E D U A R D O
P E R E Z
PORTFOLIO January 2018
INTRODUCTION
TOMA
CONTENTS
As Wittgenstein once said, “the limits of my language
TOMA is an architecture collective based in Santiago
Introduction + TOMA
mean the limits of my world.” Though I am an architect,
de Chile, formed in 2012. TOMA develops experimental
my interests and experiences have pushed me to learn
projects of action and investigation, inquiring in conflicts
and speak other languages, other ways of constructing
of community and territory, and their connections with
NEVER DISCUSS POLITICS AT HOME
the world. Soon after I became an architect, I explored
the current context of neoliberal “progress”.
TAIRA: EXHIBITION AT THE MUSEO PRECOLOMBINO
the ways in which architecture can have a critical role in a world of social, ecological and political crisis.
Born in the context of a world in crisis, locally and globally, TOMA directs its practice towards the construction of
As my career developed, I became increasingly aware
critical scenarios. TOMA´s projects combine design
of the limitations of the discipline and the necessity of
and construction work, the development of territorial
incorporating broader scopes than those commonly
narratives,
related to architecture. Individually and collectively, I
conflicts for the organization of temporary and unstable
have engaged with a number of exercises of research
communities that allow the generation of critical or
and action, and have explored a broad array of tools,
alternative discourses and actions to the hegemonic
languages and methodologies often associated to other
neoliberal consensus.
the
visualization
and/or
generation
of
NEVER DISCUSS POLITICS AT HOME - TV SHOW
ESPECULOPOLIS ESPECULOPOLIS TV LA OCUPACIÓN COMEDOR CASA DE LA MUSICA I CASA DE LA MUSICA II ALLEGADOS AT THE CCE
disciplines such as sound, video, performance, theatre,
INFANTE 1415
set design, urban interventions, editorial and curatorial
TOMA produces infrastructure, collages, activities, classes,
work, community, and academic processes.
articles, journals, interventions, collections, occupations,
PATIO FOR INFANTE 1415
magazines,
THE LABYRINTH
drawings,
workshops,
films,
television
With a group of friends, in 2012 I founded a collective
programs, plays, chats, sound pieces, archives, web pages
called Grupo TOMA. Our work promotes critique, citizen
and other mechanisms of production.
THE DINING ROOM …AND NAKED
collaboration, construction of community and the appropriation of public space, understanding each project
The work of TOMA has been exhibited in Santiago,
as an opportunity for material and symbolic dispute.
Valparaíso, Chicago, New York , Athens, and Melbourne.
THE ROOFTOP URBAN EXPLORATIONS
In my recent work, by adding layers of complexities and multiple approaches, I have found fertile ways to act as a
TOMA is composed by Ignacio Saavedra, Eduardo Pérez,
creative and critical actor of the social and the urban.
Ignacio Rivas, Mathias Klenner and Leandro Cappetto.
THE HEADQUARTERS FURNITURE FOR HANDCRAFTS WORKSHOPS LA FANZINOTECA MOVIL
This portafolio presents both projects related to the collective work of TOMA as with others collectivities. 2
NEVER DISCUSS POLITICS AT HOME - TV SHOW
EXPERIMENTAL TV SHOW - TOMA JUNE 2017 - FEB 2018 MELBOURNE - SANTIAGO
Never Discuss Politics at Home, the TV Show! is an architectural -and experimental- TV show that explores the relation between domesticity, global conflicts and media, through the development of a fictional TV programming of a fictional territory. This project is an attempt to develop a critical understanding and an active response to the neoliberal power that has been shaping the context in which we have been living for the last 45 years. The project wants to question and subvert the complex figure between contemporary global socio-territorial conflicts, mass media, domestic space and our discipline. To achieve this, NDPAH proposes to re-explore the enormous
communicative
capacity of architecture
through a hand-made domestic-television format, in order to construct critical narratives about the most relevant territorial conflicts. The general structure of the project is based on the action of zapping, and it’s developed as short TV capsules to navigate through, arranged in 8 episodes. Project funded by the Graham Foundation Grant Program for individuals, 2017.
