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FELIPE HERNANDEZ

BEYOND MODERNISTMASTERS:
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
IN LATIN AMERICA
BIRKHAUSER
BASEL· BOSTON· BERLIN
The research for this publication was in part made possible by
the RIBA Research Trust and the Liverpool School of Architecture
Sabbatical scheme; we would like to express our thanks for
this generous support.

Graphic design
Miriam Bussmann, Berlin

Editor
Ria Stein , Berlin

Cover
House in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil

Photographer
Nelson Kon, Sao Paulo

Lithography
Licht + Tiefe, Berlin

Printing
fgb . freiburger graphische betriebe, Freiburg

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009910224

Bibliographic information published by the German National Library:

The German National Library lists this publ ication in the
Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http: //dnb.d-nb.de .

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or
part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprint-
ing , re-use of illustrations, recitation , broadcasting, reproductio n on microfilms
or in other ways, and storage in data banks . For any kind of use, permission of
the copyright owner must be obtained.

© 2010 Birkhauser Verlag AG

Basel . Boston . Berlin
P.O.Box 133, CH-4010 Basel, Switzerland
Part of Springer Science-Business Med ia
Printed on acid-free paper produced from chlor ine-free pulp. TCF 00

Printed in Germany

ISBN 978-3-764 3-8769-3

www.birkhauser.ch

987654321
CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 6

2 BUILDING ON THE CITY'S EDGE 24

3 PUBLIC SPACES AS CONTACT ZONES .42

4 DESIGNING FOR POVERTY 58

5 THE PRIVATE HOUSE 76

6 ARCHITECTURE IN THE LANDSCAPE 114

Selected Bibliography 146

About the Author 148
Acknowledgements 149
Index 150
Illustration Credits 152
 1 INTRODUCTION

Latin American cities and buildings continue to figure

prominently in the history of architecture. Indeed, attention to
architectural production in that part of the world has increased
during the first decade of the 21st century. It can be argued that
contemporary architects from Latin America are receiving more
international recognition than ever before. Established European
and North American magazines such as Architectural Review,
Architectural Record, Oomus and, even, non-specialised popu -
lar monthly publications such as Casabella and Wallpaper have
dedicated numerous pages and special editions to recently
finished buildings in Latin America. Similarly, there has been a
proliferation of monographs about the work of contemporary
Latin American architects; indeed, this book forms part of such COMISI6N ECON6MICA PARA AMERICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE (CEPAL), SANTIAGO
a body of literature. What is more, architects from Latin Ameri- DE CHILE, CHILE, CRISTIAN DE GROOTE, EMILIO DUHART AND ROBERTO
GOYCOLEA. VIEW OF THE FRONT AND MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE COMPLEX.
can countries have won virtually all major architectural awards
in the world in the past ten years.' The list of achievements
could continue if I were to mention conferences, lecture series to display great formal creativity, but the above-mentioned
and visiting professorships at prestigious universities around conditions of practice demand more political awareness. As a
the world . However, I do not intend to highlight the achieve- result, schemes have become less ambitious in scale and more
ments of architects from Latin America. Instead, I would like to specific in scope. However, the nature of their work and the
draw attention to the way in which such a degree of renewed conditions of practice in contemporary Latin American countries
international attention disrupts the somewhat homogenous impede the construction of a homogenous continental ident ity;
image suggested by the banner 'Latin American architecture'. even the existence of national identities is challenged by the
That is because the focus of such renewed attention has been diversity of architectural practices that participate in the continu-
diverted to new areas of architectural production. Rather than ous re-shaping of cities in Latin America.
concentrating only on buildings produced during the middle In spite of a resurgent interest, the bulk of literature in
years of the 20 t h century, by a reduced group of talented and existence about architectures in Latin America, especially the
enthusiastic modernist architects, recent publications focus on material published in the English language, focuses on modern
a younger generation of architects whose work differs greatly architecture. In fact, many recent books set a chronological limit
from that of their modern ist predecessors. Not only is variation between 1929 and 1960 as the most representative period
found in the form of buildings but, more importantly, in the of architectural production in the continent. Two of those
themes and aspirations of contemporary young architects who books are Valerie Fraser's Building the New World : Studies in
work in some of the largest cities in the world , in conditions the Modern Architecture of Latin America 1930- 1960 and
of poverty - and immense wealth - las well as in situations the volume entitled Latin American Architecture 1929-1960:
of social and political instability. The buildings designed by Contemporary Reflections edited by Carlos Brillembourg. Other
architects in Latin America during the past 20 years continue volumes published around the same time are Malcolm

I 7
COMISION ECONOMICA PARA AMERICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE (CEPAL). COVERED CIRCULATION.

Quantrill's Latin American Architecture: Six Voices , a book in Undoubtedly, the period between 1929 and 1960 was one of
which six critics examine the work of six modernist architects great change for most nations in the continent. It was a period
from six Latin American countries, and Elisabetta Andreoli's of transition when primarily agrarian economies transformed
and Adrian Forty 's Brazil's Modern Architecture , a book which irregularly into a state of industrialisation . By irregular transfor-
expresses, in the first sentence, how reliant Latin American mation , I refer to the fact that industrialisation did not happen
architectures are on the work of only a few modernist architects simultaneously in all nations across the continent and that, even
- those I will refer to , in this book, as the modernist masters ." at the interior of each country, it was not a smooth process.
Amongst the most influential modernist masters are Luis Industrialisation brought along a new economic system which
Barragan, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Oscar Niemeyer, Rogelio resulted in greater socio-economic disparity and political insta-
Salmona and Carlos Raul Villanueva. There are, however, bility. There was, for example, great tension between different
numerous other figures who played an important role in the forms of nationalism: those who promulgated the recuperation
dissemination of architectural modernism throughout the of past traditions - pre-Columbian or indigenous and, even,
continent, for example: Eladio Dieste (Uruguay), Crlstian de colonial customs - and those which subscribed to modernist
Groote (Chile), Gorka Dorronsoro (Venezuela), Carlos Mijares principles of progress and universalisation . Socialist ideas
(Mexico) and Clorindo Testa (Argentina), to mention only a thrived. There were also dissident political groups and, at the
few. Although the work of this latter group of architects has other end of the spectrum, many right-wing regimes in various
not received the same amount of international exposure, their countries throughout the cont inent. Multiple factors influenced
buildings contributed greatly to the development of architectural the soclo-polltlcal instability which characterised this historical
ideas in their countries and the construction, by international period. Yet, they all were related, in one way or another, to the
scholars, of a homogenous continental identity based on enormous transformations caused by the decline of the prevail-
modern architecture. ing feudal-agrarian system and the emergence of a precarious

8 I 1 Introduction
COMISION ECONOMICA PARA AMERICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE (CEPAL). COURTYARD.

