en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Chilean organization Fundación Cosmos is dedicated to integrating ecological conservation, environmental education, and public space use through landscape architecture. Inspired by the behavior of local species such as birds and insects, it has developed a series of observation towers, parks, and trail infrastructure in coastal and urban wetlands, aiming to reconnect human spaces with ecosystems.
Fundación Cosmos believes that designing with the landscape means coexisting with nature's temporal dynamics rather than trying to control its processes. The organization's projects in urban and peri-urban wetlands across Chile are rooted in vernacular architecture and biomimicry, drawing inspiration from local species, ecological dynamics, and traditional building knowledge, and are advanced in collaboration with local communities, municipalities, and public institutions. Below are four representative projects by the organization in Chile.
How can architectural design become a positive tool for ecological conservation? By viewing nature as an inexhaustible source of inspiration and establishing a harmonious connection with it, one can outline the countless interrelationships between humans, living beings, and natural cycles. Designing with the landscape means learning to coexist with its temporal dynamics rather than trying to control its processes. The traditions, ecology, past, and present of a place collectively build a space that can interpret its community. Landscape architecture can draw inspiration from birds, plants, and other natural elements, thereby shaping complex, dynamic environmental networks woven from ecosystems and human activities.
All living beings, while interacting with and transforming their surroundings, also influence other species and their relationships, establishing networks and connections between organisms and the environment. Humans are also part of this transformative movement, shaping every land they inhabit through intelligence, rich culture, and collective organizational capacity. However, this capacity now threatens many life forms, disrupting ecological functions vital to human survival. The current triple environmental crisis—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution—is, to a large extent, the result of a profound physical, biological, and spiritual disconnection between human communities and the ecosystems that sustain essential life functions.
Ecosystem services represent the tangible and intangible contributions of nature to human survival and development. To emphasize the importance of ecosystems to human life, the United Nations launched a global initiative between 2001 and 2005—the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment—which categorized these benefits into four groups: provisioning services (such as food, water, timber, fiber, and medicinal plants); regulating services (including climate regulation, flood control, water purification, and pest and disease control); supporting services (such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling); and cultural services (including recreational, aesthetic, educational, spiritual, and cultural experiences).
Today, this concept has evolved into "Nature's Contributions to People" (NCP), which acknowledges the dynamic, two-way relationship between humans and nature while affirming the diverse values, perceptions, and knowledge systems arising from this interaction.
The Chilean organization Fundación Cosmos reflects on how humans inhabit this planet, dedicating itself to designing nature-based infrastructure and territorial management models. Recognizing the importance of reconnecting people with places, it integrates ecological conservation, environmental education, and responsible public use through landscape architecture, collaborating with local communities, municipalities, and public institutions. Through projects in urban and peri-urban wetlands across Chile, their approach is rooted in vernacular architecture and biomimicry, drawing inspiration from local species, ecological dynamics, and traditional building knowledge.
Below are four design projects by Fundación Cosmos in Chile. Inspired by birds and insects, these projects explore the role of landscape architecture in transforming ecosystems into urban wetland parks.
The Maipo River Mouth Wetland Park (Parque Humedal Río Maipo) is located at the border of the municipalities of Santo Domingo and San Antonio in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. As a space dedicated to ecological conservation, recreation, and environmental education, the convergence of fresh and saltwater, combined with nutrient inputs and tidal fluctuations, creates a highly productive and biodiverse environment. Over 190 bird species and 147 plant species have inspired the design of infrastructure such as boardwalks, observation towers, and interpretive signage, closely connecting the local community with the ecosystem.
The 7-meter-high Siete Colores observation tower is inspired by the nest of the Many-colored Rush Tyrant (scientific name: Tachuris rubrigastra). This bird inhabits reed beds and carefully weaves its nest from reeds to protect its young. During the design phase, soil studies recommended minimizing excavation. Observing the bird's nesting strategy—building a conical nest around a single reed stalk—became the core design principle for the entire project.
The tower is constructed around a single foundation point, featuring a central structural axis that supports the staircase, viewing platform, and exterior cladding. Its conical shape minimizes its footprint on the ground while expanding toward the top, where the viewing platform is located. This solution reduces excavation, respects the natural hydrological flow of the wetland, visually integrates with the surrounding landscape, and offers panoramic views of the river, reed beds, ocean, and nearby urban areas.
