Miejskie wydmy. Zapiski z utopijnego Miasta Otwartego

This paper is a result of several days of on-site empirical observations conducted in the Open City (Ciudad Abierta) in Chile. The author studied the present practices and operations of the local academic community that in 1970 led to the creation of this utopia-like space. Associated with the School of Architecture and Design at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (Escuela de Arquitectura y Diseño Potificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso), the so-called ‘School of Valparaíso’, the community itself was established in the second half of the 20th century by the founders of Amereida: architect Alberto Cruz and Godofredo Iommi. The author suggests that these ‘urban’ dunes of the Pacific coast may serve as a point of exploration and reflection on utopia (by definition a cultural concept rather than a social or civilisational one), as well as on the essence of the university and new ways of practising and studying culture.