» Site » Graham Grant 3
NEVER DISCUSS POLITICS AT HOME
OCCUPIED EXHIBITION AT RMIT DESIGN HUB - TOMA
AUG - OCT 2016 MELBOURNE
NEVER DISCUSS POLITICS AT HOME is a project developed by TOMA for Occupied Exhibition, at RMIT Design Hub, in Melbourne. It explores the domestic space and its capacity as a political stimulus through a collection of architectural tv shows, movies, magazines, newspapers, pictures, websites and books. Every week, a public meal was organized, and guests were invited to discuss the political conflicts of urban issues of our time: real estate speculation, affordable housing, gentrification, demolition, displacement, urban memory, community resistance, manifestations and protests, occupations of buildings and territories, contamination of urban natural resources. The project remained open for 2 months, with a member of TOMA in residence. The visitors of the exposition had the chance to comment its content with the occasional inhabitant.
» Site » Facebook » Article » Video » New version 4
TAIRA: EXHIBITION AT THE MUSEO PRECOLOMBINO
EXHIBITION DESIGN AND PRODUCTION - MESS
APR - DIC 2017 SANTIAGO
Taira is located around 75 kilometers to the northeast of the city of Calama on the upper reaches of the Loa river, in the north of Chile. The beauty, complexity and vitality of its rock art has few parallels in prehistoric American art. The exhibition “TAIRA: The Dawn of Art in Atacama” is the product of more than 30 years of anthropological research. Art and Science are put together in the Museo de Arte Precolombino, in the very heart of Santiago. Through multimedia devices at the service of sensory stimulation and communication objectives, the experience of this archaeological site and its narratives are brought to the visitors. They can contemplate the engravings and paintings of Taira as a sublime manifestation of the dawn of art in Atacama and, at the same time, as a fascinating foray into its comprehension. The idea behind the show is for people to appreciate the beauty of the images, capture their indivisible link with the landscape, consider their extreme fragility as cultural heritage, and gain an understanding of the meanings and purpose of the creators of this works 2500 years ago.
Pablo Blanco ©
For this exhibition, my role was to lead the design and production. It is currently open to public and will travel to Antofagasta in Sep 2018.©
>>WEB of the Museum >>Video of the process Pablo Blanco ©
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Pablo Blanco ©
ESPECULOPOLIS
PROJECT FOR THE CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL 2015 OCT – DEC 2015 CHICAGO
The case study for ESPECULOPOLIS is Santiago de Chile, the neoliberal city par excellence, shaped by the thoughts of the ¨Chicago Boys¨, whose ideas became prominently influential during Pinochet’s dictatorship and still resonate deeply within Chilean society today. ESPECULOPOLIS brought and exposed four ¨urban crimes¨ - four specific territories from Santiago de Chile - through which this historical process is exposed to offer an opportunity for open discussion and reflection. During 2 weeks, TOMA installed its office at the CAB 2015, were three collective actions were developed: Cases Parliament: A discussion scene that relates the four case studies through historical facts and relevant actors, building up a territorial cosmogony over the last 50 years. Speculative Tribune: A collective newspaper. It contains reflections on the contemporary city, declassified documents, comments about the biennial, speculations about possible post-neoliberal cities, photo reportages, etc. The Evidence Board and Archive: gathers information detailing the history of neoliberalism in Santiago de Chile and in the world. The Evidence Board organizes this history and its manifestations in the urban environment.
