GAM Second Stage Project

*Information published in 2016.

The original GAM project promoted by President Michelle Bachelet during her first term contemplated converting the building into the largest cultural center in the country. Thus, the second stage is born from a commitment that was ratified during March 2014 and began to materialize at the end of 2015, reaffirming the constant commitment that the State has with GAM. The president, together with other authorities, including the ministers of Public Works and Culture, Alberto Undurraga and Ernesto Ottone, respectively, led the ceremony to lay the first stone of the second stage on December 24, 2015, reaffirming the constant commitment that the State has with GAM.

Established as a priority work by the Executive Branch, the building contemplates an investment of 41 billion pesos from the Ministry of Public Works. With these works, GAM's current surface area will practically double, going from 22 thousand to 37 thousand square meters. The new building will contain the large performance hall, as well as areas for artists, workshops, warehouses and service areas.

In relation to the work, its execution is in charge of the Directorate of Architecture, also dependent on the MOP, who have vast experience in public construction. In turn, the contracting company is the Spanish ECISA and the architectural work is in charge of Cristián Fernández.

The Great Room

One of GAM's objectives is to become a cultural center where new artistic trends converge worldwide. For this purpose, this new room is built and implemented, which will accommodate 1,853 people in their respective seats. Furthermore, it can be adjusted to the audience that the show requires thanks to the retractable seats. This innovative system will allow for free seating in the esplanade or be configured for a specific number of spectators.

The infrastructure of the venue will be suitable for massive events, in addition to having a privileged location in the heart of Santiago. They will range from classical artistic expressions to popular concerts and large-scale theatre, a broad call for a flexible space. The large room will open the possibility of presenting international works that, due to their characteristics, require an infrastructure that is currently not available in Chile. 

Another attraction of the large room is the mobile stage, which will allow different sets to be set up in parallel. One feature would make it easier to submit up to two creations in one day. The useful area of ​​the stage is one thousand square meters, 24 meters deep and 42 meters wide. At the same time, the presentation space is adjustable vertically and horizontally, adapting to different types of shows. It also has a 160 square meter orchestra pit, for orchestras that even exceed 120 musicians. 

An innovative design incorporates these proposals with top-level technology. The provision of the staging (seats, lighting, audio system, etc.) would cost approximately 10 billion pesos and is currently in the bidding process. Its installation will take place in 2017, in the final phase of civil works.

Due to unforeseen weather events, the work is delayed in its execution according to the initial schedule. The origin of the delay began with the rains on Sunday, April 17 and the flooding due to the rupture of the matrix in Providencia. The company had to carry out additional excavations not contemplated in the original project and the sanitary project was modified in relation to rainwater, which did not affect the budget of the work.

Once construction times are normalized and the product can be appreciated, the consolidation of GAM as a large-scale cultural space will be completed, with an important circuit of quality artistic programming at different levels, key to the life of the heart of Santiago.