Luciano Kulczewski (8 January 1896 – 19 September 1972) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He is seen by some as "a pioneer of modern architecture in Chile."

Early life and career

Kulczewski was born to a family of Polish descent. His grand grandfather, Maciej and the grand uncle, also Maciej, fought in the 1830

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

against Russia. His grandfather Antoni (born Jeziorka, near Warsaw 1806 – died France 1857) was awarded the gold medal of the Caveliers, the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

for his valor during the

in 1831. Antoni studied road and bridge engineering in France, and had joined the Foreign Legion to participate during the pacification of Algeria. In 1839, Antoni Kulczewski was awarded permanent residency in France for service to his chosen homeland. Kulczewski's father, Boleslao Eugenio Kulczewski y Lester, was born in 1849 in Algeria, a French colony. He studied civil engineering and mining in Paris and came to Chile in 1872 to work as a coal mining engineer in Lota. He later became the co-founder of the Administration of Public Works. Kulczewski's mother was Luisa García Rodríguez who was born in Concepcion.

Education

Kulczewski attended at

Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, often shortened to Instituto Nacional (National Institute), is a public middle and high school in downtown Santiago, Chile which teaches 4.400 students between 7th and 12th grade. 170 teachers are ...

, a prestigious public high school of Santiago, where his Spanish teacher was

Pedro Aguirre Cerda Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. He was Political moderate, moderate. A me ...

, former President of Chile from 1938 to 1941. From 1913 to 1919, Kulczewski studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

. Retruécanos Ediciones, 2011 p132 , 9789563457285. Accessed at Google Books 6 March 2014. In this period he received three golden medals for his projects, which were exhibited at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Santiago, and in 1916, completed his first work, a house at 1854 Augustinas Avenue, Santiago.

Architectural style

Kulczewski's architectural style stems from

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

, and later in his career from the emerging

Modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

movement. After 1939,

Social consciousness Social consciousness (or social awareness) is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society.Pedro Aguirre Cerda Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. He was Political moderate, moderate. A me ...

in 1938. In 1939 nominated by the president Cerda as the Administrator of the Workers' Security until 1940. After his death, Kulczewski's ashes were spread in the Père-Lachaise cemetery, Paris and at

San Cristóbal Hill San Cristóbal Hill (Spanish: , Mapuche: ) is a hill in northern Santiago, Chile. It rises 880 m AMSL and about 300 m above the rest of Santiago; the peak is the third highest point in the city, after Cerro Manquehue and Cerro Renca. Cerro San C ...

in Santiago by his son and daughter.

Works

Some of his best known projects are: * Funicular railway station, Pio Nono 468, and the Roof Garden restaurant (now demolished) at the San Cristobal's Hill (Metropolitan Park) (1924).Burford T
"Chile: the Bradt travel guide."
Bradt Travel Guides, 2005 p162 , 9781841620763. Accessed at Google books 3 March 2014. * Casa de las Arañas (House of the Spiders), Metropolitan Park, Santiago. (1924 – 1927). Demolished except for the wrought iron window that gave the building its name. * M. Figueroa's house, now the College of Architects building, 215 L. Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue, Santiago. (1922) * Apartment building, 84 Catedral Avenue, Santiago. (1923) * Apartment building La Gargola, 268 Merced Avenue, Santiago. (1928) * Apartment building, 84 Merced Avenue, Santiago. (1928) * Swimming pool building, 983 Santa Maria Avenue, Santiago. (1929) * House Los Torreones, architect's residence & office, 201 Estados Unidos Avenue, Santiago. (1930) * Subdivision Keller, Comuna de Providencia, Santiago. (1925). * Subdivision Calle Madrid, Santiago. (1927). * Subdivision Leopoldo Urrutía, Población Militar, Comuna de Ñuñoa, Santiago. (1929). * Subdivision Los Castaños, Comuna Independencia, Santiago. (1930). * Subdivision Virginia Opazo (former residence at the Quinta Meiggs), Santiago. (1940). * Apartment buildings Los Colectivos in

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

Iquique Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...

Tocopilla Tocopilla is a city and commune in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province that bears the same name. Every year Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on 29 September with a big show the day before, which ...

, and

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

, with architect Aquiles Zanelli (1940 – 1967).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulczewski, Luciano 1896 births 1972 deaths Chilean people of Polish descent People from Temuco Art Nouveau architects 20th-century Chilean architects University of Chile alumni