Growing up in Santiago, Chile, my world was framed by two powerful forces: the ever-present Andes mountains and the stark urban inequality I experienced daily. Watching the mountains change with the seasons taught me to read the landscape. At the same time, my long commutes from a vulnerable neighbourhood to well-designed parts of the city showed me deep social divides. This duality shaped my purpose: to use design as a tool to bridge worlds and heal the fractures in our urban fabric.
This passion has informed my contributions to a range of complex urban challenges in Santiago. I contributed to a governmental strategy for reimagining the divisive impact of motorways in vulnerable communities, turning them into opportunities for reconnection. Furthermore, I helped shape the discussion on historical wetlands threatened by development, highlighting how revitalising these urban heat islands could mitigate extreme heat and restore vital habitats. This strategic thinking also informed my work on a major mobility hub, where I helped shift an engineering-led focus to one that prioritised the public realm and local economic activity.
My approach is rooted in creating work that is thoughtfully designed and clearly communicated, crafted with care to ensure every voice can be part of an open and inclusive conversation. Whether through my hands-on work with communities at the Obra Común foundation or collaborating on city-wide strategies or specific pieces of architecture, I strive to tell the stories embedded in our landscapes and help shape a more equitable and resilient future for all.