Sergio Larraín García-Moreno

Sergio Larraín García-Moreno (Santiago, — ) was a Chilean architect, founder of the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art. He is considered among the most important exponents of the generation of architects who traveled to Europe and came into contact with Le Corbusier, the Bauhaus design school and the artistic trends of the modern movement. This experience definitively marked his professional career, which stood out for his innovative and avant-garde nature.

Biography He studied at the School of Architecture of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, from which he graduated in 1928.

The following year, Larraín, together with his colleague Jorge Arteaga, completed the , considered the first modern building in Chile. This work was inspired by the Schocken warehouse in Stuttgart, completed by Erich Mendelsohn a year earlier.

While he carried out his teaching work at the Catholic University, he was linked to important changes in the School of Architecture, of which he became dean in 1952, a position he held for 15 years. Among his most important achievements are the creation of a visiting professor program and the signing of scholarships for the training of Chilean professors abroad. Under his administration, the purchase of the that houses the Faculty of Architecture was completed. His academic management led to the founding of the Interdisciplinary Center for Urban Development.

In the municipal elections of 1938 he won, supported by the Conservative Party, a councilor seat in the municipality of Santiago, a position he held until 1941.

During World War II he was an agent of the British Intelligence Service in Chile to investigate German activities in the country. He was later decorated by Queen Elizabeth II.