Public Project 1: Murmullos De Amor / Benjamín Ossa + Agustín Infante

Architects: Agustín Infante, Benjamín Ossa
Area: 288 m²
Year: 2017
Photographs: Sebastián Mejía, Courtesy of Benjamín Ossa + Agustín Infante
Manufacturers: Calesan, Cintac®, Idealaser
Constructor: Acerotec, Bernardo Becerra
Organizers: Abertis Autopistas Chile, Fundación Corpartes, Facultad de Arquitectura y Arte Universidad del Desarrollo, Ilustre Municipalidad de Renca, Ministerio de Obras Públicas
ITO: Daniel Quevedo
City: Renca
Country: Chile

Public Project 1: Murmullos de Amor by Benjamín Ossa and Agustín Infante is an installation under a highway that interacts with its dynamic environment. The piece activates and responds to natural and spontaneous elements, such as vibrations from heavy traffic, wind currents, and the noise of the suspended road meeting solid ground. The metallic mantle integrates with the vibratory energy, wind corridors, and surrounding architecture, creating a new form of nature within this residual space. The work does not separate from its environment but instead merges with and adapts to the space under the speedway.

Public project 1: murmullos de amor / benjamín ossa + agustín infante

Time and observation are closely linked, each enriching the other as they coexist in a harmonious space; when disconnected, they dissolve into the immediate. The installation beneath the highway transcends this immediacy, existing beyond conventional measures of time and observation.

Installing a device in public space activates and brings attention to elements and phenomena that occur there naturally and spontaneously, creating a logic that may not always be immediately visible, often overshadowed by the view of the back of a motorway—its boundary and infrastructure defining its existence. When confronted with this seemingly residual space, its intense energy becomes evident. The constant vibrations from high traffic on the highway impact the slabs, while the noise at the junction of the suspended road and solid ground creates moments of impact. The wind, channeled through the area like a transit corridor, transforms it into an active, dynamic, and spontaneous environment—a new form of nature.

The work, a metallic mantle suspended under the speedway, harmonizes with the vibratory energy, wind corridors, and architectural elements of the space to connect and resonate with its surroundings. Rather than distancing itself from the site, it embraces and merges with it, integrating fully into the environment.