Overview
Set in Santiago’s financial quarter, this building was erected by La Mundial Insurance Company in the 1920s, in part of the land belonging to the Augustinian Nuns.
A beautiful corporate building was constructed there, which was inaugurated in 1923. Twelve years later, it became the luxury Hotel Mundial. In 1975, its owners moved over to banking. Its architecture stands out for a clear classical French inspiration, with a triangular floor plan and a dome.
It was declared a Historic Monument in 1981.
History
Facing the northeast façade of the Stock Exchange stands the building of La Mundial General Insurance Company, now a branch of the BBVA Bank. Designed in the 1920s, it stands out for the crowning dome, the balustrade balcony on its façade and huge columns.
In 1919, La Mundial Insurance Company purchased a triangular piece of land from the Augustinian Nuns, the aim being to erect their corporate building there. Works commenced in 1920 and were completed three years later.
Between 1935 and 1975, the building housed the rooms of the luxury Hotel Mundial. Since the closing decades of the last century up to the present, it has been used as a bank main office.
The sector where this building is located was named a Typical Area in 1986.
Architecture
The building has a triangular floor plan, with a cylindrical structure at the corner, topped with a dome and high pilasters highlighting the side façades.
With a supporting concrete structure, the building has two underground floors, a look-out basement floor and six upper levels.
Its architects, faithful to the academic discipline of the Paris Fine Arts College, took their inspiration from classical lines, giving the construction a hallmark of power that transcends the French conception of the day.
Moneda, 1069, Santiago.