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ASSEMBLY
A way for collaborating

An immersive installation where traditional Chiloé wood joinery meets modern techniques, creating a space for reflection on our connection with nature and craftsmanship.

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An exhibition by CONTEXTO
10 may - 23 nov 2025

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The open wooden joints reveal its very essence: it is not just a structure but a way to
understand the tensions that hold it together and the delicate balance that keeps it standing.
The assembly, crucial in joining and adjusting the timber pieces—a noble, flexible, and resilient
material—forms a metaphor for collaboration.


Chiloé’s living carpentry tradition presents an opportunity to regenerate and reuse an ancestral
technology, revaluing this craft that has been crucial to the development of our culture. It is
about recognizing handcraft as a cognitive process in itself; the challenge lies in connecting this
learning experience through hand and body with an understanding of the vast possibilities that
mechanized assembly offers to architecture. With this goal in mind, a knowledge transfer
workshop was held in Chiloé to pass down the value and techniques behind traditional wood
joinery, bringing together expert carpenters and construction students from different parts of the
island to materialize the same assemblies used for the exhibition prototype. At the same time, a
prototype inspired by these Chilote assemblies was constructed in Venice, incorporating
mechanized cuts to showcase advancements in technique, the possibilities of wood
industrialization, and the benefits in terms of ease of transfer and representation. The project
aims to merge both technologies into a unified experience within the exhibition, challenging
architecture to embrace new techniques without abandoning manual processes and
collaborating across continents.

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The design fosters an ethic of connection—between newcomers and locals, innovation and
tradition, land and sea. At the same time, it awakens empathy for fragile ecosystems and
techniques, mirroring our own fragility as we migrate through time, space, and collaboration.

Wooden Cloud

Workshop

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Video

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20 WOODEN JOINTS

51 PIECES OF WOOD

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10x8".      2 PIECES

5x4"        9 PIECES

5x5"        5 PIECES

4x3"       13 PIECES

4x4"       14 PIECES

5x3"        4 PIECES

2x2"        4 PIECES​

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Total volume: 0.30666 m3

Wood density: 480 kg/m3

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Total weight:
0.30666 m3 × 480 kg/m3 ≈ 147.20 kg

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ANCUD, CHILOE ISLAND, CHILE

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Knowledge and Technology Transfer Workshop in Traditional Chilote Carpentry

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This project was inspired by Chiloé’s Big Island, located at the gateway to Chilean Patagonia. Known for its ancient maritime culture and strong connection to nature, Chiloé has a rich tradition of shipbuilding and timber construction, seen in its iconic boats, stilt houses, and Jesuit churches built without nails.Each year, the impressive migration of cetaceans along its Pacific coast reminds us of the power and beauty of the natural world — inviting reflection and awe.

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Ilustradora Antonia Montealegre

Fundación Iglesias patrimoniales de Chiloé: Carpintero José Luis Catalán / Directora Ejecutiva Natalia Cruz 

Castro Technical High School, Chiloé/Liceo Técnico Profesional de Castro: 

Construction Teacher – Nelson Calisto Hernández

Head of the Industrial Area – Pedro Villarroel Leiva

School Principal – Annita Ceballos Villarroel

Students from 4th grade: A. Tenorio, A. Comicheo, A. Panichine, A. Alday, A. Chiguay, A. Vargas, B. Soto, B. Gómez, C. Gallardo, C. Saldivia, C.Santana, C. Carreras, C. Pérez, C. Águila, F.Ojeda, G.Herrera, G.Pillampel, H.Gallardo, H.Herrera, J.Teiguel, J.Hugueño, J.Villarroel, J.Calbun, K.Ulloa, K.Montecinos, K.Zuñiga,

L.Miranda, M.Velazquez, M.Torres, M.Velasquez, M.Fica, P.Barrientos, R.Aravena, R.Ulloa, Y.Ibarra,

 

Contexto: Gilberto Lepori, Antonia Pellegrini

Photo credits: Pablo Wilson

Video documental: M.Jesus Torres Vásquez

DESIGN & COORDINATION

Antonia Pellegrini - Gilberto Lepori

www.contextochile.com

PARTNERS & COLLABORATORS 

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SPONSORS - SUPPORTERS

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