VIRTUAL: Learning. Life. Work.

Abstract

Between 1967 and 1969, professors and students at the Valparaíso School of Architecture proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the university. At the heart of their proposal was the idea of breaking down the barriers between the realms of life, work, and study. They rejected the traditional notion of universities solely as places for instruction and professional preparation. For the group, the institutional approach of the university had a consequence: it divided work and study, subduing life to artificially predetermined periods. Instead, they envisioned a university where life, work, and study were integrated—a real community rather than an abstract institution. The paper delves into the group’s concept of the “unity of life, work, and study” and analyzes its application to their project, Open City (Ciudad Abierta), a community of poets, artists, and architects outside the conventional university setting. The paper examines the group’s emphasis on the importance of the work of the craft (oeuvre), for which life and study were considered essential. For the group, the study was inseparable from the work being carried out; thus, instruction was derived directly from the act of creation. Consequently, rather than focusing on awarding degrees, the group emphasized the validation of knowledge through the testimony of creative work, a practice to be upheld throughout life. The experience of Valparaíso offers a radical understanding of architectural education, not just as a profession but as a vocation—where study, work, and creation are intertwined with life itself.