Exterior cladding in the German architecture of Valdivia. A metaphor of refinement and social distinction

Abstract

As a result of the colonization process that began in the mid-19th century in southern Chile and, with it, the systematic arrival of European immigrants, an informal discourse has been favored over time to sustain the transcendent contribution of foreigners in the area, as well as the architectures accrued, thus emerging a widely spread valuation and cataloging discourse; the «German architecture of southern Chile.» Notwithstanding the widely publicized colonizing agenda and its overall impact, economic progress and better material conditions are not transversal issues within this migrant colony. Within this scenario, the Typical Zone of General Pedro Lagos Street, located in the city of Valdivia, constitutes a highly representative sector in terms of its social recognition and the valuation given to the properties located there as exponents of a prolific colonization process. In a specific group of buildings in this area, this article will review and present detailed background information that will allow building a situated and complex architectural scene, revealing the mechanisms used to exhibit prosperity and social climbing as an expiatory vehicle to cover production conditions alien to the neatness of capitalist German entrepreneurship and the European sophistication that was so desired to be transmitted in the cities undergoing fledgling immigration processes.