Alberto Piwonka Ovalle

The author proposes the study of the intersection of ideas comprised in the academic and architectural work of architect Alberto Piwonka in the cultural, social, technological and aesthetic context of Chile during the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. This "crossing" comes, mostly, from the transfer of the concepts developed by Piwonka in the teaching of the Pure Composition workshop, also known by the names of Preliminary Workshop, Pre-Architectural Composition, Plastic or Basic Design, at the School of Architecture of the Catholic University and the exercise of his professional practice. Piwonka sought to change the academic focus from the first courses of the career and not from the final courses. "The idea of 'crossing' is the key to understanding the content of this book," writes Fernando Pérez in the prologue, regarding the title of the book. "It should be understood as an effort to understand the process through which the ideas of the avant-garde permeated the architectural culture in Chile and Latin America."