Germán del Sol was first attracted to Torres del Paine, located in the heart of the Chilean Patagonia, when nobody else had gambled on it becoming the most visited park of the day. Primarily, he built The Explora, and later the Remota Hotels. But, how was it possible that this architect could foresee the potential of an area that was then only inhabited by tough country men who raised sheep? Did he ever imagine that Torres del Paine would become the most appealing destiny in Chile? Or that interest in Patagonia would become worldwide? Germán del Sol describes his journey, step by step.
First Act: discovery
I was asked to repair the offices of Ladeco airlines in Chile and as my partner didn’t enjoy flying, I had to visit all the sites on my own. I was returning from the Beagle Channel, where we had repaired a hostel, and passed by Torres del Paine. It was then that I realized that the park was practically abandoned. It was in early 1988 and everything was closed, or at the point of, being closed. I said “here there’s an extraordinary resource, this is a reserve of great beauty, but people cannot see all that is here”. It was then that I proposed to the manager of Ladeco, José Ibáñez, the establishment of a Chilean tourist project. He replied that I should do it by myself! And finally his brother, Pedro Ibañez, obtained the rights to build the hotel.
I remember that I was on board a small DAP airplane, flying between Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams, I wrote in my notebook the fundamental plans for The Explora. The article was called The Art of The Trip, I thought that it would be useful to define the spirit of the adventure.
According to my understanding, the Patagonia wasn’t as un-inhabited and virgin place, as it first seems to be. The attraction of Patagonia is that even though it’s been inhabited for thousands of years, and has immense pasturelands and haciendas, human intervention hasn’t been able to destroy anything important. That’s what distinguishes this wild wilderness and what moved me to develop a project to make use of a territory that continues to be uninhabited.
In general, Chilean parks have life due to this quality. In North American parks, if people see a spider, they exterminate it – they are like artificial parks. On the contrary, Chile is full of territories that one doesn’t have to own, but rather walk through, use, inhabit, without control. When somebody controls a territory the unexpected is lost. This is what, for me, is the most important part of a trip.
Second act: The Explora Hotel
The construction of a hotel is the result of a complex plan. My aim with The Explora was to lower expectation to the minimum possible. Imagine: visitors travel, I don’t know, between twelve and twenty hours to arrive to Santiago, then they have to fly another six hours to Punta Arenas. Besides that, six more hours by land, to Puerto Natales. After hours of driving on curvy and dusty roads, people begin to grumble profusely. When they arrive, in darkness, to the hotel they are confronted with a little place in the middle of gigantic surroundings. They see that the entrance is a little door, at that moment their expectation plummets to zero, anything else that may appear becomes extraordinary.
Suddenly they’re in the interior of the hotel: everything is covered with warm, well cared for, colorful native woods. The administrator is waiting with a drink, a pisco sour, and invites them to the bar, where visitors revive from the arduous trip, talking until around one in the morning.
The following morning they really see the hotel, situated in the middle of an exuberant wonderland of nature, which ignites the desire for adventure. Exploration signifies Sociedad del Sur de America, precisely because they propose leisure walks, and explorations. During such exploration one forgets daily life, its hassles, and all such things that cause one to become neurotic.
During the day, when one is soaked and frozen, you know that at seven p.m. the adventure terminates and waiting for you is a fantastic heated pool. It’s like the tale of the “Guard in the Centeno”; just as this child wanted to look after others, the hotel looks after its clients with only its presence. It’s a refuge that’s in harmony with the environment; as much with the earth as with the sky. Overhead are white fluffy clouds, under your feet is crystal-white snow, and in the midst of all of this the white hotel.
Conde Nast Traveller has been chosen as one of the best hotels in the world on various occasions. This makes me proud because it’s unique and unrepeatable. It’s an effort to create your own architecture, without sinning against the local people.
Third act. Remota Hotel
Here I was asked to create a hotel on the outskirts of Puerto Natales, with a view of Señoret channel. As is always the case with architecture there isn’t only one solution, and they all seem so great! What we did in respect of this new hotel was to try to forget all that we’d done for The Explora. By doing this importance was placed on other issues. The Explora is based on limitless luxuries, the Remota is based on more certain limited luxuries.
This isn’t Club Med, where friendly people invite you to dance. Here the luxury is silence, thick towels that are kept warm, and beds that make you feel sleepy by just looking at them.
The Remota is a hotel that has been established to serve people, to put its guests in contact with the areas nature. Backpackers don’t have the possibility to hike all day, they must be concerned about what they’ll eat and where they’ll sleep. Here, in exchange, daily living is the responsibility of the hotel: they bring you lunch, they load your things, they offer outings, and take you to the spa. The 120 rooms are spread out over 2 floors, with a common space where fireplaces are lit and streams flow. Everything is very simple and rustic, but everything is five stars.
