Multifaceted and filled with complexities, the landscape of architecture and urbanism in Latin America unveils specific nuances and challenges in light of the issues faced by various countries, such as social inequality, violence, and rapid urban growth. Within this context, architectural practice assumes a significant role in crafting feasible and appropriate solutions tailored to each reality, emphasizing the importance of reaffirming local references and narratives in this process.
In the face of the established hegemony, particularly by North America and Europe, which often marginalizes Latin American architectural and urban achievements, especially those not even recognized as such, the appreciation of this diversity and complexity becomes imperative for any consideration and intervention in the region. Below, we have selected six interviews that aid in understanding the architecture of Latin America and contribute to a more contextualized and sensitive approach to its needs, potential, and richness.
Emilio López: Latin American Architecture Is about Experimenting with Geography and Resources
Emilio López is an architect from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and holds a Master's degree in History and Theory of Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He states that he still resides in Ecuador, a territory with one of the world's greatest biodiversities. He mentions that the geography, plants, climates, and cultures of the country provide significant stimuli, and argues that through architecture, there emerges the opportunity for immersion and blending with the environment, allowing oneself to be transformed by the surroundings. He asserts that the power of architecture lies in being a product of the immersive engagement that involves rethinking its relationship with resources and the world in which he lives.
Latin American architecture is an architecture that is experimenting and exploring from close references, such as geography, materials, and resources at hand. I look with optimism at the younger Latin American architects who are daring to take risks. For me, this largely involves distancing themselves from the modernist legacy, which remains very strong in our environment, not only in the professional field but also in academia, where the primary references studied are mainly European. These are searches that arise from emotional closeness and prolonged being, not immediate.
Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares: We seek to expand architecture based on other histories and cultures
Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares propose questioning the canonical history of architecture and shedding light on spatial practices that have long been overlooked. "It's our way of shaking things up," comment the curators, who focus their attention on ancestral ways of interacting with the land, aiming for more just and comprehensive present and future possibilities. By addressing the land in all the meanings the word carries, the curators overlay issues related to soil and territory with planetary problems, suggesting an approach that intertwines themes of repair and decolonization—emerging in the Brazilian context—with broader topics such as decarbonization and the environment, crucial in the contemporary global debate.
Architecture history is incomplete because our focus has always been on architecture production in the Global North: Europe, the United States etc. I believe that our proposal presents an architecture production that is not even recognized as architectural production. So, besides proposing another way of understanding these experiences, we also seek to expand architecture based on other histories and cultures.
Sérgio Ferro: In construction, perhaps the only way out would be to "brush history against the grain"
Sérgio Ferro is a Brazilian architect, artist, historian, and architectural critic who, due to his political activism during the military dictatorship, was arrested and exiled to France in the 1970s. Throughout his career, he observed and intervened in the spaces of civil construction production, developing a critique of the production of plastic arts and architecture based on the construction process and its agents: the construction site, technologies, materials, and the builder.
In construction, perhaps the only way out would be to "brush history against the grain" and reinvent something similar to the lost encounter between technical eclecticism and revolutionary unionism. This presupposes autonomous, non-salaried, skilled work, organized into trades, and, on the other hand, an architecture that ceases to be an "other side" to become a trade like the others, the only one missing among the existing trades or with the possibility of re-foundation, one that would deal with the interfaces between the existing or restorable ones.
Taller General: Our Definition of Architecture Takes Shape Collectively
Taller General serves as a gathering point where Martín Real, Florencia Sobrero, and other members and collaborators pursue their passion daily: channeling their creativity through architecture, blending all aspects that shape their lives, from activism to teaching. Based in Ecuador, the team changes according to project needs and often expands, fostering collaborative work that allows the sharing of diverse perspectives, opinions, and practices. This enriches the environment and generates results that would be unimaginable individually.
We are suffering a complex phase of urban expansion, where, on one hand, there's uncontrolled urban growth, and on the other hand, there's a decline in occupied housing and buildings within these same cities. Therefore, the way we repurpose existing infrastructure for new uses occupies much of our time in reflections and discussions. Through various exercises within our workshop, we seek mechanisms to rethink architectural practices in light of these concerns.
EseColectivo: The minimum we set ourselves in our practice is not to squander
EseColectivo is an architecture studio formed by Belén Argudo, José de la Torre, Santiago Granda and Pablo Silva based in Quito, Ecuador. Their interests are focused on experimentation with alternative building materials, with an emphasis on technologies and logic. In their design process, they seek to reconcile low-impact sustainable strategies with the specific needs and constraints of each project, so that their results are heterogeneous and differ in the type of methodological and technical approach.
On the one hand, the recognition of a local reality, which has concrete limitations and advantages, and the urgent need for an architecture that corresponds to it. The search for efficiency and the careful management of resources is the way we have found to make our profession coherent in Ecuador. We work in a country, like most of Latin America, with a lot of poverty, informality and generally untidy management of architecture and cities. For this reason, the minimum we set ourselves in our practice is not to squander.
Coletivo Levante: We experience a coexistence that brings out affections, dialogues, values, and desires for an inclusive and participatory transformation
Focused on developing architecture projects in favelas and peripheries, the work of Coletivo LEVANTE demonstrates a profound sensitivity to the characteristics and particularities of these contexts. According to the group, "the recognition of what already exists and is imbued with values lived and earned by favela residents—landscape, constructions, identities, and relationships" is what they seek as the raw material for their projects. The Coletivo's team currently comprises Alan Franca, Amanda Castilho, Anna Lobato, Fernando Maculan, Marcos Franchinni, Nattalia Bom Conselho, Giovanna Camisassa, Helder Machado, Kdu dos Anjos, Maria Soalheiro, Marina Vilela, Matheus Angel, Pedro Assis, Rafael Yanni, and Ricardo Lobato. However, as LEVANTE's work has demonstrated, the network of professionals, suppliers, partners, and collaborators is extensive. It goes beyond the collective itself, proving to be a valuable factor in their projects.
We acknowledge the importance of tackling the favelas’ recurring spatial and infrastructural issues. However, we also embrace a coexistence that fosters emotions, dialogues, values, and aspirations for an inclusive and participatory transformation. Our approach prioritizes being present rather than absent and focusing on potential rather than deficiency. These principles guide us in all stages of our projects and works.
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