Blueprints of Valparaíso

This full-day outing from Santiago takes you to the coastal city of Valparaíso, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique topography, cultural diversity, and layered architectural heritage. Hosted by a professional architect, you will be shown around the colorful Cerro Concepción and Cerro Alegre, visiting such emblematic viewpoints as Paseo Gervasoni, Paseo Atkinson, and Paseo Yugoslavo. You'll learn how the historic El Peral funicular and Baburizza Palace exist alongside other contemporary cultural projects that reflect the city’s ongoing revitalization. Among these, you'll survey the recently opened Immigrant Museum—installed in a restored former German school. After lunch, Diego will take you to the Cerro Cárcel Cultural Park—an open, community-oriented space housed in a former prison. Nearby, you'll visit Dinamarca399, a collaborative workspace and innovation hub situated next to the historic Dissidents’ Cemetery. All locations are seen from the lens of an architect.

The port city of Valparaíso unfolds like a natural amphitheater facing the Pacific Ocean, where topographical conditions became opportunities for architectural innovation. This tour, designed and hosted by a Chilean architect, highlights how Valparaíso reimagines its built environment through adaptive reuse—linking past and present in a dynamic and complex urban landscape. Diego will discuss how the city’s urban fabric portrays a dense layering of architectural, historical, and social traces. As an architect, Diego has a unique perspective on Valparaíso. Rather than brushing past the viewpoints and storied homes, you will scratch beneath the surface and come to understand how the intricate systems of terraced public spaces and narrow passageways reveal a singular approach to inhabiting the landscape. The route favors the famous monuments but the commentary focuses on how they came to be and how this astonishing topography supports its living community.

Diego Baloian is an architect holding a degree from the Universidad Finis Terrae and a Master's in Cultural Heritage from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). As the founding partner at DBG Architecture and Massantiago, his work focuses on architectural design, the restoration of heritage buildings, and urban planning. He has led and participated in projects and seminars in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, and Hungary. Diego has also organized conferences and exhibitions on Latin American architecture in collaboration with Guiding Architects Network, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH). In the academic field, he has worked with communities on research and heritage valorization projects, implementing collaborative methodologies across diverse cultural and territorial contexts.

Comfortable clothes and sturdy footwear—you will walk on uneven surfaces. Sun protection: hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Small, discreet bag for essentials. Bottled water.