Location: 2420 Erasmo Escala

Preservation Status: None

Located at 2420 Erasmus Escala Street in Brasil District the building owned by the University of Chile dates back to 1947. It features three floors and consists of a reinforced concrete structure. The property has been abandoned for several years and has been inhabited by groups of different squatters, members of a social movement that recovers abandoned spaces and who were subsequently evicted.

Afterwards, it was a space for the creative processes of the Architecture and

Urban Planning Faculty of the University of Chile, FAU, offering workshops, student residencies and thus a constant center of student creativity and social and cultural interaction.

Today, its only resident is a caretaker.

Oral history has it that the house was a detention and torture site for university students during the dictatorship. Official sources do not confirm this information.

It was also purported to be the headquarters of the FAU Foundation, which was considered as an articulator, enhancer, and manager of the processes of university – societal dialogue of the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning through research programs, seminars and cultural activities.

Currently there are several ideas to utilize this space, such as the bidding process by the University of Chile, commissioned by the Vice-President’s Office of Student Affairs and Community Affairs (VAEC) through its Directorate of Student Welfare (DBE) for the expansion and habilitation of university home Erasmo Escala; and to dedicate the building to undergraduate boarding for students from regions enrolled in the University of Chile.