This month the boundary has been finally crossed. It is because the exhibition and ongoing research project Clip/Stamp/Fold has landed in the south hemisphere by this month until July 2013. Santiago has had the chance for this first landing. The local version of the project became real due to the remarkable work of Fernando Portal, Pablo Brugnoli and Andrea Lathrop, whom gave shape to the Chilean participation on the architectural radical magazines of the 60’s and 70’s.

The selected local magazines were proposed according to the main outline: “radical architecture of little magazines”. In this regard, AUCA was immediately considered as one of the first ones due to its invaluable role as one of the bravest publication according to the social impact in the hard days Chile was facing.  Architecture, Urbanism, Construction and Arts configure its name as well as the matching with the aboriginal (mapuche) word, which means Rebel.  Also AUCA bore a respectable name because it born in times when the teaching of architecture crossed reforming changes in the Chilean universities. Moreover, AUCA headed the political message of Salvador Allende’s government, publishing fundamental new collective housing projects, which were designed to improve dwelling conditions like never before along the country. This magazine also faced the other side of the coin when the military took power. AUCA lost immediately its main aim and became neutral on social issues. It finally shut down after 20 years life in 1985.

Among the others magazines incorporated, we have the CA Magazine (from the College of Architects of Chile), INTEC, MEMORIA and DISEÑO 1. All of these publications also played a decisive role in the sharing of ideas, debates and projects in times where the publishing issue was growing slowly in Chile, especially from universities or even students’ organizations. As the curatorial board expressed in their dossier, the issues mainly involved in these magazines were related with “prefabrication as a housing solution, integrating the design to developing processes oriented to the country’s industrialization and the reorganization of the state apparatus based on the nationalization and reorientation of urban and housing planning programs.”

Clip/Stamp/Fold Chile has taken place in not any building, but in a very recognizable one: the GAM Cultural Center. This place was originally conceived as the place where was held the UNCTAD III in 1972. The original building was built in exactly 275 days, revealing the importance of the industrialization process in construction matters those days, as well as the relevance Allende gave to the event. Today it has been converted in a cultural hub and where past and present have gathered each other again around utopias newly reminded.

The exhibition is being presented since past June 5th until next July 7th. Two “Little talks” have been held, gathering researchers related with the local magazines already mentioned. The second of them is about to be held this next July 4th; 19hs at Room C1, where it is expected to have the presence of Miguel Lawner. Lawner was one of the AUCA magazine precursors and key actor in the UNCTAD III building project. Don’t miss it!