industrialisation, what I refer to with the expression 'a state of image of modernity - cultural dynamism, industrialisation and
industrialisation '. This is because industrialisation did not result economic expansion - which persuaded politicians to endorse
in the consolidation of 'industrialised societies', or economies, modern architecture enthusiastically.
but in a broad range of 'versions of industrialisation' which
suited the interests of national elites. In other words, local elites NATION-BUILDING AND UNIVERSALISATION:
wanted to retain the privileges that the previous system granted THE ERA OF LARGE-SCALE BUILDING
them, while taking advantage of the benefits brought about by
industrial development. The post-war period (1945-1960) was a time when most Latin
Comprehensibly, liberal governments in many Latin Ameri- American economies flourished . Economic buoyancy allowed
can nation-states embraced modern architecture during this governments to build on a large scale that was unconceivable in
unstable period because it suited the rhetoric of progress that other parts of the world; especially in Europe, where most coun-
they promulgated. At a time when cities were growing rapidly tries endured a period of austerity. Moreover, architects in Latin
due to the increasing migration of people from the countryside America were given carte blanche to pursue their aesthetic,
to the main cities, modern architecture seemed capable of pro- technical, functional and urban aspirations in order to material-
viding the necessary solutions to guarantee good standards of ise their idealistic plans for buildings and cities. Suddenly, Latin
life for everyone, while also stimulating economic development. America became an attractive destination for European and
Since the technology to produce modern architecture was North American architects who saw an opportunity to material-
not entirely available in every country, its very implementation ise their own projects there - the figure of Le Corbusier stands
motivated industrial development by instigating the creation of out unrivalled amongst the architects who came to find work in
factories to produce cement, steel and glass, materials that are Latin America at the time. Grand and optimistic programmes
necessary for the construction of modern buildings. It was the designed to instigate development gave an opportunity to local

Nation-Building and Universalisation: The Era of Large-Scale BUilding I 9

IGLESIA DE CRISTO OBRERO, ATLANTIDA, URUGUAY, ELADIO DIESTE. VIEW OF IGLESIA DE CRISTO OBRERO. VIEW OF THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE.
THE UNDULATING CORNICE ALONG THE SIDEWALLS.

and European architects alike to undertake the construction of as seen in the use of a particular formal repertoire, certain
governmental buildings, university campuses, mass housing, construction techniques and, even, the methods of design used
airports, museums, stadia and even entire cities. (plans, sections, elevations and perspective views). On the other
One of the most remarkable examples of large-scale hand, there is a distinct reluctance to abandon their pre-Colum-
modern architecture in this period is the Universidad Nacional bian past where they continue to find many traits of their identity.
Aut6noma de Mexico (UNAM), built between 1947 and 1952. In other words, this shows that Mexican architects were split
The master plan corresponds with the principles of ClAM between ideas of progress, industrialisation and technological
urbanism, although it also incorporates pre-Columbian strate- advancement while, simultaneously, holding a desire for the
gies of land occupation, such as terracing and the construction recuperation of an indigenous past they felt proud of. Far from
of pedestals to magnify the image of significant buildings - a negative, these inherent contradictions reflect the particulari-
strategy that resembles the organisation of Aztec settlements. ties of Mexican politics and culture at the time . It is precisely
Similarly, most buildings of the plan subscribe to the five points these contradictions which assign great architectural merit to
of architecture formulated by Le Corbusier in 1926, although the campus and its buildings: instead of offering a deceiving
some incorporate contrasting elements, i. e. decorative motifs sense of homogeneity, the university campus emerges as a true
taken from the local indigenous tradition. A building which representation of the Mexican identity - heterogeneous, unequal
juxtaposes different elements is the Central Library designed and ambivalent.
by Juan O'Gorman in collaboration with Gustavo Saavedra Another example of the large-scale projects built during
and Juan Martinez de Velasco. Generally speaking , the library this period is the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, designed by
is a conventional concrete slab construction which rests on Carlos Raul Villanueva between 1944 and 1970. Without doubt,
a plinth . Large expanses of glass around the plinth reveal the this was Villanueva's most significant project, not only because
floating planes and the free-standing concrete columns in the of the vast scale and the time he invested in its design and
interior. Above the plinth rests the tower, a large rectangular construction but , also, because it shows multiple aspects of his
volume whose exterior is decorated with colourful images of expression as an architect. The master plan, for example, sub-
mestizo workers and soldiers, Aztec symbols and other pagan scribes to the principles of modern urbanism while the buildings
motifs. Such a juxtaposition exposes contrasting interpretations show a progression of various styles. From the symmetrical and
of the nation's cultural identity, an inherent ambivalence in the heavy Hospital Clfnico on the east, to the lighter and more fluid
construction of Mexico by the popular imagination. On the one forms of the recreational zone on the west (which comprises the
hand, the planners of the university campus and the architects Olympic stadium, the swimming pool and the baseball stadium)
of the library identified themselves with modern architecture, passing through the cultural and administrative zone at the

10 I 1 Introduction
heart of campus, which contains the famous covered plaza and
the Aula Magna. Since Venezuela did not have as rich a pre-
Columbian heritage as Mexico , the implementation of modern
architecture did not meet heavy opposition from nationalist
groups whose members wanted to evoke an indigenous past ."
Instead , the oil economy which transformed a poor agrarian
country into a prosperous nation-state, brought with it a new
sense of historical optimism. Rather than indigenous and revolu-
tionary motifs, as in the Mexican university campus examined
above , Villanueva associated himself with North American ideas
and the European avant-garde in order further to emphasise the
image of national prosperity.
Needless to say, the largest and most significant project
realised during this period was Brasilia. Paradoxically, it was
inaugurated in 1960, as if closing the era of modern architecture NATIONAL CONGRESS, BRASILIA, BRAZIL, OSCAR NIEMEYER.
in Latin America. Indeed, as Valerie Fraser points out, Brasilia
was 'one ambition too far, and the architectural establishment in
the USA and Europe turned against it '." After studying the plans
for Brasilia in his 1958 graduate seminar at Harvard, Sigfried look at the objectives for the provision of hous ing in Brasilia is
Giedion and his students concluded that they were inadequate. enough to reveal th is severance. In a periodical called Brasilia ,
In the ir opin ion, the Brazilian government should have ap- published by the corporation in charge of planning , build ing and
pointed internat ional planning experts or, even, commissioned adm inistering the city, the expectations set on the provision of
Le Corbusier to assist. Clearly the Euro-American estab lishment mass housing were described thus:
considered Brazilian architects capable of designing good 'As for the apartments themselves , some are larger and
buildings, but an entire city was beyond their capab ility; the some are smaller in the number of rooms. [They] are distributed,
Brazilians were not prepared to design their own cap ital city - a respectively, to families on the basis of the number of depend-
project which could only be accomplished successfully with ants they have. And because of th is dist ribut ion, the residents
the assistance of the experts from Europe or North America . of a superquadra are forced to live as if in the sphere of one big
Giedion's damning dec laration was supported by other critics family, in perfect social coexistence , which results in benefits
and historians - as I will demonstrate below - and, so, interest for the children who live, grow up and study in the same
in modernist Latin American production decreased rapidly. environment of sincere camaraderie, friendship and wholesome
Despite derogatory statements such as Giedion's , Brasilia upbringing. [oo. ] And thus [are] raised, on the plateau, the
remains a remarkable example of modern architecture worthy of children who will construct the Brazil of tomorrow, since Brasilia
examination. Its political backers and the architects conceived is the glorious cradle of a new civilization. ' 5
Brasilia as a sign of progress and economic expansion, as well The US-American anthropologist James Holston , who wrote
as the symbol of a culturally vibrant and confident nation. These one of the harshest critiques that exists of Brasilia, shows the
ideas were to materialise in three ways: the realisation of the way in which people were inscribed in the narratives of progress
plan itself with its urban and public infrastructure, the construc- and nationalism as a homogenous community. Indeed , in
tion of emblematic buildings (i.e. the capitol building , the palace the process of imagining a homogenous nationa l community,
of congress, the ministries , the cathedral and so on) and peoples are removed from their historical pasts - the use
through the provision of mass housing (an aspect included in of plural is not only appropriate but necessary - in order to
the later stages of development). Of the three aspects , hous ing conceive the idea of 'perfect social coexistence'. The carefully
is the only one that has direct impact on the common people - crafted statement cited above discloses the desire of Brazilian
the other two do not affect directly the lives of the majority of polit icians to be part of modernity, not simply as an architectural
the population. However, it is precisely this aspect , housing, construction but as a western discourse of civilisation. The
which reveals the detachment between the elites - amongst architects, on the other hand, were understandably busy trying
whom architects are included - and the common people . A brief to realise an exemplary city with which to demonstrate that they

