From Los Ríos to Wonder: Chilean Artisan Creates a Wooden Eiffel Tower with More Than 50 Thousand Pieces

What began as a personal challenge ended up becoming a work that today travels through the Los Ríos Region, awakening admiration and curiosity. This is "The Wooden Tower," a handcrafted replica of the Eiffel Tower built entirely by self-taught artisan Hernán Rodríguez, from Purulón, Lanco commune.

With a height of 2.15 meters and built to a 1:150 scale, the structure was made entirely by hand over two years and four months, without using blueprints, molds, or sketches. To bring it to life, Rodríguez manufactured and assembled more than 50 thousand pieces of raulí wood, some barely one millimeter thick, successfully reproducing the iconic Parisian construction with remarkable precision.

The creative process arose solely from observing photographs and audiovisual records of the Eiffel Tower. From these, the artisan resolved each structural challenge until achieving a replica that incorporates architectural details such as the eight arches at its base, staircases, elevators, observation decks, restaurants, ticket booths, and even the machine room.

Also designed for easy display, the work can be disassembled into five modules, allowing it to be transported to different cultural and educational spaces. Additionally, it features a modern LED ARGB lighting system, programmable through an app, which enhances its details and offers a different visual experience at each presentation.

A project that brings art closer to communities

Beyond its technical complexity, "The Wooden Tower" seeks to become a tool to inspire new generations. Its first presentations at the Francia School in Valdivia and the Public Library of Lanco brought together students, teachers, and visitors around the work, generating conversations about creativity, heritage, and trades.

For Hernán Rodríguez, that exchange is one of the main goals of the tour.

"As a native of this region, I feel enormous pride in being able to show this work here. I always dreamed of creating something of great scale that represented Los Ríos and proving that from our own territories great projects can also emerge. I want students to see that with dedication, craftsmanship, and perseverance, it is possible to build works that transcend."

Valuing regional talent

The tour of the work will continue through different communes of Los Ríos, bringing this creation closer to educational institutions and public spaces.

The initiative highlights the work of regional artisans and demonstrates that innovation can also be born from traditional craftsmanship. At each assembly, thousands of small wooden pieces give shape not only to one of the most recognized monuments in the world, but also to a story of perseverance, creativity, and local talent that seeks to inspire new generations.