The Caja de Seguro Obligatorio and the Centro de Readaptación Los Maitenes: Architecture and Medicine in the Maule foothills (1935)
Christian Andrés López Olivari- Samuel Alejandro García-Oteiza
- David Andrés Guerrero Valenzuela
Published 2023-12-30
Keywords
- Arquitectura sanitaria,
- Caja Seguro Obligatorio,
- Sanatorios
How to Cite
Abstract
On December 15, 1935, the Caja de Seguro Obligatorio inaugurated a new anti-tuberculosis weaponry in the Maule foothills. This architectural project, called “centro de readaptación” (Readaptation Center), was intended to be a prior instance before the return to work of discharged patients from the sanatoriums.
This work is focused on the study of the Centro de Readaptación Los Maitenes, the first and only project of its kind in Chile. It is proposed that this Center constitutes an important piece to know and understand the transcription and habilitation of a political-medical project to an architectural project in a context of transition between architecture and medicine in Chile.
The objective of the research is to highlight the patrimonial value of this unknown and forgotten building, placing it in its national and international production context. Articulating different documentary sources and field work, it was possible to bring a first and rigorous historical-architectural reconstruction of the building. Currently, the Centro de Readaptación Los Maitenes is in dereliction.