Concrete Solarities
Cristián Simonetti
Abstract
Concrete is a material that substantiates key contradictions of contemporary urban life. This anthropic rock, the most abundant in earth history, not only materializes modern narratives of progress but is currently a candidate to mark the onset of the Anthropocene. Moreover, contrary to how it has been traditionally portrayed by the industry, as a synthetic product of modern ingenuity, concrete results from a deep planetary relationship between the Earth and the Sun; the very same relationship that has made the existence of life in this planet, as we know it, possible, including humans. Attending to contemporary dystopias of Chile’s neoliberal experiment in Santiago, this chapter addresses the importance of the relationship between sunlight and concrete for understanding the human condition in the Anthropocene.