Nation-Building and Universalisation:The Era of Large-Scale Building I 11

 ., '

NATIONAL CONGRESS . INTERSECTION OVER THE RODOVIARIA, BRASILIA'S BUS TERMINAL,

CONGESTED AND OCCUPIED BY PEOPLE.

were capable of producing architecture of the same quality as Consultants to other organisations such as UNESCO seem to
their European and North American counterparts and, even, share Holston's point of view. The statement for the inclusion of
better than theirs . So, Brasilia was thought to be the origin of Brasilia in the list of World Heritage sites underlines that:
a renewed thoroughly modern nation, but, in the process, it 'Brasilia currently has a privileged population of 300,000
disowned the heterogeneous realities and convoluted histories people, and a large, often transitory, population distributed
of the nation's peoples . among the seven satellite cites, as well as in the poorer
Paradoxically, like Giedion's, most critiques of Brasilia- neighbourhoods that were established to the detriment of
including Holston's - focus largely on the physical dimension the 1956-1957 project. In the absence of both a master plan
of the city: its form, its buildings, the fact that it seems always and a code of urbanism, the standards defined by Costa and
to be empty and so on. People, the city 's inhabitants, only Niemeyer have been infringed upon in the greatest disarray [my
figure negatively as antagonistic elements that prevent the full emphasis]. '7
realisation of the architects' plans. Holston , for example . points By declaring the actions and physical transformations car-
out that various parts of the city have been altered by people ried out by the city's inhabitants 'detrimental' , UNESCO denies
in the course of its 50 years of existence, alterations which are political agency to the people in the construction of their own
considered to be detrimental to the original plan. For Holston, inhabitable space. Paradoxically, the severance of architecture
the fact that people have transformed physically parts of the city from the realm of the social contradicts the very notion of herit-
in order to carry out their daily activities, or in order to introduce age as a cultural representation of a people's history. UNESCO's
unplanned uses which subvert the original zoning arrangement, assessment implies that there is a need to reconnect the city,
is a testimony of the failure of the city. He refers mainly to the in its current status of inhabitation, with its 'original ' empty and
rodovierle (Brasilia's bus terminal), one of the most populated idealised version which is found in the drawings produced by
parts of the city today" Lucio Costa, and the buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer,

12 I 1 Introduction
more than half a century ago. The question arises, for whom is ments , as well as in the aspirat ions of contemporary young
Brasilia a heritage , for its own inhabitants or for an international architects. Plans for entire cities and punctual mega -projects
(and largely anonymous) commun ity of architectural conserva- are rare nowadays . Instead, attention is given to specific issues
tionists? in precise areas of cities. More importantly, geographical, soc ial
The arguments put forwa rd in th is book contest such a and pol itical specificity also allow arch itects more accurately to
derogatory inscription of people in the continued construction attend the needs of part icular social groups so that buildings
of cit ies, and in the re-signification of buildings. Rather than are more closely connected with people.
having a negative effect , the emergence of satellite cit ies - or
spontaneous settlements and shanty towns - and the ap - THE INSCRIPTION OF LATIN AMERICAN BUILDINGS IN THE
propriations carried out by the residents of Brasilia are a HISTORY OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE
testimony of the city's success. It is precisely through their acts
of appropriation that residents introduce their own and varied I have brought forward these three examples of architectural
socio-cultural traditions into a city that was openly designed to modernism in the period between 1929 and 1960 - the campus
restrain heterogeneity. As a result, the inhabitants of Brasilia are of the Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mexico in the
considered to be the producers of social, cultural and physical Mexican capital, the campus of the Universidad Central de
spaces that represent the tense interaction between different Venezuela in Caracas and Brasilia - not because they are the
groups and the conflictive soc io-political realities of Brasilia only examples to be found in Latin America, nor is it my inten-
and the rest of the country. If there is a reason why Brasilia has tion to imply that they have greater historical or socio-political
been successful, it is not only because of the compliance of its significance than others . In fact there are numerous instances
master plan with the principles of modern urbanism expressed of extraordinary modern architecture throughout the continent;
in the ClAM manifestos or in the Athens Charter, nor is it be- so many indeed that a great deal always remains inevitab ly
cause of the elegance of its modernist buildings. The success unmentioned . Drawing attention to the critiques of modern
of Brasilia lies also in the fact that it has demonstrated the un- Latin American buildings, or to stress the apparent dissoc iation
realisability of homogenising nationalist discourses - according between architecture and people , is by no means an attempt
to which people can live in 'perfect social coexistence ' - and to take away architectural merit from any of them . The three
the impossibility to contain the people in the horizontal space cases ment ioned above, and the many others which have been
of an 'imagined community', to borrow Benedict Anderson's omitted for reasons of space , are unquestionably great buildings
powerful term. " Brasilia makes visible the heterogeneity and in their own right and examples of the way in which architects
dynamism of Brazilian cultures and societ ies, their historical
discontinuities and the way in which their struggle for survival
and identification materialises itself in the transformation of the
city and its surroundings. In other words, Brasilia is a success-
ful city, and represents a heritage both for its own inhabitants
and the world alike, simply because it turned out to be like any
other city.
Many of the case studies examined in this book show that
contemporary architects have developed alternative strategies
to deal with the existence of cultural difference and the effects
that such difference has on the fabric of cities and buildings .
Contemporary architects decidedly disagree with the narratives
of modernity, i. e. (linear) progress and universalisation. Instead,
they embrace soc io-cultural heterogeneity both enthusiasti-
cally and critically, and see the constantly shifting political and
economic circumstances in which Latin American people live as
sources of inspiration to carry out typological innovations. That
is why, in recent years, there has been a noticeable change in PEDREGULHO HOUSING COMPLEX, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, AFFONSO
the scale of the projects promoted by national and local govern- EDUARDO REIDY.

