3:The Territorial Island

The Territorial Island, expressed as the implantation of a present human settlement, must have clear objectives for its economic, social, cultural and physical development, in a constant search of its well-being, its balance, the respect to its cultural values and for the encounter of its new destiny.

This Island will emphasize the expression of its territorial ordering, the balance of its urban-rural relations, the achievement of a simple, authentic architectonic language of its own and the limpid communion between man and nature, the community and the landscape, both physically and culturally.

It is fundamental for this island to go to the bottom of its "factors of implantation" as human settlements, to review its natural resources, to analyze its roll, to discover its motor activities with comparative advantages, etc., in the search of its fair territorial structure, distorted and destroyed during the last two centuries by a long and unfortunate history derived from deeply destructive exogenous factors.

It is essential to find the way to form a balanced community, with sufficient and stable activities, with diversified cultural expression at the level of its history, with balanced social structure and with education oriented to its own task and well-being. All this must be achieved without paternalism, submission, or complexes. All this must be achieved enthusiastically, safely, with satisfaction and pride to be and to do.

At the moment [1982] the Territorial Island only counts on a human settlement of dispersed rural or suburban character in a small fraction of all the island. It is depopulated in more than 90% and its ecumenical area is only concentrated around Mataveri, Mae-Roa and Hanga-Roa. None of these points really forms an urban nucleus, or village, and the social disintegration that it causes is to a large extent the cause of the deterioration that the island presents today

The environmental conditions for the incubation of the cultural values that allow to wait for the appearance of some valuable culture in the future do not exist today, if nothing is done to avoid it.

The present Easter Island is only a small part of the real Easter Island.

It is fundamental to rediscover the structure of the Island, to find back its territorial balance and only in this way it will be possible to revive the culture and the social and economic balance.

The natural nuclei of polarization in the present populated area must be found, on the basis of center-village and basic-village, properly articulated with inner and outer networks and scale facilities of each unit and each type of settlement.

Similarly and according to the existing factors of implantation all the island must be structured maintaining clearly the areas of culture and the areas of non ecumenical reserves, arranging the diverse nuclei in balanced and coordinated way, without ever losing the proportionality of its facilities, services, activities and population.

In the conformation of the nuclei, in the area at the moment populated, it seems valuable to take advantage of the social conformation of Patriarchal or Tribal type, product to a large extent of a violent segregation and reduction of the island and originated a century ago. It is today rather little common in the world, but it is possible to expect from it some values long lost in time.

We doubt nevertheless that, once eliminated the factors that made it last until today, it can prosper in the future in a monetarist and materialistic world.

The present population of the island and its deplorable territorial structure are insufficient to recreate a quality village culture that is freed of the charity and the social investments. It is necessary to create a system of small populated centers, villas or villages, that fitting itself in certain way to the original patterns of establishment of the island before 18th Century, finds its roll and its motor activity in the concert of all of them. In this system the differentiations born from its functions and of its scopes will take place and the links of a lost culture will be reconstructed.

The germ of these villas can take place, at the beginning, on primary agricultural activities, fishing or mining related to secondary activities of crafts and elementary industrial processes. Its recommendable size would be in base of groupings of 40 to 50 families.

Its population can partially be originated in the present existing inhabitants, the return of some emigrants, and in immigrations from the continent selected out of human groups of easy assimilation and similar customs, as chilotes and people from the Norte Chico or the oases of the Norte Grande.

With a normal and well oriented development process it is feasible to get to have around 15.000 resident inhabitants in the island, evenly distributed in the primary, secondary and tertiary activities, in addition to a floating population of 2.000 to 3.000 people at all time of the year.

With respect to architecture it is necessary to find some elements of simple design and noble construction materials that match completely the characteristics of the island, of its inhabitants and its climate. The "local color", the form, the functionality that expresses with dignity a present that has a so noble past must be found.

The "box" house with pitched roofs, the galvanized iron, channeled tiles, the board wood do not seem to contain the answer that we are looking for.

Red, black, green and gray volcanic stones worked in great blocks at sight, limiting their humidity absorption and its capacity to shelter insects, the intermediate spaces, the ventilation, cross-sectional, the small windows, the great shades, the marine and volcanic perspective, the patriarchal relations, the common home, etc., seem to contain part of the solution that we wish to find.

In the urban aspect we must also look for the agglutinating elements that associate the community, that produce the sufficient friction so that the genius and the talent can prospers.  There is a lack of continuity in the conformation of the greater space that can gather the houses, there is a lack of hard spaces, squares, places for the encounter with attractive and authentic landmarks, there is lack of shades, there is a lack of frames and perspective, there is need for urban architecture at village level.

 

Amazingly, it is impossible at the moment to take a photography that represents Hanga-Roa or any other place with a name. Perhaps the leprosarium is the only exception.

With the requirements provided by each one of the islands, the one that is responsible for composing the structure as a whole is the Territorial Island, in which each one of them will be developed. The Territorial Island is the one that must perform the Director Plan of the island and adjust it to the requirements that the remaining islands consider suitable for their own development.