Los miradores de Lota Alto: lugares de encuentro, comprensión y revalorización del paisaje cultural

The article studies the relation between constructed form and relief, which is the most peculiar characteristic of the cultural landscape of Lota Alto, and how this integration has occurred through the lookout points by the activities of its inhabitants. These areas were designed and built in Lota Alto for contemplating the surrounding landscape, forming a sequence in concordance with its main street – Carlos Cousiño Avenue – where open areas showing different angles of the landscape appear throughout, attracting the observer. The lookout points are public areas, whether spontaneous or designed, recreational or contemplative, allowing the observer to understand the landscape, taking him beyond the mere geographical facts and placing the inhabitant in contact with his history. These lookout points are structural elements of the cultural landscape because they place the inhabitant in contact with his environment, representing how the community uses and understands it. They are elements of revalorization because they assume a connotation that is different from the simple forming features to be contained within a relation between the tangible and non-tangible dimensions of the cultural landscape, resulting from the
interaction between people and their environment.