The Inscription of Latin American Buildings in the History of Modern Arch itecture I 13
UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA, CARACAS, VENEZUELA, CARLOS RAUL UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA. FOYER OF THE AULA MAGNA.
VILLANUEVA. VIEW OF THE COVERED PLAZA.

from Latin America appropriated modern architecture in their recognition during the period in question (1929 -1960). Only
countries. These buildings caught the attention of international in the past 20 years has his work been fully presented to an
commentators at the time and , so, Latin America was inscribed international audience , a process in which his daughter Paulina
in the history of architecture. Their inscription, however, was not Villanueva, also an architect, has played an important role: she
an innocuous act. Latin American architectures were - in fact, published a monograph about the work of her father in the year
continue to be - inscribed in the history of the field according 2000. 10 Interestingly, in the book's preface, the publisher and
to European and North American norms. Its inscription had editor, Raul Rispa, feels compelled to establish the credent ials
to be sanctioned by European and North American critics or of C. R. Villanueva by indicating that his work has been men-
historians. Let me give a few examples before discussing the tioned in books written by renowned figures such as Leonardo
implications of this mode of historical inscription . Benevolo, William Curtis, Kenneth Frampton and Nikolaus
Referring to the Pedregulho Housing Complex (1950- Pevsner. In other words, the architectural value of the work of C.
1952) in Rio de Janeiro, a social housing scheme designed by R. Villanueva is not found in its intrinsic characteristics, nor does
Affonso Eduardo Reidy, Valerie Fraser points out that 'in the it lie in the way it responds to specific circumstances or resolves
1954 "Report on Brazil" [published] in the Architectural Review the needs of the people to whom it was addressed, but in the
it was the one project singled out by Walter Gropius, Max Bill fact that European critics have considered it to be worthy. In the
and Ernesto Rogers for unqualified praise. Bill described it "as rest of the book, P. Villanueva describes her father's bUildings
completely successful from the standpoint of town planning as by way of comparison with European and North American
it is architecturally and socially" :" In fact, as Fraser indicates, referents, comparisons which establish similarity rather than
architects and critics from around the world, mainly from the difference. Thus, it transpires that the architectural achievement
USA, visited Brazil - and other countries in South and Central of C. R. Villanueva lies in his ability successfully to employ the
America - on a regular basis in order to observe how local formal repertoire of modern architecture - which confirms the
practitioners were appropriating modern architecture. Visitors, view of the editor.
then, passed judgement about the quality of the work produced A final example is Alejandro Aravena, principal of ELEMEN-
by local architects and determined whether their buildings TAL, Chile, who has recently established his own credent ials
accomplished successfully the standards set by the European and those of his practice by listing all the prizes that they have
and North American architectural establishment. Of course, been awarded - as most architects do in a fiercely competitive
approval granted inclusion in the history of architecture, while profession - and, also, by highlighting the fact that their work
disapproval led to their exclusion and, ultimately, to their has been included in the latest edition of Kenneth Frampton's
historical inexistence. Modern Architecture: A Critical History. Such an apparently
For another example let us return to Carlos Raul Villanueva insignificant addition to the promotional material of the practice
who, unlike Brazilian architects, did not receive international (available on their webs ite), reveals the persistent significance

14 I 1 Introduction
UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA. RAMP LEADING TO THE AULA MAGNA.

HOSPITAL CUNICO, UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA.

The Inscription of Latin American Buildings in the History of Modern Architecture I 15

 - ',

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L..

I ~ • •

UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA. AXONOMETRIC VIEW OF THE MASTER PLAN.

16 I 1 Introduction
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The Inscription of Lat'10 Arne ncan

' Build'lOgs 10
, the Historyof Modern Architecture I 17
of obtaining the approval of the Euro-American architectural from Europe mainly via the work of Le Corbusier. It is clear that
apparatus. Indeed, it is only through inclusion in the distinctly for Curtis the dissemination of modern architecture follows a
singular history of architecture which continues to be written genealogy which finds its roots in Europe and develops via the
mainly by European and North American scholars, that build- work of an exclusive selection of architects (mainly European). It
ings produced in Latin America (and the non -west , or South, is somewhat amusing how Curtis emphasises the links between
or Orient, depending on what scholarly stream one subscribes Latin American architectures and some form of a European
to) appear to have any architectural value. These attitudes predecessor. For example his description of the university
indicate that a hierarchical structure still exists in the world of campus in Mexico City reduces the project to 'a competent [my
architecture, a structure which places European and North emphasis] version of Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse, adjusted to
American architectural narratives in a dominant position . While the institutions and technology of Mexico ' . 14 No further elabora-
it is somewhat understandable that Euro-American architects tion is necessary to understand which is the original, who was
and historians construct a system of architectural critique which its author and who are the producers of what can only be called
permits them to preserve the ir authority over non-western prac- a competent version - transformation, deviation or devaluation -
tices, it is somewhat alarming that Latin American architects of the original.
appear voluntarily to subscribe to it. On the other hand, their As if that were not enough , later in the book (chapter 31,
deliberate compliance with such a system of referentiality could entitled 'Modernity, Tradition and Identity in the Developing
be seen as an act of resistance, as I will discuss later. World') Curtis continues his belittling account of non-western
The straightforward comparison of buildings produced in architectures. In his words, 'it was not until the 1940s and
Latin American countries with European and North American 1950s that modern forms had any appreciable impact on
referents does not mean that modernist architects in the former the "less developed" countries , and these forms were usually
territory did not have any creativity or that they were merely sub- lacking in the poetry and depth of meaning [my emphasis] of
servient copy-cats. As Fraser remarks , 'Latin American modern the masterworks of the modern movement' . 15 This time Curtis
architecture [... J is not an uncritical reworking of European accuses non-western architects of lacking in sensitivity and
modernism with the addition of some decorative local colour, calls into question their architectural competence. Hardly could
but a deliberate and more profound adaptation of or challenge one find greater disparity in the historical inscription of Latin
to European models' . 11 However, unlike Fraser, who seems American modernism than in the statements presented by
to welcome the 'adaptations of and challenges to' European William Curtis and Max Bill (as quoted by Fraser above). Then
modernism, there are critics who react negatively. William Curtis, again , that is precisely the ambivalence characteristic of such
for example , in his seminal book Modem Architecture since a mode of historical inscription. In fact, Curtis' own discourse
1900, refers to Latin American arch itecture in unmistakably is inhabited by contradiction. Towards the end of the book
derogatory terms. " In the first paragraph of the 27 th chapter of (chapter 34) he adopts a less unforgiving terminology in order to
his book, entitled 'The Process of Absorption : Latin America , admit that some of the architectural explorations carried out by
Australia and Japan' Curtis affirms that the modern movement architects in the developing world - he refers here, specifically,
in architecture was 'the intellectual property of certain countries to Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Palestine and South Africa - were
in Western Europe, of the United States and of some parts of 'judicious adjustments of generic features of modernism to the
the Soviet Union'. With the use of legal terminology, Curtis un- climates, cultures, memories and aspirations of their respec-
equivocally assigns the rights of authorship to a select group of tive societies' . 16 Here, Curtis tries to reconcile the hierarchical
western countries, which in his eyes are the only possessors of bi-polar antagonism he had posited earlier in his book, yet it is
modern architectural knowledge. Such categorical affirmation is clear that non-western architectures can only be presented in
followed by another stunning pronouncement: in Curtis' opinion, relation to the European and North Amer ican predecessor - and
'by the end of the 1950s , transformations , deviations and de- 'adjustment ' of modernism.
valuations [my emphasis] of modern architecture had found their Although Curtis does, indeed, inscribe Latin American
way to many other areas of the world ' . 13 With this statement architectural production in the history of modern architecture (in
Curti s dismisses categorically modern architectural production other words, buildings designed by architects in Latin America
in Latin America, Australia and Japan during the 1940s and are documented historically), his methodological approach
1950s. Throughout the entire chapter, Curtis is at pains to stress establishes a hierarchical system that places such production
the fact that developing countries received modern architecture in a position of inferiority vls-a-vis the architectures of those

