IGV-2
Chacao, built as a Spanish town in 1768, with unknown founder and plotter, is in a gently sloping sector east of the Caracas valley, and retains its layout, plaza and church. The foundational grid is an imperfect checkerboard consisting of nine blocks arranged around the Plaza Bolívar, bordering, on its north side, with the three-nave San José de Chacao Church, whose construction was begun in 1769. The square had a traditional layout with English flag diagonals and an equestrian statue of Bolívar in the center, until it was remodeled in the 60s with a modern design that separated the uses and included a sports court. With the coming of postmodernism, the central space of the Libertador’s statue was emptied to draw a large circle surrounded by a square, with three sides enclosed by cylindrical colonnades supporting a metal pergola designed by Doménico Silvestro. This intervention was later demolished and gave way to a new renovation in 2011, which let the edges of the existing façades be a part of the active life of the plaza and relocated the equestrian sculpture to a podium near the church. The plaza is used for official events and is the center of an active cultural life nurtured by its neighbors.
YDB
planta
YPM