In 1971, President Salvador Allende requested the United Nations to host the third United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Santiago. Originally known as UNCTAD III, the building’s construction was an emblem of the Unidad Popular government that lasted from 1970 to 1973. The UNCTAD III sketch (top) is by Hugo Gaggero, while the GAM sketch (below) is by the architectural team that won the renovation competition. Two perspectives of the UNCTAD III/GAM building.
This study reveals the links between architectural form and collective memory in contemporary Chile, interweaving topics such as remembrance and erasure, the conservation of ‘difficult’ heritage, and the role played by ideology within current architectural discourse. Furthermore, three figures involved in the renovation were interviewed: Christian Yutronic, one of the architects responsible for the redesign Felipe Mella, the current director of GAM and Caiozzama, a prominent protest artist who has transformed the building’s façade. This essay explores the discursive and spatial relationships between the latest renovation of the GAM building and past events through an analysis of the renovation’s design, its socio-political and cultural context, and its impact upon Chilean collective memory.Īrchival research for the essay encompasses governmental documents, press releases, and architectural drawings – in conjunction with newspaper articles and television clips. In present times, due to the October 2019 social protest movement, the building has been transformed by activists into an impromptu platform for protest art. Originally conceived as an emblem of modernisation during Salvador Allende’s presidency, it became the headquarters of the Pinochet military junta after the 1973 coup d’etat.
Located in central Santiago, the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Centre (GAM) is in fact the latest renovation of a building that embodies several historical shifts affecting Chile since 1972.