18 I 1 Introduction
 countries of which modernism is the 'intellectual property'. This on a genealogy that traces the origin of architectural form
is achieved largely through strategies of disavowal which deny back to Europe. Consequently, in embracing the terms used
validity to the Other (Latin American modern architecture). Of to discriminate their work and render it inferior, Latin American
course , this denial can only operate in relation to an assumed architects also unveil the inadequacy of existing methods of
referential, hence superior, system: the European rational historical inscription.
system which, in this case, is exemplified by the modern
architectural discourse. That is why the non-western Other CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURES IN LATIN AMERICA
can only emerge in relation to European norms. However, the
ambivalence detected in Curtis' method of historical inscription The referential system that underpins the above-mentioned
undermines the authority of his judgement. It is not that the method of architectural historicisiation has permitted the
authority of western architectural discourse is undermined - or construction of a coherent , linear and homogenous history
that hierarchies are practically reversed - but that the claim which does not correspond with the realities of architectural
for authority becomes questionable, open to scrutiny by the production in most parts of the world, including the west. In
subjects of the derogation. the case of Latin America, for example , it has contributed to
Let me now return to the idea of resistance. Referring to the creation of a deceitful image of architectural homogeneity
the promotional material produced by the firm ELEMENTAL in projected through an exclusive selection of modernist buildings.
Chile, I questioned the fact that they use their inclusion in the As mentioned before, the work of architects like Luis Barragan,
latest edition of Kenneth Frampton's Modern Architecture: A Oscar Niemeyer, Rogelio Salmona and Carlos Raul Villanueva,
Critical History as a means to establish their architectural cre- amongst others, has been praised by international commenta-
dentials. It would seem rather contradictory to do so, when, as tors primarily because it reaches a high degree of refinement in
demonstrated above, non-western architectures always emerge relation to their Euro-American counterparts - whose work sets
in relation to dominant western norms and, so, never reach the the standard. Rather than attempting to present 'Latin American
same level of the predecessor. However, after examining the architecture' as a homogenous body made of buildings which
work of ELEMENTAL - as well as the work of other practices comply with hegemonic Euro-American narratives, this book
throughout the continent (see chapter 4 Designing for Poverty) demonstrates that there is great heterogeneity in the work of
- it appears that architects are embracing the very terms used contemporary architects throughout the continent. Diversity
to denigrate and affirm their inferiority as a counterpoint to the and difference are not only visible between countries but, also,
discourses that uphold the architectural superiority of Europe within countries. Moreover, given the great socio-political
and North America . Rather than attempting to reproduce disparity that exists in Latin American societies, architects often
architectural models from the centres, many architects from need to employ a variety of design methods and, so, never
Latin America deliberately produce 'transformations, deviations develop a personal style - in fact, a younger generation of
and devaluations' of the canon - to use Curtis ' own deroga - contemporary architects refuses actively to do so. Indeed, this
tory terminology - in order to respond to the circumstances of is a trait that sets the current generation of architects apart from
change and instability in which poor Latin American people live. the modernist masters, who expressed their individual identities
In their social housing schemes, architects like Aravena provide through very personal formal repertoires and material palettes.
opportunities for people to complete - that is, to re-design, ap- Contemporary architects also need to adapt themselves
propriate or customise - their dwellings and the public spaces to new forms of practice increasingly determined by contract
that surround them. In so doing, the architect assigns agency laws, social responsibility, insurance liabilities and tremendous
to people as the producers of their own inhabitable space . In monetary fluctuations. Hence , the figure of the sole practitioner
that sense, the negative aspects that, according to Holston is rapidly being replaced by associations and, often , temporary
and UNESCO, impede the realisation of cities (such a Brasilia), consortia which allow architects to transcend national bounda-
is turned into a creative mechanism that guarantees people's ries and operate internationally. Again, this is another aspect
welfare and comfort while simultaneously increasing their sense covered in this book which differs greatly from the way in which
of belonging . What is more, since buildings are always chang- the masters of modernism conducted their practices. Though
ing, it is no longer possible to judge the quality of architectural there were a few exceptions, modernist architects - those
production on the basis of a referential system of universal whose practices flourished between 1929 and 1960 - built only
applicability which focuses only on the form of buildings - nor in their own countries. Many were trained abroad and worked

Contemporary Architectures in Latin America I 19

 masters. The practice of comparing buildings produced in
the region with 'precedents' from other parts of the world has
been avoided for two reasons. First, it allows to circumvent the
hegemonic system of referentiality inherent in such a form of
historical analysis; since anteriority grants authority on grounds
of originality, comparative analyses inevitably (re)construct,
or reinforce, hegemonic architectural systems of judgement.
Second, it requires the critic to focus on issues different from
form and, so, to bring forward the historical , socio-cultural
and political dimensions of architecture in each particular case.
This kind of analysis does not imply that form is not important;
formal concerns are inseparable from architecture. Indeed, the
form of each building in this book is described in traditional and
simple terms. However, emphasis is given to issues regard-
ing people , their history, culture and the social , political and
economic circumstances in which they live. In other words,
each case study is considered as a site-specific exercise and,
so, its form is examined in relation to its own context, context
understood in the broadest sense of the term, not merely as a
set of physical and environmental factors. I am by no means
implying that there is no connection between Latin American
LAS TORRES DEL PARQUE, BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, ROGELIO SALMONA. and architectures in other parts of the world, nor am I trying to
suggest that European and North American narratives no longer
influence the work of architects in Latin America. Far from that,
contemporary Latin American architects are more intricately
for other architects such as Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Bruno connected with the rest of the world than ever before, as I
Zevi and Louis I. Kahn, to mention a few, prior to setting their indicated at the beginning of this introduction . Hence , the pur-
own offices. However, once they were established as individual pose of the proposed style of analysis is not to allege cultural
practitioners their work was largely limited to their own coun- autonomy but to reinforce the link between buildings produced
tries . Today, on the other hand, architects build regularly in in Latin America and the people who use them.
neighbouring countries and also in other continents. The book is organised in five chapters. The first, 'Building
In order to dismantle the deceitful sense of homogeneity on the City's Edge' , examines six buildings located on the
conveyed by studies which focus only on projects of the mod- peripheries or on the edges between planned and unplanned
ernist period, this book examines different types of buildings, areas of cities. The accelerated expansion of Latin American cit-
in different cities and geographical locations. The case studies ies since the middle of the 20 th century proved that urban plan-
examined in this book have been designed by an assortment ning strategies were inadequate to deal with rapid change and,
of established architects as well as by young practitioners. The also, with the ingenuity brought to bear by common people in
book illustrates exciting formal experiments and the use of new the construction of neighbourhoods and entire parts of cites.
technologies, as well as more serene buildings made of tradi- For years, governments tried to eliminate spontaneous settle-
tional materials, many of which are built by local craftsmen with ments, usually by relocating poor people to the outskirts. As the
scarce resources. In all, this book encompasses a wider range vast majority of relocation programmes failed, new strategies
of themes and design methods which highlight the architectural have been developed in order to improve the living conditions of
heterogeneity that exists in Latin America today. people in poor areas without resorting to traumatic, and often
Each case study in this book is analysed in its own milieu. violent, mass relocation programmes. A method that has proven
Comparisons with other buildings are deliberately not drawn un- successful is the punctual insertion of educational , recreational
less it is necessary to point out internal differences in the work and communal facilities. Instead of rendering the poor invisible
of individual architects or variation in relation to the modernist by relocating them outside cities, current programmes increase

