The Armada building

Architecture and authorship

The old Intendencia of Valparaíso presides over the end of the square opposite the sea. The building, designed by Ernesto Urquieta, was completed in 1910, within the framework of the centenary of the Republic.

Its monumental façade and its colour define one of the most recognisable images of the city, in dialogue with the monument and the port front.

Its position, facing the sea and closing the axis of the square, responds to an urban idea of strong institutional presence. The building reads together with the monument and the port front as part of a single composition. Seeing it from different points of the square shows how the façade changes with the light and the distance. The composition with the monument and the pier becomes clearer as you move back towards the port edge.

Heritage and current use

The building figures as a historic monument in the Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales and forms part of the protected ensemble of the square. Today it houses offices of the Armada de Chile.

This is an institutional complex: it is not a freely visited space and access depends on official activity.

As an institutional seat in use, the building is maintained and preserved, but it is not offered as a tourist attraction. Its value for the visitor lies above all in the façade and in the role it plays in the image of the square. For the visitor, the building is mainly appreciated from the outside, as a backdrop to the axis of the square. Respecting its institutional character, and the activity that goes on inside, is part of the visit.

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