Dialogs Between Laundry and Modernism
(2019)

Where does a building adapt to its inhabitants—and where do its inhabitants adapt to the building?Filmed between Santiago and Valparaíso, this video documents laundry practices in three emblematic modernist buildings in Chile: Conjunto Avenida Alemania in Valparaíso (1970s), Unidad Vecinal Portales in Santiago (1954-1966), and Población Marina Mercante in Valparaíso (1962).

By tracing the legacy of modernity, the video reveals the everyday gestures and routines of domestic life, focusing on the bodies—here, exclusively women—who carry out these often invisible tasks. Yet, through the amphitheater-like condition of Valparaíso and its architecture, their actions become staged and visible.Through their interactions with the built environment, these inhabitants “complete” the architecture with their clotheslines, reshaping it by adapting spaces where the original—often male-designed—modernist intentions fall short. In doing so, they assert improvisational strength and resourcefulness.

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