Business....as usual

Hey everyone,
I'm back from vacay. It was great! I promise to upload some pictures as soon as I can. Between Facebook, replying emails and paying the very-important-after-vacations-visit-to-briefly-describe-the-wonderful-food-and-sites-I-was-privy-to to most of my friends, I am totally out of time. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I also have to work every once in a while, hahaha.

Even though I had decided to take a break from architecture, my vacations gave me a fresh outlook on the problem. So, while I work on other projects (crafts and stuff) that I have lined up, I will be getting back into the architectural swing of things.

So let me see....right now I'm working on:

• 3+1 projects that are only paperwork. Those projects have already been built sans the proper permits. Therefore, I have the "pleasurable" task of putting together the properties' municipal dossiers with all of the missing documents, plans and reports. bO-ring and tEE-di-ous. At least they are almost in the bag.
• 3 bids (or estimates, not sure how to call them) for different projects that have yet to be built. All of these require design (my FAVORITE part). One is a restaurant, the second is a group of small cabins, and the third is the headquarters for a moving company. That sounds a lot more impressive and glamorous than it really is, believe me. I'm not sure if they'll except my bid yet, but I'm keepin' my fingers crossed.
• 1 project to turn two houses on one lot into collective housing...just paperwork and the owners are a pain.
  
• 1 project that was supposed to be finished by now. But the owners decided that the project they approved is now too expensive and they want us to change it to a less expensive budget without us charging for that!!!!!!! Clueless, they are completely clueless.
  

You know, I had to admit that I live a bohemian lifestyle and I like that. It's not something that I'm willing to give up just yet. I could never conform to a structured work day. I would, literally, die. So what was I thinking trying to fit into the real world?

HIguerillas

Well, its been a really long time since I've had the occasion to visit the coast which is funny because I live 4 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. But you know what it's like: we always take for granted the things we have right at hand. Fortunately, I had a chance to go to Higuerillas yesterday to drop off some magazines at a restaurant and decided to snap some pictures for you guys.

Let me bring you up to speed about Concón (pronounced more like cone-cone'). This city was founded as a tourist spot for plantation/ranchers that lived in the Aconcagua Valley (i.e. surrounding the Aconcagua River that flows from the Andes Mountains). It was traditionally a place for wealthy Chileans to take vacations (still is), so the cliffs that look upon the Ocean were settled first. One of these areas (maybe you can say that it's a barrio) is Higuerillas (fig orchard, literally). Presently, Higuerillas is a place where you can find fisherman and restaurants specializing in seafood (duh, right? lol)

In the first picture you can see a sea gull (noisy bastards) and a pelican. That was sheer luck. I was waiting for a bus, and I just starting snapping all I could before it passed me by.

A view towards the East. Higuerillas, along the coastline, is only about as long as a football field. Maybe a little longer.

Towards the West. This square was made a few years ago. Before that there was only a side walk wide enough for one person to walk on. The big stones are there to create an artificial harbor for the fisherman. Behind the red building you would find Concón's Yacht Club. These are the restaurants at the foothills. If you were facing the ocean, these would be at your back.

And there you have it. Your first look at Higuerillas.

Moving Right Along....

I'm trying to shake off the mala onda (bad mojo) that I manifested yesterday. For that reason, I've decided to upload some pictures of my most recent project. This is for my friends back home. Hope ya'll enjoy them!

This is the view from the balcony. You really can't see it in this picture, but between the light post and the tree you can see the ocean.
Also a view from the balcony. Here you can see the ground floor and part of the parking lot.
Here are the stairs, which I luuuuved. The owners chose Chilean Oregon Pine for the staircase and door jambs. It's slightly more expensive than regular pine, but the color is much richer.




One of the first things that shocked me about Chile was how every house seemed to be caged in. This is a typical protection for a window. It's not like crime is rampant, it's just a cultural habit. In any case, thanks to the white paint and wood trim, the iron on this house gives it a Mediterranean feel.

And here's the finished product. (See what I mean about the caging).

It's a very small house compared to American standards, but it falls into an average sized house in Chile. It's only 60 m2 (±645 sq ft) total! Yep, I had to be really careful with the distribution.