» Speculative Tribune #0 #1 #2 #3 #4 » Article on ArchDaily » Videos #1 #2 #3
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ESPECULOPOLIS TV
RESIDENCE PROJECT FOR INFANTE 1415 - TOMA
JAN 2017 SANTIAGO
This project was developed as the conclusion of the residence of TOMA at the Centro Cultural Infante 1415, owned by the Municipality of Providencia. This sequel of Especulopolis, that took place at the basement of Infante, exhibited in Santiago the research and deployment of its first version. This time, the focus was on mass media and its role in perpetuating and strengthening the current global neoliberal order, and, more specifically, in the responsibility of architecture in this fabric. Is there will and power within the discipline to construct the processes – and not only the results – that shape the world today? On this basis, Especulopolis TV is proposed as a researchaction project on the audiovisual language generating an opportunity for collective creation of open and critical contents. Especulopolis TV developed a programmed schedule that explored different TV formats (Infomercials, Talk shows, Game show, Music Clip, Weather Report, News, Documentary), as an exercise for the production and circulation of contents. These programs were developed and created by number of collaborators and external guests. Collaborators: Ariztia Lab / Milm2 / La nueva Gráfica Chilena / Francisco Díaz /Juan Pablo Corbalán + Daniel Santana/ REA (Red De Estudiantes De Arquitectura).
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LA OCUPACIÓN
AN OCCASSIONAL CITY
JAN 2014 SANTIAGO
La Ocupación (The Occupation) took place at the Cultural Center MilM2, in the facilities of an old hat factory. Situated in the very core of the gentrification processes in Santiago, La Ocupación occurred during the last week before it got demolished. By using the figure of an Occasional City, La Ocupación was an exercise of temporary occupation that explored different ways of collaboration and new forms of collectiveness. Eight temporary institutions, developed by different collectives, placed in two warehouses, an exhibition room and a backyard, took part in this one week experiment. It functioned day and night from 5-11 of january 2014, with a continuous program. Each institution developed an infrastructural and programmatic proposal, and was asked to relate both with other institution as with the general collectivity. In this manner, The Occupation was a space of action and reflection, a temporary ecosystem to inquire about the possibilities of the social space. The Institutions were: The Press Room / The Nocturnal University / The World / The Sanatorium / The Music House / The Bakery / The Identitorium / The Dining Room.
» The Press Room Issues #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 » La Ocupacion Milm2 8
COMEDOR
TEMPORARY OCCUPATION OF GAM PLAZA - TOMA
AUG - OCT 2014 SANTIAGO
COMEDOR (DINING ROOM) is a project of temporary occupation of the central plaza of GAM, the largest cultural center in Santiago de Chile. COMEDOR is proposed as a recovery action of the memory of the building - originally the UNCTAD III (United Nations Conference of Trade and Development
Dinner Table x12, Large Bench x16, Short Bench x16.
The Kitchen
1972) then Gabriela Mistral Metropolitan Cultural Center 1972-73 and then Diego Portales (Pinochet dictatorship headquarters 1973-90)- specifically of the dining room which functioned in the original cultural center from august 1972 to September 1973. This cultural center represented the ideals and hopes of the first socialist government in Chile, and the dining room was the heart of this space where artists, students, thinkers and workers who believed in this project met each other. COMEDOR links the food and the culture as ritual practices associated to meeting, conversation and exchange. The memory recovery appears as a link between a temporary community and a public space. Dining room opened its doors in September 2014, and remained in operation for five weeks, offering typical Chilean food and many activities, such as music concerts and lectures. Associated
Collaborators:
Denise
Elphick
(cultural
manager), Patricio Garcés (chef), Sergio Benavente (manager) and GAM. » Facebook » Gam » Article on Plataforma Arquitectura 9
The Ticket Office
The mobile Table
The Kiosk
CASA DE LA MUSICA I
INTERVENTION - TOMA + 12NA + MILM2 JAN 2014 SANTIAGO
During 5 days, the patio of the old Girardi Hat Factory in Santiago was transformed into an open space for horizontal and collective musical creation, for musicians and non-musicians. The event put together an infrastructural installation and an activities program for the creation of a social exploration through sounds. The physical space was conceived as a large percussion instrument, made out of hanging metal molds formerly used for shaping the hats. This soundscape could only be played simultaneously by those who assisted. A number of musical instrument were previously collected. The program included improvisation sessions for kids, guided by stablishd local musicians, signconducted open sessions, and open improvisations that lasted over 5 hours during the 5 days CDLM was open. This project was developed in the context of the project LA OCUPACION, in collaboration with 12-na and Milm2.
