Born in Santiago de Chile in 1965, Smiljan Radić studied architecture at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he graduated in 1989. During the early years of his career he travelled extensively through Europe and Asia, experiences that profoundly shaped his understanding of architecture and landscape.
Since establishing his studio in Santiago in the 1990s, Radić has developed a practice in which public buildings, experimental houses and ephemeral installations coexist. Throughout this trajectory he has frequently collaborated with the Chilean sculptor Marcela Correa, whose sensitivity toward material and landscape has influenced the spatial imagination of many of his works.
This collaboration has helped shape an architecture that seeks to generate open spatial experiences, where structure, texture and light take on a central role.
Architecture between the primitive and the contemporary
One of the most recognisable features of Radić’s work is his interest in seemingly elementary forms: shelters, domes, suspended volumes or structures resting on the ground with unexpected lightness. These figures, however, never appear as autonomous formal gestures. They emerge from a reflection on the physical, cultural and climatic context of the place where they are set.
Architecture thus appears as an artefact within the landscape. At times it seems to settle gently on the ground; at others it hides among vegetation or emerges as a silent presence in dialogue with its surroundings.
Radić uses stone, concrete, timber and translucent materials with unusual freedom, combining traditional construction techniques with experimental solutions. This balance between the archaic and the contemporary has made his work a reference for several generations of architects.
Representative works by Smiljan Radić
Throughout his career, Radić has developed highly diverse projects, ranging from houses in remote landscapes to large cultural buildings. Among the most significant are the following.
Casa Pite (Papudo, Chile, 2005). Located on a rocky promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Casa Pite has become one of the architect’s most widely recognised works. The house rests on the terrain through a fragmented geometry that recalls the natural formations of the site.
The project combines exposed concrete, stone and timber in a direct dialogue with the coastal landscape. The house seems to emerge from it, like an artificial extension of the topography.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (London, 2014). The invitation to design the annual pavilion for the Serpentine Galleries in London marked Radić’s international recognition. His proposal consisted of a large translucent fibreglass shell resting on massive stone blocks.
The pavilion simultaneously evokes an ancient ruin and a futuristic structure. Light filtered through the envelope creates an ambiguous interior, poised somewhere between a shelter and an urban lantern.
Biobío Regional Theatre (Concepción, Chile, 2018). Located beside the Biobío River, this public theatre is one of the most significant cultural projects built in Chile in recent decades.
The building appears as a compact volume wrapped in a reddish translucent skin that filters natural light during the day and transforms the theatre into an urban lantern at night. Inside, a clear sequence of public spaces organises access to the auditoriums, establishing a direct relationship between the city, the river and cultural activity.
House for the Poem of the Right Angle (Vilches, Chile, 2010). Inspired by Le Corbusier’s visual poem Poème de l’angle droit, this small experimental house explores the relationship between architecture, literature and landscape.
The project adopts an essential structure that organises space around a sequence of walls and courtyards. Architecture here appears as a device for contemplating the surrounding natural environment.