Edificio de la Cooperativa Eléctrica de Chillán, Modernist building in Chillán, Chile

The Edificio de la Cooperativa Eléctrica de Chillán, also called Edificio Copelec, stands at Calle Maipón 1079 on a site of about 630 m². Its walls are raw reinforced concrete that still shows the grain of the wooden formwork. Light enters through double-cone columns, curved skylights and perforated facades: the south facade is mostly smooth, the north one volumetric.

After the 1939 Chillán earthquake destroyed most of the city, reconstruction favoured brutalist modern design. In 1962 the electrical cooperative commissioned a building requiring light, sun, colour and originality; Juan Borchers, then in Europe, was brought in to direct the work. Built in 1963 and finished in 1964, it was left 95% complete for lack of funds. It was declared a National Historic Monument by Decree No. 2416 of 21 July 2008.

The building's name comes from its owner, the Cooperativa Eléctrica de Chillán, which still occupies it; the ground level also houses parking, storage units and bicycle workshops. A planned restoration by Jesús Bermejo, then 80, aimed to finish the remaining 5% and turn it into a Centro Artístico y Cultural Copelec with an electricity museum, but the project stalled for lack of funds.

The building sits on Maipón Street and continues to function as office space for the Electrical Cooperative. You can view its exterior facades from street level and appreciate the architectural details without needing special access.

The north and south sides of the building were deliberately designed differently: one remains flat while the other features raised volumetric elements. This intentional contrast shows how the architect played with light and shade to create varied working environments throughout the day.