The CA Awards and Honors are among the most prestigious recognitions for architects in Chile, honoring 12 registered members for their work and contribution to the country's architectural field. Coinciding with the closing of Architecture Month and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile, the award ceremony will take place on Thursday, August 25, at 6:00 PM. The event will also be broadcast via FB Live and on the YouTube channel of the Colegio de Arquitectos.
Below, we present the winners of the various categories of the 2022 CA Awards and Honors:
Alberto Risopatrón Award, category: Professional Association Service in the Colegio de Arquitectos
An architect from the Universidad de Chile, he stood out since his student days for his participation in student organizations and volunteer work. Between 1985 and 1998, alongside a group of fellow Universidad de Chile graduates, he co-founded the association's Young Architects Committee.
He has played a major role in the CA, embodying the core values of the profession. He served on the national board from 2005 to 2007, standing out for his contributions to urban and regional development with a focus on social housing and vulnerable communities. Under the presidency of Alberto Montealegre between 2007 and 2009, he stood out for his active role in coordinating support for families affected by the 2007 Tocopilla earthquake. His institutional involvement and contributions have connected the CA with pressing, real-world issues. He currently serves on the Urban Development Committee and is involved in the formation of the “Architects for a Dignified Chile” movement.
Sergio Larraín García-Moreno Award, category: Academic or Research Field
An architect from the Universidad Católica (1972) with a Diploma from the Architectural Association in London (1975) and a PhD in Architecture from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas (2011), he has stood out for his built work, publications, and the academic training of future architects.
He is widely recognized for his work as a juror in national and international competitions, where he was invited due to his outstanding professional and academic career. He has lectured in Chile and abroad and participated in various disciplinary meetings focused on academic education. In tandem, he has published in national and international media, writing books such as *La Escuela de Valparaíso* (Grupo Ciudad Abierta), Domicilio Urbano (Ediciones ARQ), *Hecho a Mano* (Ediciones ARQ), and *City of Play* (Bloomsbury). His practice also includes public projects, such as the Estación Mapocho Cultural Center, the remodeling of the Plaza de Armas and the Crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the renovation of the Mercado Puerto, among others. He currently serves as a full professor at the Universidad Católica, teaching introductory and master's design studios. Throughout his rich career and diverse work as a researcher and architect, he has contributed to shaping architects in Chile and worldwide.
Fermín Vivaceta Rupio Award, category: Technology Applied to Architecture
An architect from the Universidad de Chile in Valparaíso and a professor at the same institution, he is also an architect-urbanist graduated from the Universidad de Sevilla and holds a degree in Urban Planning from the Escuela de Estudios Urbanísticos de Madrid. He has developed his career in architecture connected to engineering and urbanism in Spain. In Chile, he served as the CORMU regional delegate for Valparaíso and Aconcagua between 1970 and 1973. He has resided between Chile and Spain since 1974.
In the field of applied technology, he has worked on industrial projects such as shipyards, automobile factories, and waste-to-energy plants. In Chile, he participated in urban projects in the cities of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, La Ligua, and Cabildo. His extensive experience both in Chile and abroad enabled him to take on the challenge of designing the Columbus space laboratory module for the European Space Agency (ESA), representing a significant contribution to technology and the scope of the discipline. He also participated in drafting proposals for the Right to the City and Territory, specifically contributing to Article 52, Article 197 on territorial planning, and Article 176 on the public nature of services.
Alfredo Johnson Award, category: Public, State, or Municipal Official
He began working in the public sector around 1987, focusing on property taxes. He then moved to the Internal Revenue Service (SII) East Zone, specializing in real estate tax assessment, and participated in the first property revaluation in 1987. Later, he served as a plan reviewer in the building department of the Municipality of La Reina and joined the property tax team championed by Mayor Fernando Castillo Velasco. He worked at EMOS, a state-owned company developing offices and industrial facilities, before establishing his own firm focused on school design. During this period, he collaborated with the JEC to review educational projects for the Ministry of Education in southern Chile.
In 2003, he joined SERVIU in the Araucanía region as Head of Housing Operations. He took charge of the Technical Department in 2005, receiving the Service Excellence Award from the Committee of Ministers in 2007. He was recognized for promoting citizen participation, engaging community leaders, introducing early gender-responsive concepts, and developing housing for *machis* (Mapuche traditional healers) in the Lumaco municipality. Since 2014, he has served as an analyst at the Ministry of Housing, focusing on the standardization of housing and neighborhoods, defining regulatory frameworks and technical specifications for rural housing programs, and participating in the design guide for early childhood.
Manuel Moreno Guerrero Award, category: Preservation of National Architectural Heritage
An architect from the Universidad del Biobío (1982) with a PhD in Heritage from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, she has been a pioneer in heritage research in Chile, practicing for over 40 years with numerous publications both domestically and abroad.
