Los riesgos por el “abandono cultural” del patrimonio industrial: maestranzas ferroviarias en Chile

Abstract

The article reflects on the conditions of “cultural neglect” of industrial architecture in Chile, taking as example andreference the architecture of large railway ordnance shops, which form part of the architectural heritage throughoutthe country. Currently they set abandoned industrial landscapes in large urban areas, located in strategic areas ofthe cities. Railway buildings are mostly obsolete and they are virtually under no asset protection, only a few havebeen declared a National Monument, however, research conducted on the subject, concluded in part that the meredeclaration of asset protected is not enough to the preservation of this significant heritage at risk of disappearing,because there is not a policy of cultural valuation with a socio-historical approach of the meaning of the railroad inthe development of the nation , there are only isolated initiatives in relation to the subject. The condition of risk arisesfrom the vulnerabilities of the characteristics of the construction conditions of abandonment and lack of a policy ofsocio-cultural valuation, and on the other hand, threats, both environmental and urban, mainly caused by the realstatepressures and urban development policies.