20 I 1 Introduction
FONDO DE CULTURA ECONOMICA (GABRIEL GARC[A MARQUEZ CULTURAL FONDO DE CULTURA ECONOMICA. MAIN ACCESS SHOWING THE INTRICATE
CENTRE) , BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, ROGELIO SALMONA. VIEW OF THE SUCCESSION SOLUTION OF LEVELS AND CIRCULATIONS.
OF COURTYARDS AND CIRCULATIONS AT VARIOUS LEVELS .

their visibility via the insertion of public facilities which, by con- in form, or formal exploration. On the contrary, the projects
trast , often become conspicuous landmarks. These buildings included in the first and second chapters of this book show
bring benefits to poor areas and encourage the development of that architects can articulate successfully their own personal
local communities at more manageable scales. agendas with the encouragement of community participation.
Similarly, the next chapter, 'Public Spaces as Contact The following chapter, 'Designing for Poverty', tackles a
Zones' , looks at the way in which planned and unplanned areas theme that is regularly excluded from books on Latin American
of cities , as well as abandoned zones in the peripheries , are architecture: social housing. For a number of reasons, many
re-qualified as zones of socio-cultural encounter and interaction. of which are related to the incredibly tight budgets allocated to
The term 'contact zone ', as used by Mary Louise Pratt, refers to soc ial housing, architectures for the poor never receive sufficient
areas where different groups of people meet and lnterminqle ." scholarly attention. 18 The study of social housing is undertaken
It has to be emphasised that contact zones are not areas where in one of three ways: it is totally excluded from architecture
differences are resolved and harmonious consensus is reached. books; it is reduced to a few back pages and footnotes; or it is
On the contrary, contact zones are sites of irresolution where addressed in separate publications which are, more often than
cultura l differences are acted out, made visible, negotiated on a not, written by professionals in other fields such as sociology,
continuous basis, although not necessarily resolved. The term is anthropology, urban geography. Only when projects correspond
appropriate for the study of projects whose aim is to patch up , with particular international trends, as in the case of Eduardo
as it were, different parts of cities which had become frag- Affonso Reidy and Carlos Raul Villanueva, do social housing
mented, or abandoned, for historical reasons. Architects in this schemes attain centrefold status. However, this book brings to
chapter have taken the challenge of designing public spaces the fore the efforts made, and innovative solutions produced ,
which allow for multiple activities to take place, permanent and by small groups of architects in different countries throughout
itinerary, and which encourage appropriation by the public. Latin America. The architectural merit of the projects included
Despite such tasks, architects do not relinquish their interest in this chapter lies in the imaginative interpretation of economic,

Contemporary Architectures in Latin America I 21

HOUSE AND STUDIO OF LUIS BARRAGAN, TACUBAYA, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO. CASA GILARDI, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO , LUIS BARRAGAN. VIEW OF THE SWIM-
VIEW OF ONE OF THE ROOF TERRACES . MING POOL AND THE DINING AREA.

technological, physical, cultural factors that architects carry out houses designed by Chilean architect Mathias Klotz , for exam-
in order to pursue typological experimentation . Considering the ple, are built in Uruguay and Argentina respectively, while one of
continually changing nature of these projects, the social housing the projects designed by the young Argentine architect Nicolas
schemes studied in this chapter challenge traditional methods Campodonico is located in Uruguay. As mentioned above, the
of historicisation which require buildings not to change - or not transcendence of national borders is a recent development
to be changed by users - in order to be classified historically. As in Latin American architecture, the result of continental trade
discussed above , transformation also disrupts the authority of agreements and international cooperation between countries,
the architect as the sole 'creator' of buildings and obfuscates treaties that were implemented , or revaluated , in the 1980s.
the historical archiving of a finished work. That is why the The final chapter, 'Architectures in Latin American Land-
buildings presented in this chapter undermine the methods scapes' , continues to explore more trad itional building typolo-
of architectural critique that had been used to uphold their gies: hotels, educational facilities and exhibition spaces. As
dispossession . with the previous section, the analysis of case studies focuses
Chapter 5, 'The Private House ', presents an overview of primarily on the form of buildings. However, I have tried to em-
singe-family houses in different parts of Latin America. Against phasise how, in most cases, the form of buildings derives from
the background of poverty brought forward in the previous three sophisticated interpretations of specific landscapes, interpreta-
chapters, this part re-enters a more familiar territory. Here the tions based on careful anthropological, cultural and historical
analysis of case studies is more heavily determined by form and studies, not simply on the physical context. The buildings
physical context than by socio-political and cultural factors. The reviewed in this section demonstrate the ability of contemporary
location of the projects - in the Andes, the Argentine Pampa, on architects in Latin America to carry out exciting formal explora-
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, on the banks of rivers and the tions with great environmental concern.
shores of lakes - draws attention to the variety of landscapes of Admittedly, the book does not do justice to its title in the
Latin America and the challenges they present to architects, a sense that it fails to cover the entirety of Latin America. Not
theme which is continued in the final section of the book. At the only is Latin America a vast and imprecise region but, more
same time, the houses examined in this chapter, most of which importantly, soc io-political and economic conditions (read
are holiday retreats, reveal the dramatic fragmentation of Latin poverty) make it difficult for architects in many countries to
American soc ieties and the ever increasing gap between the disseminate their work, or for national associations to contribute
wealthier and the deprived members of such societies. Some to such dissemination . Sadly, there is very little information
case studies show that contemporary architects frequently available about architectures in Central American countries
undertake commissions in neighbouring countries. The two like Honduras, Nicaragua or EI Salvador. Not much is available

22 I 1 Introduction
 about recent architecture in Cuba , although it was a leading precision. That way, the book refers to buildings that were built
centre of architectural development in the 1960s and 1970s. there, in Latin America, by architects who are from there too .
Bolivia is another country whose architecture remains in relative Yet, it is not implied that the buildings included in this volume
obscurity. It is not that 'exemplary' buildings are not produced represent the architecture of the entire region or that they
in those countries, but that they have not been inscribed in the embody the characteristics of a single and homogenous 'Latin
'history of architecture'. My admission to their absenc e from American architecture'. Quite the opposite, focusing on build-
this book is a way to reiterate my belief that the conspicuously ings produced in the past ten years, the aim of the book is to
singular history of architecture is incomplete and to urge the show not simply the variety of arch itectural pract ices but, also,
writing of the missing chapters in that history. Aware of this, the vibrancy of the architectural environment in different parts of
and to prevent generalisation , the subtitle of this book refers to Latin America and, so, to overcome the deceitful homogeneity
contemporary architecture 'in ' Latin America. This seemingly expressed in the literature about the modernist masters.
insignificant grammatical detail guarantees greater analytical

Rogelio Salmona received theAlvar Aalto Medal in 4 See Fraser, V...Building the New World: Studies P., Carlos Raul Villanueva. Sevilla:Tanais, 2000. -
2003. The Mexican firm Higuera + Sanchez won the in the Modern Architecture of Latin America English edition: Carlos Raul Villanueva, Basel:
Golden Lion at the2006 VeniceArchitectural Bien- 1930 - 1960. London/New York: Verso, 2000, p. 2. Birkhiiuser, 2000.
nial and Alejandro Aravena received theSilver Lion 5 SeeHolston, J., The Modernist City: An Anthropo- 11 Fraser, V., Building the New World: Studies in the
at the next edition in 2008. SolanoBenitez won the logical Critique of Brasilia, Chicago/London: The ModernArchitecture of LatinAmerica 1930 - 1960.
BSI Swiss Architectural Award in 2008. Jose Cruz University of Chicago Press, 1989. London/New York: Verso, 2000, p. 15.
Ovalle won theSpirit of Nature Wood Architecture 6 Holston criticises thefact that the rodovisne has 12 All my comments and quotations are taken from the
Award in 2008 after winning the Bienallberoameri- been transformed by its dailyusers intoa place of third edition puntlshed in the year 2000. The titles
cana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo in 2004, a prize unusual characteristics: simultaneously a transport of some chapters were changed, and new chapters
which Colombian architect Giancarlo Mazzantialso interchange, a market place and a town square. For were added , in this expanded edition published
received in 2008 along withthefirst prize at Bienal Holston , a transport interchange can neither replace initially in 1996 and re-printed in 1997, 1999 and
Panamericana deArquitectura. Angelo Bucci and the functions of a market place norcan it serve as 2000.
his teamreceived second place at the 2008 Holcim a town square. Consequently, rather than positive 13 Curtis, W. J. R., Modern Architecture since 1900.
Award. Yet, the most renowned of all was the Pritzker popular appropriations of the space of the rodoviaria London : Phaidon , (1982) 2000, p. 491 .
Prize given to Paulo Mendes daRocha in 2006- an areseen negatively: theyundermine the principles of 14 Curtis, W. J. R., Modern Architecture since 1900.
honourthat heshares with twoother Latin American modern architecture. London: Phaidon, (1982) 2000. p. 493.
architects: Luis Barragan (1980) and Oscar Niemeyer 7 See the statement for the inclusion of Brasilia in 15 Curtis, W. J. R. ,. Modern Architecture since 1900.
(1988). theWorld Heritage List published by UNESCO. See London: Phaidon, (1982) 2000, p. 567.
2 The first sentence of Brazil's ModernArchitecture UNESCO , World Heritage List No. 445, 1987. 16 Curtis, W. J. R., Modern Architecture since 1900.
reads: 'Brazilian architecture is famous, but it is a 8 See Anderson, B., Imagined Communities: Reflec- London: Phaidon, (1982) 2000, p. 635. This chapter
fame that rests upon thework of a few architects - tionson the Origin andSpread of Nationalism. was not included in thefirst edition but was added
Oscar Niemeyer, Lucio Costa, Affonso Reidy and London/New York: Verso, 1983. later.
one or two others - built in the mid-20m century'. 9 Fraser, V., BUilding the New World: Studies in the 17 SeePratt, M. L., Imperial Eyes: Tra vel Writing and
See Andreoli, E. and A.Forty (eds.) Brazil's Modern ModernArchitecture of LatinAmerica 1930- 1960. Transculturation. London: Routledge, 1992.
Architecture. London: Phaidon, 2004, p. 8. London/New York: Verso, 2000, p. 195. 18 Small budgets prevent exhilaratingformal explora-
3 See Fraser, V. , Building the New World: Studies 10 A previous monograph had been written bySibyl tions and the use of advanced technologieswhich, in
in the Modern Architecture of Latin America Moholy-Nagy in 1964; however, asP. Villanueva traditional architectural terms, leads to the produc-
1930-1960. London/New York: Verso, 2000, p. 88. points out, it was written before C. R. Villanueva tion of boring buildings.
had completed all his majorprojects. See Villanueva,

Contemporary Architectures in Latin America I 23

SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY, MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA, GIANCARLO MAZZANTI. SOUTH ELEVATION, SEEN FROM PUBLIC PLATFORM .
 2 BUILDING ON THE CITY'S EDGE

As discussed above, the rapid growth of Latin American cities

in the middle of the 20th century generated numerous urban
and architectural problems. Part of those problems was the
formation of poor settlements - favelas, invasiones, barrio s,
etc. - often located on the peripheries of large urban centres.
Paradoxically, this happened at a time when the economies of
most Latin American countries were thriving due to the post-war
crisis in Europe. Consequently, it is not that poverty increased
dramatically during this period of time, as is often believed, but
that its presence was felt more strongly due to its concentration
in cities. In response, a multitude of programmes were devised
by national governments throughout the continent in order to
eliminate the effects of poverty. During the 1960s and 1970s so-
called 'eradication' programmes were implemented in countries FDE SCHOOL IN JARDIM ATALIBA LEONEL, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL, ANGELO BUCCI
such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. AND ALVARO PUNTONI. GENERAL VIEW.

These plans consisted mainly of eliminating poor settlements by

relocating their inhabitants in planned neighbourhoods on the
outskirts.' As I will emphasise throughout this chapter, these them . These buildings also present a common characteristic:
programmes eradicated the poor but not poverty: the causes they introduce greater functional flexibility in oder to allow for
of poverty were not addressed . It was merely a question of vis- alternative activities to be held in them , activities different from
ibility: the image of poverty needed to be concealed. Alarmingly, those specified in the programme (i.e. communal meetings or
architects seem to have been complicit with those governmen- simply birthday parties). It is, therefore, not surprising that the
tal strategies, as many of the master plans that they designed three architects (or practices) whose buildings are shown in
during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s cemonstrate." this chapter coincide in their aspiration to use architecture as a
In recent years, however, architects have developed means to stimulate social interaction: they want their buildings
new methods for dealing with the effects that poverty has to become centres of social activity rather than simply schools
on the urban morphology of cities throughout Latin America. or libraries. For that reason, I will appropriate the notion of
The buildings examined in this chapter show some of those the 'contact zone' from Mary Louise Pratt in order to illustrate
methods. Rather than concealing poverty, these buildings exalt the way architects aspire their buildings to operate soclallv."
its existence as an intrinsic characteristic of Latin American I find this notion applicable because, rather than harmonious
cities, an aspect that needs to be tackled directly. Contem- encounters, contact zones are areas of conflict and irresolution
porary architects no longer expect their buildings to provide where cultural differences are constantly negotiated, though
all-encompassing solutions for the problems of cities and not necessarily resolved. In that sense, the buildings shown
neighbourhoods. Though they are bold architectural statements, in this chapter coincide with the notion of the contact zone
the buildings reviewed in this chapter address a limited set both literally and metaphorically. The mere presence of these
of socio-political issues specific to the communities who use buildings (and parks) reveals a tension between contrast-

