TED VIDEO

URBANISM CHANGES LIVES

When I saw the video of the urbanist and architect Peter Calthorpe in

TED, he made me think and reflect on many things on which I totally

agree.

In many parts of the world and in Santiago, we are in a process of urban rehabilitation. Of course, to improve our quality of life and adapt contemporary needs in the best possible way. But sometimes the strategies implemented aren´t the best to make a radical change in the city. The key concept missing in those strategies is: urban design.

It´s fundamental to make a city within human scale, adequate proportions and standards, besides other implementation ideas. Those ideas are: Avoid expansion and marginalization of social strata to the peripheries of the city. This is solved with compact design and densification, changing social inequality by giving them access to services and equipment to all the population.

Public transport in Santiago is an obstacle and measures such as sustainable transport, supporting the use of the bicycle or simply walking should be implemented. But for those measures to work you need a walkable city and have all the necessary tools. 

It´s important to be aware of the huge impact that urbanism can make to our daily lives, we must fight against adversity with it and rehabilitate our city in the best possible way. Serious participation of the people would help us all to change our most urgent urban needs.

"so much depends on how we shape our cities: not just environmental impacts, but our social well-being, our economic vitality, our sense of community and connectedness."

Peter Calthorpe

https://www.gochile.cl/es/tours/bicicleta-maanera-por-santiago.htm

ARCHITECTURE

                                                                 MY CAREER

Sometimes, when I´m working at 5am, I wonder how I can study something as sacrificed as architecture. I think about it and then I realize I could never choose something else. I find that architecture is the only art that really leaves a mark on the quality of life in people. We are able to change the city and change lifestyles. What´s more powerful than that?

I always knew that I wanted to study architecture. Since I was 8, 9 years old, it always caught my attention, but for some reason I do not understand, I started studying arts at the Universidad Católica. I always liked the two careers, but I felt that I had to be in both of them to know which one satisfied me more. I discovered that I preferred architecture. I realized that art does excite people, but that architecture was deeper, towards that and it changed people.

After spending 2 months in art, a classmate in drawing classes told me: hey you draw like an architect! and I told him, DONE !!!, that's the signal I needed !!!

Prepared the PSU and got into the Universidad de Chile, to study architecture. Why the Universidad de Chile? because of the quality of teachers and academic excellence. Apart I like its ideology and the values ​​and the type of people who study here.

It changed my life, I think sometimes sacrificing plans to work, learn, sweat, read, add, mourn, has been worth it, because it is what I like the most and what I want to happily spend the rest of my life.

"IF A BUILDING BECOMES ARCHITECTURE, IT IS ART"

Arne Jacobsen

                                   

THE BEST CONCERT ON EARTH

LONG LIVE ROCK!

I'm a fan of music and I've gone to many concerts. But if you ask me which was the best, I immediately say The Wall.

Rogers Waters after many years without stepping on the country,  returns to play at the National Stadium in 2010, when I was only 14 years old. Former member of Pink Floyd was always one of my favorite bands and also in my opinion a group that changed the music theory.

Before going to the concert I had a very bad time. My dad was going to buy the tickets for us to go together (it's also his favorite band). He arrives at my house and says: Dominique the tickets are over. I was very sad and disappointed, I felt that I was not going to listen to his live music ever.

But a few days later, my dad comes back to the house ... but with the tickets! It was so much the sales success that they decided to make another day of concert. WHAT A LUCK I HAD!

It was incredible. I have never heard such good musicians. They created an atmosphere with the instruments, which was really impressive. Apart from that, the special effects were sensational. Giant dolls came out of a huge wall that could be seen from all over the stadium, a wall that symbolized the whole history of the album "The Wall". It was also very exciting to see all ages and kind of people who were at the concert, there you realized that Pink Floyd is a universal band that changed the lives of many people. It is a memory that I will never forget, as I sing so many songs next to my dad, both enjoying, one of the things that we like the most, seeing the great, unsurpassed, ROGER WATERS!

THE BIG APPLE

                                                New York, a dream to me

For a long time, I have wanted to visit the big city, "New York" in the United States. The architecture and the diversity of the people have been the reasons for my great passion and enthusiasm for knowing this place, which for what I have had is magical and fast.

The first reason is the memorable architecture, many buildings with important stories, that will change this discipline, such as museums, bridges, parks, streets, etc. They change your perspective of architecture and the city.

Another reason is the variety of people. Different cultures, languages, countries, skin colors, lifestyles, live together in one place and that is very interesting.

In conclusion, New York is a great city that I would like to visit, for the quality of the buildings and the difference of people, which is a great value. The "Big Apple" is also the most influential city in the world because of many artistic and cultural factors that have to be known once in a lifetime.