As a student, she was recognized at the II Biennial in 1979, won an award at the V Biennial in 1985, and received a double distinction at the VI Biennial in 1987 for her publications *Premios Nacionales de Arquitectura 1969-1985* and *Estructura Urbana y Gráfica Estelar*. She has been a key figure in the Latin American Architecture Seminars (SAL) and organized the XII SAL held in the city of Concepción in 2007. She served as president of the Heritage Committee of the Concepción Regional Chapter and has also taught History and Theory of Architecture at the Universidad del Biobío, where she has supervised over 140 theses on history and heritage. Her professional practice stands out for her participation in heritage studies and projects for major national and international institutions, with her recent work including the Punta Arenas Heritage Guide.
Young Architect Award, category: Registered Architect under 35
He began his role in architectural communication as a student, working as an editor for the website *estudiantesdearquitectura.cl* and collaborating with the *Arquitectura Caliente* group. From there, he has built a career dedicated to the field, specializing in the dissemination of both traditional and alternative architectural practices. Named one of the future leaders of architecture by *MásDeco* magazine, he regularly participates in conferences and events discussing and promoting urban issues, and currently serves as Editorial & Data Manager at ArchDaily.
He is a co-founder of Redes IAAC at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, a columnist for the Argentine radio show *Arquitectos al Aire*, and co-founder of #XFORMAS, a project showcasing alternative architectural practices in Latin America. He participated in the XX Chilean Architecture Biennial with #XFORMAS and in the II Tbilisi Architecture Biennial with the ArchDaily Content Team, presenting the proposal *Unequal Cities*. In 2020, he co-founded and co-produced *Comunicar Arquitectura* (COMA), the first Ibero-American meeting of architectural communicators. He has also taught in the Master in Radical Architectures program at the Escuela Radical in Mexico and the postgraduate diploma program *How to Publish Architecture* at the PUC. He served as a secretary, juror, and presenter at various biennials and architectural competitions between 2018 and 2021. He co-edited the book *Idea Política Pública* in 2017 and participated in research on post-Asian crisis gentrification in downtown Santiago in 2012. He is a member of the Documentation Center of the Chilean Chamber of Construction and the Digital Museum of the Displaced.
Eliana Caraball Award, category: Outstanding Female Architect Contributing to Equality in Society and the Workplace
An architect from the Universidad de Santiago de Chile (2000) with a PhD in Urbanism from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (2007), her work is based on the understanding and scientific analysis of space in relation to the community, committing to the social and ethical function of architecture and urban planning.
She is recognized for her involvement in public policy, network building, knowledge transfer, and academic activities. Her research *Habitantes del Desierto* won first place from the Fondo Nacional de las Artes in 2006, reconstructing the history of the settlement and development of San Pedro de Atacama. She has participated in interdisciplinary teams, with notable projects in Barcelona including the “Carrying Capacity Study for Park Güell, World Heritage Site” and the research project “Ciutat Port, Dynamics of Urban Transformation.” In 2016, she led the campaign “For the Right to the City and Territory.” She also conducts seminars and publishes articles, with a focus on integrating a gender perspective into urban and regional planning projects and studies. In 2018, she led the “Women in the Territory” declaration in Galicia, and since 2020, she has been involved in issues surrounding the proposed Chilean constitution, coordinating the book *Ciudades posibles. Apuntes para el debate sobre la nueva Constitución en Chile* and advising on the rights to housing, the city, the environment, and territory.
Juan Parrochia Beguin Honor, category: Planning, Urban Design, or Urban Management
An independent architect, he graduated in 2006 from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), where he also earned a Master of Architecture, and holds a Master in Territorial Planning and Environmental Management from the Universitat de Barcelona.
He has worked at prominent architecture firms in Spain and Chile, and was an associate architect on temporary projects at ArqWorks and AKA Design+Architecture. In 2016, he participated in the workshop *Ciutats Ocasionals, Post-it City i altres formats de temporalitat* at the SPAM_CITY organization. He has been a guest of the Idensitat project in Catalonia as a member of the art collective *Trabajos de Utilidad Pública* since 2005, and was a member of the Colectivo Internacional Cultura Xn (Chile/Costa Rica/Catalonia) between 2013 and 2015. Additionally, he is recognized for his participation in QUAM 2013 and the *RE-SELECCIÓN URBANA: Reflexiones de la vivienda social en América Latina* workshop in 2015. A registered architect since 2007, he joined the Urban and Territorial Development Committee, serving as secretary in 2021 and president since 2022. He participated in discussions regarding Law 21,450 on Social and Urban Integration, represented the “Architects for a Dignified Chile” movement in the discussion and drafting of I.P.N. 41,126, and contributed to drafting Article 51 of the proposed new Chilean Constitution.
Dora Riedel Seinecke Honor, category: Innovative Work
An architect from the Universidad Diego Portales, his vision of urban design focuses on designing for people and residents rather than clients, and prioritizing the city over individual buildings.
His work focuses on exploring better participatory mechanisms, leveraging technology and media to build connections between memory, environment, culture, identity, and the valuable attributes of the territories we inhabit. He maintains that public spaces can and should function, in and of themselves, as mechanisms for urban and rural civic engagement. His project *Deixis-Fondart Regional*, which explores the archaeology of Aysén through augmented reality (AR), paves the way for new participatory tools by implementing this technology in public spaces as permanent interactive platforms for civic engagement—such as Digital Monuments.
This article was written by Victoria Riquelme. The translation is powered by AI.
