RAPA NUI MUSEUM
Architect: Santiago Valdivieso - Pablo Rojas Böttner - Parabase.eu
Location: Rapa Nui, Chile
Year: 2024
Date: September 20, 2025
Building a Regional Museum on Rapa Nui in 2024 raises a central question: how to design without overwhelming the island’s fragile balance of culture and nature. The architects behind a new proposal suggest restraint rather than monumentality.
Their concept envisions the museum not as a building but as a landscape—light, reversible, and ecological. Prefabricated structures can be assembled with precision and later removed without leaving a trace, treating the project as a respectful guest rather than a permanent fixture.
Drawing on the volcanic terrain of Rapa Nui and sustainable technologies from the mainland, the scheme becomes a framework for preserving and creating culture. More than an object in the landscape, it is a landscape in itself.
Visitors are invited to engage with Santiago Valdivieso - Pablo Rojas Böttner - Parabase.eu’s work and gain insight into their creative process through the project firefly. The development of the project, along with further reflections, can be explored on their website: