THE RIOJA PALACE HAS BEEN INAUGURATED AND CAN BE VISITED BY THE PUBLIC AND TOURISTS OF VI …
The Rioja Palace has been inaugurated and can be visited by the citizens of Viña del mar and its tourists after the restoration and valorisation work performed by Kalam. Work included structural consolidation, recovery of the façades and roofs, ornamental elements, decorative painting and gilding, woodworking and landscaping, among others. There is a new museum area, exposition rooms, and free workshops for students and people of all ages to enrich their visit.
Accessibility to the palace has been improved with the installation of an elevator and the services have been completed with the creation of a cafeteria on the ground floor, in a former service area. During the work, Kalam installed workshops on-site to support the restoration work. There was a workshop to create the adobe blocks, which were used to construct the walls. A workshop for cabinetmaking, restoring the carpentry and wood elements and reproductions of the architectural spaces for the ornamental elements that have had to be recovered, both their richly ornate interiors and the façades, cornices, balusters, friezes, etc. With these workshops, Kalam was able to train personnel (many workers were local) with a socially positive impact, in a practical manner with a comprehensive vision within the work.
In the same city, we have started work on the valoration of the Vergara Palace, another icon that after completion will house the Museum of Fine Arts, in 2017. In addition, two works are ongoing in Santiago: the resotrations of the Álamos and Cousiño Palaces, and we are expecting to begin this summer on the work that will allow the reuse of the magnificent Pereira Palace that will become the headquarters for the Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Museums (Dibam) of the Ministry of National Monuments (CMN). The Pereira was declared an Historic Monument in 1981, but unfortunately has been abandoned for decades. This project is expected to recover one of the capital’s most emblematic buildings, satisfying the desires of the Chilean public.
