Latin America: The Latest Architecture and News

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In the context of global initiatives to promote energy efficiency and the decarbonization of buildings, Latin America is at the center of the debate. The International Seminar on Sustainable and NetZero Buildings 2023, held in Bogotá and organized by CCCS, IEA, UNIANDES, CAF, and CEELA, aimed primarily to create a space for the exchange of experiences, such as Oliver Schütte's No Footprint House, while simultaneously conducting a review of government policies and the implementation of norms and standards in the region.

Among panels and conferences featuring Clara Camarasa, Nicola Borregaard, Laura Chapa, Paola Valencia, Iván Osuna, Juan Carlos Vega, Angélica Ospina, and Diego Velandia, five main learnings emerged as lessons: from creating more relevance and energy calculations to the development of the timber industry - and certifications.

Being one of the first construction methods developed by humans, earth has proven its resilience and durability over time. While construction techniques have evolved and been updated over the years, there is still a long way to explore where the understanding of climate, geographic location, sustainability, structural requirements, and other factors determine its degree of application.

With low environmental impact and the ability to be used through a wide variety of techniques, such as rammed earth walls or 'tapiales,' this material offers the possibility of providing not only aesthetic but also thermal comfort, insulation, and other benefits. With the intention of discovering the different ways it has been used, we set out to select 12 projects distributed throughout Latin America, spanning Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Ecuador.

Sameer Makarius was born in Cairo in 1924. In 1933, he immigrated with his family to Berlin. At the age of ten, his father gifted him a camera, marking the beginning of his journey with photography. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, in 1940, they moved to Budapest, where he completed his secondary education, began his artistic training, and connected with the protagonists of the local avant-garde. In 1946, he embarked on his return to Egypt with a prior stop in Zurich. There, he organized an exhibition of Hungarian modern art with the support of Max Bill. Back in Cairo, he worked as a decorative artist for advertising and also for an architecture and construction studio.

His artistic work arrived in the Río de La Plata a few years before he did, through his partner Eva Reiner, who was already living in Argentina with her family. In 1948, she lent one of his works for the MADI art exhibition organized in the workshop of the German sculptor Martin Blaszko. After marrying Eva in Egypt in 1952, they traveled together to Paris, where they worked as pattern designers. They finally arrived in Buenos Aires in April 1953, a city that would become their permanent residence. His migratory journey was marked by the drama of war. At the same time, during these displacements, Makarius built a network of relationships around photography, visual arts, and architecture that allowed him to unfold his work in various territories and formats.

With an air of simplicity and wisdom, engineer Julio Vargas Neumann welcomes us. His two dogs accompany us as we descend after the necessary ascent to enter, and we are also accompanied by the stone walls defining the lot. We sit down and begin - or continue - the interview and conversation regarding the value of 'shicras', local materials, and earth construction. We also discuss criticisms of cement, aluminum, and steel, as well as perspectives on the future of materials in Peru and the world. Likewise, we delve into the long-neglected and recurrent rural problem in South America, discussing the inexorable need to change paradigms and priorities.

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The city of Mendoza, Argentina, hosted the international event known as the "Feria de América," an industrial and continental exhibition that took place from January to April 1954. To provide a suitable setting for the exhibition, 30 hectares of land were allocated around the perimeter of Lake Parque General San Martín. Here, 93 pavilions and nearly 20 facilities were set up, including the Allegorical Tower, an open-air theater, and bars. The American countries represented with their own pavilions were Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Paraguay. There was also a large pavilion that housed various Latin American countries such as Colombia, Cuba, Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico, along with stands for Chilean and local Mendoza-based companies and provincial pavilions for Mendoza, San Juan, Misiones, La Rioja, Eva Perón (now La Pampa), Juan Domingo Perón (now Chaco), Córdoba, Corrientes, Santa Fe, Tucumán, and Buenos Aires. Additionally, there were stands and premises for various trade chambers (Quiroga, 2012). The fair embodied the government's aspiration to showcase a thriving, prosperous Argentina that was connected to regional countries and at the forefront of industrial development.

A few weeks ago, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) named the recipient of the RIBA Norman Foster 2023 travel grant. Martha Pomasonco from Peru was awarded for her outstanding project titled "Barrios Mejorados."

