Exhibition Park
The history of Lima and, to a large extent, the history of Peru over thelast hundred years has left its traces, remains and footprints in the Parque dela Exposición. The park was originally part of the Matamadinga agriculturalestate established in the early 19th century, and in 1872 it became part of thepavilions and buildings that hosted the International Exposition of Peru. Sincethen, the park has gone through many different circumstances; from its almostcomplete destruction with the occupation of the Chilean army troops in 1881, toits later conversion into a zoo, or its abandonment during the worst years ofthe Shining Path terror. The park also uses for its irrigation system thecanals built by the Incas, in this case the Huatica canal. It is therefore avaluable and complex palimsept made up of multiple layers, but also a collageof very heterogeneous elements.
The project was commissioned by the World Monument Fund, although it had already formed part of the project for the extension of the Lima Art Museum, which now occupies the Palacio de la Exposición. The work consisted, first of all, of exhaustive research to uncover the history of the park. This has been a difficult and laborious task, as the existing documentation is very scarce and is to be found in various Peruvian archives, and has never been ordered nor has any historical study been carried out. Secondly, an inventory of what currently exists in the park - its buildings, installations, ruins and mapped remains and vegetation - has been carried out. Thirdly, we have defined a reliable strategy for its restoration. And, fourthly, we have carried out a concrete project that enhances the park, understanding it as a picturesque collage of different fragments with very different origins and affiliations and trying to find a balance between the picturesque and romantic and the demands of a public space with a very intense citizen use.