Âť website 12na Âť more info
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CASA DE LA MUSICA II
INTERVENTION - 12NA APR - JUL 2015 VALPARAISO
In the context of the fire that affected Valparaiso in2014, CDLM worked with the community of Mesana, an informal settlement in Cerro Mariposas. The purpose was to build a public space with recycled materials, and bring music to a new platform for participation and co-creation from the fundamental idea that “music is a game and we are all in the center”. This modest square made out of reclaimed materials housed the activities developed by CDLM, but most importantly, it became a new place for the organization of the local community. A second stage of the project included resources that made possible the construction of a more definitive public space. Adults and children got involved both in building and musical tasks. As in its previous activation, CDLM put together infrastructure and program in order to explore the possibilities of music as a social trigger.
» Article » more info
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ALLEGADOS AT THE CCE
RESIDENCE AT THE CULTURAL CENTER OF SPAIN - TOMA
MAR - JUN 2017 SANTIAGO
The meaning of the word “Allegado” in Chile and Latin America is someone who lives temporarily in someone else’s house, usually without being a relative of the owner. The Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago de Chile commissioned TOMA to build a series of furniture for three spaces: a residence laboratory for artists called “Mate Sur Lab”, a workshop called “La Nube” and a communal terrace called “La Isla Verde”. Instead we proposed them to make a residence in the Cultural Centre for a period of three months to refurbish these three spaces. The idea was to have all the process of research, design and construction inside the place, in order to pursue a deeper relation with the spaces and the inhabitants of the Centre. The process would be open to public and also part of the project, in a performative way. We invited two “allegados”, Nicolás Aracena and Nicolás Grum, both artists, to be part of the residence, bringing their own knowledge and way of doing to affect the process. For the workshop place “La Nube” we worked with Nicolás Aracena, creating a giant-scale furniture made of recovered wood beams, collected in a demolition site. For the residence laboratory we worked with Nicolás Grum, testing all the possibilities of the place, and also transforming and recovering old furniture of the Cultural Centre. The kitchen happened to be the gravitating feature of this scenario for the artists in residency.
>>Article on CCE website 12
INFANTE 1415
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT - TOMA JUL - SEP 2015 SANTIAGO
In 2014, the local government of Providencia, Santiago de Chile, acquired a central plot of land which included two buildings formerly part of a textile factory of historical value. After years of underuse, the facilities would be rehabilitated to preserve their original productive purpose, but the program would take a new direction; Infante 1415 would become the first public Creation Factory in Chile, a government sponsored cultural center to encourage the creative activities of the local community. Within this framework, TOMA was commissioned to develop the furniture as part of the refurbishment of Infante 1415. It was necessary that the proposal addressed both functional and symbolic issues, as it was a basic requirement to provide space for a wide range of activities and uses that could integrate the new space into the community. The MONSTRUITOS DE LA HILANDERIA furniture series developed for this project explores two basic principles: the reclamation of found materials from the factory, and the application of simple construction techniques. A series of objects were created: each piece formed as a unique individual, an inhabitant of the space.
Âť Plataforma Arquitectura 13
PATIO FOR INFANTE 1415
PATIO FOR A PUBLIC CREATION FACTORY - TOMA
NOV 2015 - JAN 2016 SANTIAGO
A few months after the opening, the local government of Providencia commissioned TOMA to participate in a second phase of the rehabilitation of the Infante 1415 Creation Factory. This time we were tasked with transforming the exterior space of the factory into a patio. The central approach for the construction of the Patio was the inclusion of the members of the local community into the design and construction process. As in the first phase, the scope of the project transcended the structural requirements. The most essential part of the project was the development and strengthening of the local community, a group of empowered neighbors who would be able to organize, appropriate and make decisions over the territory. For the process of promoting this community, the first task was to render the planning process completely open and visible. A series of expository devices were employed to reveal the decisions, resources and reflections of the group, and this is where the project expresses its political dimension: by fostering an active condition of the citizens to democratize public resources and processes. In the same manner, the design and building processes were open and inclusive, allowing active participation of all interested individuals. In that sense, the materialization of the project is understood as a tool for the locals to claim full ownership over the process as a method to boost selforganization and self-management of the community.
