Casona Puyó, French-inspired residence in Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile

Casona Puyó is a large residence in Bellas Artes featuring French neoclassical design built in the early 1900s. The house contains many rooms arranged around interior gardens and connected by wooden galleries throughout.

The building was constructed between 1903 and 1910 by French architect Émile Jéquier as a residence for a wealthy family. After a fire in 1969 at a nearby art school, the property was converted into artist workshops.

The name comes from the Puyó family who owned the residence and later opened it to artists seeking workspace. Today you can see how creative studios occupy the historic rooms and keep the building active with cultural work.

The entrance is at Monjitas 625, on the corner of Miraflores, a few steps from the Bellas Artes metro station. The building is a three-storey caserón with four interior patios and a side garden that once held a carriage parking area; expect stairs rather than lifts. Shops, cafés and workshops occupy the former rooms and are open to visitors.

Luis Puyó asked Émile Jéquier not for one house but for six joined dwellings of 200 to 850 square metres: two for the family and its medical practice, four to rent to acquaintances and as temporary lodging for patients. The 3,000-square-metre property covers an eighth of its block on Monjitas Street.