MARÍA ELENA
SALTPETER CITY
THE OCTAGONAL MODEL
According to the study by Eugenio Garcés Feliú, the urban plan of María Elena is based on the utopian traditions associated with paradigms in other parts of the world. It has an octagonal plan with a central square where most of the public installations were located.
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The location of the installations was clearly defined: those used on a daily basis such as the market, the grocery store, the church and the school were located near the central square giving it a public character and emphasizing it as the center of the town.
Concentric outline with the square as a central point.
The center
Octogonal lines
Diagonal lines
The diagonal lines that
converge on the central
square are the shorter sides.
An octagon with 4 longer
sides and 4 shorter sides.
GENERAL VIEW
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Named like this after the US origin of the majority of its inhabitants, it grew into a type of “garden town”, in marked difference to the quarter where most of the workers lived.
The American quarter was developed around the idea of single detached family houses, taking advantage of the topography to freely arrange the houses on a landscaped pattern reminiscent of the suburbs of garden cities.
THE AMERICAN QUARTER
They lived in small units of semi-detached houses, located nearly the central square. The front of the houses looked onto the street while the small backyard overlooked a narrow passageway.
ADMINISTRATORS
THE WORKERS’ QUARTER
The buildings, nicknamed “boats” because of their length and shape, were in the end occupied by families.
Originally designed for bachelors, the “boats” were surrounded by high walls to restrict access, in anticipation of the apparently wild temperament of their intended occupants.
GROWTH OF THE CITY
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1931
1939
1951
1970
2001
2009
Source: Strategic Sustainability Plan, Ciudad Salitrera de María Elena, SQM.
Satellite view of María Elena today