Edificio del Congreso Nacional de Chile, Postmodern parliament building in El Almendral, Valparaíso, Chile

The Edificio del Congreso Nacional de Chile is a postmodern parliament complex in Valparaíso's El Almendral district, built on the site of the demolished Enrique Deformes Hospital. Its 60,000 m² structure used 26,000 m³ of reinforced concrete on a 25,000 m² plot. Inside are the chambers of both houses, a plenary hall, committee rooms, a 6,800 m² library and underground parking.

Law 18678, issued by the military junta on 18 December 1987, moved the National Congress seat from Santiago to Valparaíso for decentralisation. On 16 January 1988 Augusto Pinochet chose the site of the Enrique Deformes Hospital in El Almendral, demolished after the earthquake of 3 March 1985. Ground was broken on 20 October 1988.

Sculptor Félix Maruenda made the main door on Avenida Pedro Montt, 6 m high and 4 m wide, with a seed at its centre; his interior Plenario door in Oregon pine and laminated copper bears the carving «La gente mira». Osvaldo Peña carved an open right hand on the Cámara de Diputados' main door and a left hand on the side door, and Francisco Torres sculpted the marble national coat of arms behind the Plenario presidium.

The building occupies the block bounded by Avenida Pedro Montt, where the main entrance stands, in the El Almendral district, on the site of the former Enrique Deformes hospital. The 25,000 m² grounds include 14,490 m² of underground parking. The main doors by Félix Maruenda, 6 m high and 4 m wide, are the element to look for from the street.

The main door on Avenida Pedro Montt, by sculptor Félix Maruenda, stands 6 m high and 4 m wide; each of its two leaves weighs about 1,000 kg and carries a seed image at its centre. Inside, his Oregon pine and laminated copper door to the Plenary Hall is engraved with a group of people facing the viewer, titled "La gente mira".