From Taiwan to the Netherlands to Uruguay, Jakub Sawosko has extensively been photographing concrete architecture all over the world and displaying them on Instagram as @sh_sh_welt.
After living surrounded and fascinated by post-war concrete architecture in Europe in his early years, Sawosko moved to Taiwan where he eventually realized that Modernism had heavily influenced Taiwan as well. "I felt that [Taiwan's distinctive style of architecture] deserved more recognition", explains Jakub in conversation with ArchDaily via Instagram.
What started as a personal almanac of Taiwanese modernist architecture on Instagram swiftly propelled to a worldwide journey presenting the marriage of concrete and modern architecture throughout the 20th century. One of these thematic trips led him to visit the southern hemisphere. "When you think about modern South American architecture the first country that comes to mind is Brazil with Oscar Niemeyer, Lina Bo Bardi, and others", he explains. "Sometimes Argentina also gets the mention, especially Clorindo Testa, but it is not often that you hear about Chile", adds.
Thus Sawosko decided to explore personally Chilean architecture:
I thought that such an advanced, modern country that is often referred to as South America’s success story has got to have its own share of great 20th-century architecture and it should be explored and given justice.
After scouting on architecture websites, Facebook groups, Chilean media archives, and local newspapers and magazines, Jacob visited Santiago and the bohemian port of Valparaiso. "While on the ground in there, I also happened to bump into some really interesting works by chance which is one of the biggest joys of architecture photographers", he explains.
Among the concrete architectural projects Jacob photographed in Santiago, he bumped into modern classics such as the ECLAC-CEPAL Building, designed by Le Corbusier alumni Emilio Duhart (1966); Tajamar Towers (1967), a visionary high-density complex designed by Luis Prieto Vial + BVCH; and República Remodeling (1969), the first modernist residential complex conceived as part of an urban renewal plan for Santiago downtown.
Nevertheless, concrete was not an exclusive feature of Chilean modern architecture since contemporary architects have sculptured iconic projects out of this material such as the Expansion of the School of Education, Postgraduate Building (2010) by Baixas y Del Río Arquitectos, and mesmerizing Pritzker Prize-laureated Alejandro Aravena's Innovation Center UC - Anacleto Angelini (2014).
Regarding upcoming plans, Jacob explains he has been focusing on Dutch and Belgian architecture of the early and mid-20th century. "The next project that I have in the works is going to cover the Italian architecture of the 1920s and 1930s, with a focus on Rome and—fingers crossed—other parts of the country", he finishes.
Follow @sh_sh_welt on Instagram.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on November 22, 2022.