The research project that impressed the jury aims to explore the impact of highly successful informal settlement improvement initiatives implemented in various Latin American countries. Its primary objective is to uncover valuable design insights related to social and environmental sustainability. The research is founded on the recognition that Latin America is the most urbanized region globally, with approximately 80% of its population residing in cities. Nevertheless, nearly 15% of this urban population resides in informal settlements marked by inadequate infrastructure and a diminished quality of life. Various improvement programs have been implemented, and the active involvement of citizens has been a crucial factor in enhancing their effectiveness.

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Although the use of color can be employed to hide or disguise a specific characteristic, it can also be used to highlight them. Within the Latin American territory, we can observe that shades of red, green, and blue have predominated in residential architecture, aiming to integrate a language appropriate to the context in which it is implemented.

The use of pigmented concrete in Latin American architecture is growing - and influencing contemporary architectural expression. This can be seen in recent built works ranging from the INES Innovation Center designed by Pezo von Ellrichshausen in Chile to the Teotitlán del Valle Community Cultural Center by PRODUCTORA in Mexico.

Panama presented its pavilion on "Stories Beneath the Water" at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Curated by Aimée Lam Tunon and Jasper Zehetgruber, the exhibition explored themes of division and integration, with a focus on three different areas within the former Panama Canal Zone. It is an analysis that addresses issues of division and integration: Divisive architectural structures and systems; erased identities of submerged communities; and Barro Colorado Island, critically examining and questioning the overlaps between notions of protection and control.

What role does landscaping play in contemporary housing? In what ways can architecture and landscaping be integrated into a whole? Considering the incorporation of landscaping from the beginning of the architectural project has become a defining aspect and even a challenge for many architects, aiming to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants and contribute to the protection and care of the environment.

On numerous occasions and within the Latin American setting, nature appears as a protagonist or founding principle of the proposed architectural design, involving reasons related to promoting the relationship with the surrounding environment, incorporating native species of the site, and enhancing the connection between the interior and exterior, among others. Although there are different ways of planning, organizing, and arranging the layout of environments in contemporary housing, the dialogue between architecture and landscape can collaborate with the uses, activities, and circulations determined based on the needs to be met or the users to be accommodated.

Guatemala is a country located in Central America that is organized into 22 departments, its capital and most populated city is Guatemala City. Mexico forms the geographic borders that contain this territory to the north and west, Belize and Honduras to the east, and El Salvador to the south. In addition, it faces the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Honduras. It is located in Mesoamerica, home to the Mayan culture, which extended to what we know today as Mexican territory. It is for this reason and for some other reasons related to migration issues that these two countries share similar traits in terms of climate and culture, which is highly enriching when we explore the development of the territory.

Although the circular economy involves other principles such as the regeneration of natural systems, the reuse or recycling of materials plays an important role in contributing to the reduction of waste generation by giving a second useful life to elements that could be considered waste. Wood, metal sheets, bricks, and stones, among others, can be reused, bringing sustainability and efficiency criteria to the projects, helping to consolidate this concept that still has a long way to go.

Within the Latin American territory, many architecture professionals have proposed to apply in their design and construction processes the implementation of strategies that collaborate with the use of resources, either by reusing, recycling, or restoring different materials and elements in search of satisfying the needs and concerns of those who inhabit the spaces.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Arquitectonica has refuted Koolhaas’ accusation that “Modern architecture had never achieved the promised alchemy of quantity and quality,” and Alistair Gordon’s enormous compendium of the firm’s work certainly disproves it.

But what of Rossi’s backhanded praise: “In America … quantity is quality!”? Although absolutely deserving of praise, the quantity of the work is not the basis for Arquitectonica’s achievement—even when associated with the virtuosity of design. The importance of Arquitectonica derives from certain specific contributions to modern architecture in the United States.

What are the stories of the first Ibero-American women architects? This is the main question we seek to answer in celebration of ArchDaily's theme: Women in Architecture.

Seeking to put their motivations, inspirations, and trajectories on the table, we carried out a research project to make visible and highlight some names that have not had their deserved recognition. Meet Doris Clark Núñez, Guadalupe Ibarra, Matilde Ucelay Maórtua, Filandia Pizzul, Dora Riedel, Luz Amorocho, María Luisa Dehesa, Arinda da Cruz Sobral, and Julia Guarino, below.