Institutions




A series of public interiors emerged along with the appearance of new institutions. These spaces, unlike the circles, did not have as their main objectuve that of connect the social, but rather that of the administration of power. They are venues that bear witness to the modernizing impulse of the State and the institutions of the time, and seek to reflect and materialize a political and economic model in accordance with these transformations. Bank halls, newspaper editorial rooms, offices and meeting rooms, courts, all these urban rooms were populated with pieces of furniture that articulated protocols of movements and measured transactions; revolving doors, boxes, rows and counters organized the choreography of bodies and consolidated an incipient ´microphysics of  biopolitical power`.


Bank halls
Courts
Press








Caja de Crédito Hipotecario

The building of the Mortgage Credit Fund (Caja de Crédito Hipotecario) was the response to the growth of its institution. Initially focused on agricultural loans, at the turn of the century, the Caja Hipotecaria gained a relevant role in the construction of a working-class housing, and with the help of the National Savings Bank (Caja Nacional de Ahorros), extended offices throughout Chile. Here, in its central office, the lobby was profusely decorated the relationship between the institution and the citizens. Above, the stained glass of the dome symbolically portrayed the concepts -wealth, work, discredit- of the Caja de Crédito Hipotecario. A savings palace that, from the downtown center managed the construction of housing in the city and the country.