Âť Plataforma Arquitectura 14
THE LABYRINTH
URBAN INTERVENTION, HECHO EN CASA FESTIVAL - TOMA NOV 2013 SANTIAGO
The “Hecho en Casa” Festival of urban interventions launches an open competition every year. We developed one of the selected projects. We chose a specific site, a residual plot from the urban transportation projects, a place with no use, abandoned in the center of the city. A few blocks away from “La Vega”, one of the biggest open markets of Santiago, and “Estacion Mapocho”, a few steps from one of the largest Cultural Centers in the city. The project proposes a labyrinth, made of modular wooden frame panels covered by a red translucent plastic textile. The labyrinth is the only architecture without a function, a place to get lost. It is also an ironic comment about the city and the complexity of its configurations, which leaves residual space even in its most busy areas . This project transoforms one of those spaces into a place of mystery, game, trap, disorientation, loneliness and meeting.
» Hecho en Casa 15
THE DINNING ROOM
TEMPORARY PUBLIC DINNING ROOM - TOMA
SEP 2013 - FEB 2014 SANTIAGO
The second headquarter of TOMA, was in the Community Cultural Center Milm2 inside the cultural factory: FactorĂa Italia, this project responds to the need of a reunion place inside the cultural factory. The project proposes a temporary dinning room which can be used in different contexts, composed by a textile cover, modular furniture and an aerial garden. El Comedor, operated as a reunion place and dining room, during September 2013 to February 2014, for the people who worked inside FactorĂa Italia. It also was used as a backup infrastructure for fairs, music concerts, political meetings and art exhibitions. Because of its adaptability, the project was also used for a fair in a public park in the center of Santiago as a pic-nic cover. And finally its structure was replicated for covering a playground inside the Museo Interactivo Mirador (MIM) located at the south of Santiago.
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...AND NAKED
FINALIST PROJECT AT YAP SANTIAGO, MOMA/PS1 - TOMA APR - JUN 2014 SANTIAGO
In 2014, TOMA was invited to take part in the YAP Santiago competition. Our attention was immediately over the territory to be intervened. Parque Araucano is right in front of the remains of the utopic socialist housing project Villa San Luis, a partially realized project of Allende’s government. It is also a few steps away from the towers of Nueva Las Condes, the thriving new economic district of Santiago. The proposal is a story, a tale about this specific location situated between the real and the utopic, between the pain and the game: it is ultimately an attempt to unmask hidden histories and free the imagination. And Naked seeks to activate a place not only by making it habitable: is also make it speak about its past and its possible futures.
PLANTA 1 ESCALA 1:100
The design of the project recovers traces from the history of the context, from its future, present and past. The facade of the Villa San Luis housing project is used as a support of the project in the ground, above this broken and reconstructed facade appears eight wooden characters, between bridges and platforms that serve as observation points and places for discussion about Santiago and its future.
Âť YAP 17
THE ROOFTOP
URBAN LABORATORY, DIANA CULTURAL CENTRE - TOMA 2014 SANTIAGO
La Azotea (The Rooftop) was a project developed by TOMA between March to September 2014. Was an urban laboratory which occupied the rooftop of an old monastery, currently called Diana Cultural Center. The Rooftop would be built as an occasional city, an urban utopia in the San Diego district, downtown of Santiago de Chile, which tried to inquire about the future of our cities. For seven months, different groups and entities created projects of territorial research, citizen participation, architectural workshops and cultural activities. The School of Architecture of the Universidad Finnis Terrae (UFT) leaded by the architect Pablo Brugnoli and TOMA, made a research project called “La colaboración en la construcción de espacios temporales” which focused on all the actions that occurred inside The Rooftop project and the urban and social context around it. This research was made with the students of the school of architecture in a workshop called Territorial Reorganizations. The project also included the participation of the 4th year design studio of the School of Architecture of the Universidad de Chile, leaded by the architect Rodrigo Toro and TOMA. For funding the construction of The Rooftop, TOMA along with the Diana Cultural Center developed several cultural activities, including community meals, concerts and dissertations about the project. Associated Collaborators: School of Architecture of the Universidad Finnis Terrae, School of Architecture of the Universidad de Chile, Denise Elphick and Diana Santiago Cultural Center.
