University-to-Industry Transfers: the Collaboration between Larraín and the IEE in the Prefabrication of the Lido Parking Building (1964–1967)
Authors
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Fernando Contreras Orellana
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5219-7658
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Francisca Pimentel
Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6373-1542
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Abstract
The aim of this article is to understand the university–industry knowledge transfer that emerged during the construction of the Lido Parking Building (1964–1967). In this process, the Experimental Building Institute (IEE) of the University of Chile—engaged as technical consultant by architects Jaime and Osvaldo Larraín—implemented the project’s construction and technological solutions. The addition of a secondary framework attached to the primary structure to support prefabricated reinforced-concrete panels endowed the Lido with a distinctive quality: the panels improved interior ventilation, concealed parked cars, and gave the façade a unique plastic relief. To clarify how the university–industry partnership shaped this outcome, a comparative matrix was compiled that included other works by the Larraín architects and the eighteen parking buildings erected in Santiago’s historic centre between 1954 and 1984. Further, all eleven issues of Técnica y Creación (1960–1967), the 119 issues of Revista de la Construcción (1962–1972), and the original drawings were analysed, enabling the project’s academic, professional, and technical context to be reconstructed. On this basis an as-built survey was conducted to record the modifications introduced during construction and subsequent use. The comparative analysis traces the Lido’s formal and constructive evolution and demonstrates that the IEE–Larraín collaboration culminated in a singular façade that synthesised academic research, artisanal skill, and industrial ambition.
