Lo Curro

Architect: Izquierdo Lehmann

This project consists of a park-like design that is shared between four houses in the hillside barrio ´Lo Curro´ in Santiago, Chile. Located on the north bank of the Mapocho River, this project is one of the first of Tere´s gardens, constructed and planted thirty years ago.

The site is located on a steep slope and includes a water channel that flows through the upper levels of the hill. This is part of an irrigation system that carries water from the barrio of La Dehesa and around the hills to Lo Curro following a fairly high contour line. When Tere visited the site for the first time, she found a series of pools and ditches filled with water that had leaked from the irrigation channel. This water loss motivated Tere to define these existing water pools and channels. From this starting point the design developed into a formal landscape based on the functional and cyclical movement of water, from pool to channel, to pool.

At the base of the hill the water is received in a still circular pool. This area in the design is a total sanctuary; surrounded by lush forest planting it is calming and beautiful. Being semi-hidden within the site it is magical, inviting one to get lost amongst the trees and the sound of falling water. This area is the focal point in the design and is framed with flowering and shrub shade species, such as X Soulangeana Magnolias, camellias and azaleas. These are all planted in swathes under groves of Japanese maples (Acer Palmatum), a large Erythrina tree and a large existing Eucalyptus