The Rayador observation tower is located at the southwestern edge of the nature reserve, marking the boundary between Marbella Beach and the protected area. It is designed as a clear physical landmark, announcing entry into the ecological reserve while reinforcing the wetland's ecological boundary. Its design is inspired by the beak of the Black Skimmer (scientific name: Rynchops niger), a bird that inhabits wetlands and leaves a trail on the water's surface while foraging.
The tower's form draws from the behavior of this estuarine migratory bird: flying low over the water with its lower mandible submerged, as if "skimming" or "scraping" the surface. This line drawn on the water is architecturally reinterpreted as an edge condition. Thus, the tower adopts the shape of the bird's beak, symbolically representing the boundary between public space and protected habitat.
Structurally, the project consists of overlapping triangular wooden frames with bamboo triangular latticework. The tower has two levels connected by a central staircase, topped by a terrace overlooking the coastal scrubland and the Pacific Ocean.
In the Greater Concepción area, a system of wetlands including Rocuant-Andalién, Vasco da Gama, Paicaví, and Tucapel Bajo forms a fragmented ecological matrix. This system holds great potential to be integrated into a unified network of natural areas, providing ecosystem services to local communities. The Chimalfe wetland required a strategy that protects nature, creates safe spaces for residents, and regulates public use. Therefore, the design establishes a transitional edge condition between the residential area and a forested zone known as the "Magic Forest" (Bosque Mágico). A ring-shaped park unfolds around a canal proposed for widening to enhance the provision of ecosystem services.
The scheme, inspired by dragonflies, emerged from participatory workshops conducted with the local community of Hualpén. "Chimalfe" means "dragonfly" in the Mapuche language (Mapudungun), and its presence provided formal inspiration for the park's landmark design. The distinctive shape and geometric patterns of dragonfly wings inspired the design of a large shelter pavilion. This pavilion not only protects visitors from the region's frequent rainfall but also serves as an educational and exhibition space.
Similarly, the dragonfly's body inspired the design of a 7-meter-high observation tower. The tower offers panoramic views of the ecosystem while serving as an iconic urban landmark supporting conservation efforts. These two structures are connected by a network of boardwalks, improving community accessibility while protecting the ecosystem.
In the Paicaví–Tucapel Bajo wetland, designated as an urban wetland in 2023, the project includes a new entrance gate leading to an environmental education area connected to a nearby school. This space integrates a shading structure and an orchard. The park's layout follows the site's elongated shape and its visual connection to the broader wetland system, planning and zoning the area as an ecological conservation park. Trails through tall vegetation, elevated boardwalks crossing reed beds, low-impact lighting, and interpretive signage define the visitor experience.
Inspired by the flight of the egret, the design incorporates an observation structure named "Traiwe" (meaning "egret" in Mapudungun). The project draws inspiration from the egret, one of the most representative bird species of this wetland identified by community members during participatory workshops. By observing its behavior, the design references three phases of flight: preparation, takeoff, and soaring.
Visitors begin their journey at ground level, gradually ascending via boardwalks to reach a suspended viewing platform overlooking the entire wetland. The slow, progressive ascent mimics the bird's deliberate movements, while the herringbone wooden lattice of the observation tower evokes the texture and appearance of its feathers.
The structure consists of a wooden walkway that gently rises via an accessible ramp to a height of 2.88 meters, with a total length of 5.95 meters. The walkway leads to a viewing platform overlooking the reed beds, flanked by two curved wooden screens that subtly mimic the egret's wings in flight.
Each project reflects how all life exists within an interconnected network. In this network, the survival of every species depends on collaboration with others, and even minor changes can trigger cascading effects throughout the ecosystem. Humans are inherently social and cooperative. As historian Yuval Noah Harari stated: "The real difference between us and other animals is the mysterious glue that binds large numbers of individuals, families, and groups together." From the earliest hunter-gatherer societies to the present day, humans have thrived through collective living and cooperation. Biologist Lynn Margulis once noted: "Life did not take over the globe by combat, but by networking." Cultivating ecologically conscious citizens may help pave the way for addressing current and future challenges.