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EXPLORACIONES URBANAS
ACADEMIC COURSE, EXU COLLECTIVE - TOMA
2013 - 2015 SANTIAGO
Urban Explorations was an interdisciplinary collective who operates in Santiago de Chile. It develops urban territorial research through the act of walking as a research tool, imparting classes and workshops in several universities. Members: Camila Kuncar, TOMA, Jimena Hevia, Maria José Araya, Pablo Bustamante and Pauline Claramunt. The Urban Exploration collective was formed in 2013 and from the beginning it has imparted lectures in different universities, where the students have become part of the researches made by walking. Since the second semester of 2013 to 2015 the EXU collective has taught an alternative lecture in the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Universidad de Chile (UCH). This course mixes theoretical lessons with walks through the city with a research objective determined by the students. The final examination is a collective exposure of the research made by the students, usually this research turns into an experimental cartography. This course was also dictated during the first semester of 2014 in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture of the Universidad de las Artes y las Comunicaciones (UNIACC) and in the School of Architecture of the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM). EXU also has made several public walks with specific routes of research, linking public institutions with peripheral neighborhoods.
» EXU » Video 19
THE HEADQUARTERS
EXPERIMENTAL WORKSHOP, UDLA - TOMA OCT - DIC 2015 SANTIAGO
The School of Architecture of UDLA (Universidad de las Americas) commissioned TOMA to lead a new infrastructural intervention at the rooftop of its campus in the district of Providencia, Santiago de Chile. The project scope was to develop a space for creation, recreation and experimentation for the students. The intervention was intended to house various programs and also to foster further cultural development; generating a community gathering space and a prototype laboratory. TOMA developed a workshop consisting of two stages: Imaginary and Community Linkage, and Design and Construction. During the first stage, the students got to a definition of the program and a first design through a number of activities and products; a theater play, a public event, a Manifesto, surveys, research, models and prototypes. As the first stage finished, the program was defined: The Students Headquarters, a place made by and for them, an infrastructure that aims to trigger a new empowered organization. v In the second stage, the students designed and built the Headquarters, stablished the protocols of its functioning and presented the project to the community.
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FURNITURE FOR HANDCRAFTS WORKSHOPS
FURNITURE DESIGN - DAE
APR - JUL 2015 SANTIAGO
he Fundacion ArtesanĂas de Chile (Chilean Foundation for Handcrafts) commissioned the design development and construction of furniture for the educational program which is held in La Moneda Cultural Center, Santiago. Here, artisans and craftsmen share their knowledge through hands-on public workshops. Tables, chairs and storage systems were crafted from steel, pine board and native wood. The artisanal spirit of the building process is reflected in the finished pieces, while they also fulfill the various needs of each workshop’s differing techniques and materials. The tables and the cabinets are movable, and the chairs are stackable, allowing a rearrangable workspace.
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LA FANZINOTECA MOVIL
MICRO-INSTITUTION DESIGN APR - JUL 2015 SANTIAGO
FANZINOTECA ESPIGADORAS has collected over 600 (publications) pieces from Latin America, Europe and North America, by assisting to a number of microeditorial meetings or by mail exchange. Fanzinoteca Espigadoras is a collective that realizes projects of collaborative art and ethnography. The fanzine is the main medium used to promote processes of mutual learning and expression of communities, in order to empower them and highlight their needs and interests. Fanzinoteca Espigadoras aims to activate participatory networks through editorial work. FE was awarded with funds for the creation of a bikepowered car, which I designed and built. This car had three main functions: Storage: it preserves and classifies the archive in plastic shelves. Itinerancy: the car couples any bike and brings with it every material needed to make a workshop. Deployment: the structure opens up and turns into a portable workshop, while it also exhibits the collection and allows the interaction with the public.
>>Web Fanzinoteca Espigadoras 22
eduardoperezinfante@gmail.com / +569 9250 3486 Santiago de Chile 2018