Architecture, civilization and barbarism: Brunet Debaines and social commentary in mid-nineteenth century Chile

Abstract

Claude Francois Brunet Debaines was a French architect who arrived to Chile in the middle of the nineteenth century to work for the Government and to establish the first architectural course in the University of Chile. Consequently, historiography around Brunet Debaines has focused mainly on his projects and buildings, as well as on his role as an educator. The examination of his correspondence with Chilean authorities allows however to outline another aspect of his labor, as an observer of political and administrative contingencies in Chile. Through a description of letters exchanged by Brunet Debaines with Governmental authorities, this paper seeks to contribute further detail about the architect's biography, but mostly to discern some of the coincidences and discrepancies between the ideas of Chilean intellectuals and those of foreign professionals who were hired by the Chilean Government to modernize the disciplines and their production in areas such as engineering, architecture, agriculture and the sciences. It also aims to contribute to a historiographical valorization of the ideological dimension of architectural discourse in Chile, and of its participation in political and administrative debates.

Claude Francois Brunet Debaines was a French architect who arrived to Chile in the middle of the nineteenth century to work for the Government and to establish the first architectural course in the University of Chile. Consequently, historiography around Brunet Debaines has focused mainly on his projects and buildings, as well as on his role as an educator. The examination of his correspondence with Chilean authorities allows however to outline another aspect of his labor, as an observer of political and administrative contingencies in Chile. Through a description of letters exchanged by Brunet Debaines with Governmental authorities, this paper seeks to contribute further detail about the architect's biography, but mostly to discern some of the coincidences and discrepancies between the ideas of Chilean intellectuals and those of foreign professionals who were hired by the Chilean Government to modernize the disciplines and their production in areas such as engineering, architecture, agriculture and the sciences. It also aims to contribute to a historiographical valorization of the ideological dimension of architectural discourse in Chile, and of its participation in political and administrative debates.