The saga of the Vertical Orchard of Tome: execution of academic projects as research

Abstract

It is not common to publish project failures. Let alone demolitions or disassemblies. From a professional point of view, this is understandable. From an academic/research point of view, however, the opposite is the case. Failures are generally a source of deep and lasting learning. This article reports the journey of a "vertical orchard" project, from its conception, through its construction and the succession of events that led to its eventual dismantling. It is one of the first fruits of the establishment of the bimonthly didactic project initiative based on multisectoral alliances instituted within the School of Architecture of the Universidad del Bío-Bío called "Neighbourhood Workshop". The article reviews in detail and without attachment the succession of events that led to this quasi-traumatic and, therefore, formative outcome, in search of design lessons.