I 25
FDE SCHOOL IN JARDIM ATALIBA LEONEL. BACK ELEVATION AND COURTYARD. FDE SCHOOL INJARDIM ATALIBA LEONEL. SPORTS GROUND AND COMMUNAL AREA.

ing architectures - those produced by architects and those FOE School in Jardim Ataliba Leonel I szo PAULO , BRAZIL
produced by common people without professional assistance. Angelo Bucci, Alvaro Puntoni
Moreo ver, if the aspirations of the architects realise themselves,
the buildings will become the setting where local residents will The public school designed in 2004 by Angelo Bucci and Alvaro
meet either to attempt to negotiate differences or simply to Puntoni in Jardim Ataliba Leonel, on the periphery of Sao Paulo,
perform that very difference in their daily activities. In sum, more is an outstanding example of this new tendency. The project
than merely fulfilling a specific function, these buildings are was commissioned by the Fundacao para 0 Desenvolvimento
thought to become places of socio-cultural negotiation for the da Educacao (Foundation for the Development of Education)
poor in various Latin American cities. Such an attitude removes with the aim of creating a 'model' for the constru ction of other
the priority given to 'form and function' and places an emphasis schools in the city. The model needed to be flexible because
on the social dimension of architecture where users assume a each possible location had different physical conditions and,
central role in the production of architectural significance. also, because functional requirements could vary from case to
Each one of the six bu ildings examined in this chapter case. Schools should also allow other activities to be held in
is a punctual insertion into the convoluted urban fabric of addition to their educational main use. Needless to say, rapid
informal settlemen ts (slums). Although all are modest in scale, construction was another important determinant.
the bUildings differ from one another in form, materiality and in Jardim Ataliba Leonel is a dense and relatively deprived
the way architects have tackled the relationship between the residential area on the northern edge of Sao Paulo. Although
building and its site . These buildings are examples of a renewed there are a few four-storey social housing blocks, the area is
interest in Latin America to improve the conditions of life in poor mostly made up of single houses which have been built by the
settlements through the insertion of small and medium size occupants themselves. In spite of the high density, there are
structures which provide facilities needed by local communities. neither parks nor public spaces equipped for recreation and
It is important to note that this is only a sample of an increasing for interaction of the inhabitants of the area. Consequently, the
number of similar buildings throughout the continent. school was to become, and in fact has become, a focal point

FDE SCHOOL IN JARDIM ATALIBA LEONEL. LONGITUDINAL SECTION.

26 I 2 Building on the City's Edge

 1IIIImllllllllUlIIII h
FOE SCHOOL IN JARDIM ATALIBA LEONEL. NIGHT VIEW OF THE SPORTS GROUND AND COMMUNAL AREA.

~t, o
/
/, .
,

--
-.
FOE SCHOOL IN JARDIM ATALIBA LEONEL. FIRST FLOOR PLAN : THE CLASSROOMS .

FOE School in Jardim Ataliba Leonel I Sao Paulo, Brazil I 27

GERARDO MOLINA SCHOOL. AERIAL VIEW. GERARDO MOUNA SCHOOL. VIEW OF THE CLASSROOM VOLUMES PROTRUDING
ABOVE THE CIRCULATION .

for the residents of Jardim Ataliba Leonel, not only visually attenuate the incidence of sunlight and rain, a series of wooden
but also socially and culturally. Therefore, the challenge was louvres are embedded in the middle of the concrete frame. Not
to conceive the school not simply as an educational facility in only do the louvres protect the interior from the elements but,
traditional terms but , more importantly, as the only public space also, emphasise the structural rigour of the composition.
in the area. The structure appears to continue a long Brazilian tradition
While its location on a hill was advantageous, it also of concrete building, long spans and bridges (although ramps ,
presented a number of challenges. On the one hand, the hill which were also common in Brazilian modern architecture, are
offered possibilities to enjoy magnificent views over the valley absent from this project). ' The main structural frame is made of
below. On the other, the steep slope meant that multiple levels prefabricated concrete elements and metal beams which are
had to be negotiated in order to guarantee accessibility through articulated in a way that reveals the methods of construction.
the entire school. The latter challenge was successfully resolved Internal partitions were kept to a minimum and exterior walls
by dividing the ground floor into three levels. The higher end of were avoided wherever possible in order to allow for visual
the long rectangular volume provides entrance to the students. transparency and cross ventilation . The intention was that the
They arrive at a partially covered platform that opens to the west structure would double as enclosure while being exposed both
and looks down into the multi-sports ground . Passing through on the interior as well as the exterior. Concrete elements, metal
a narrow passage, between two service volumes, one finds an beams and wooden louvres have been articulated in such a way
external platform in the east. The northern end of the building that they perpetuate themes and formal gestures that appear to
provides access for the school's staff and houses the admin- be traditional in modern Brazilian architecture but which have
istration quarters. The space between these two levels has also been reinterpreted in order to respond to a significantly less
been sunk to meet the street that runs along the building on predominant site - on a poor peripheral, highly neglected and,
the west side. This lower level consists of a multi-sports ground at times, violent, settlement.
that doubles as a social space for community gatherings on In spite of its formal simplicity, the building has a monu-
weekends and during the holiday breaks . That is why, at this mental character. It is substantially larger in scale than any
level, the school symbolically meets the city. other surrounding building, a fact which has turned the school
All the classrooms are on a single floor that floats above into a landmark in the area and, also, into a centre of social
the multi-level ground floor. The circulations have been arranged interaction.
around the perimeter so that they contribute to control the
incidence of sunlight into the classrooms and offices. In turn, Gerardo Molina School I BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
the entire first floor (which contains the classrooms) serves as Giancarlo Mazzanti
protection for the sports/community hall on ground level. The
perimeter corridors also guarantee a permanent visual link Colombian architect Giancarlo Mazzanti dealt with similar condi-
between interior and exterior, allowing students (and users in tions in Bogota, where he built the Gerardo Molina School in
general) to have different views of their surroundings. To help 2008, a building situated in a rapidly growing area on the north-

28 I 2 Building on the City's Edge

GERARDO MOLINA SCHOOL. AUDITORIUM AND MULTI-FUNCTIONAL ROOM.

western periphery of the city. As is usually the case in this kind planning project (rather than simply an isolated building) whose
of settlements, the area is densely built with self-constructed main purpose was to endow the growing neighbourhood with
adjacent houses. There is little homogeneity in the neighbour- social, cultural and recreational facilities for the community, a
hood because houses grow intermittently depending on the complex which included a school or, else, which emerged out of
fluctuating income of each family - there is no labour stability the school brief. The architect saw the project as an opportunity
among the residents of the area, so most families do not have to create what I have called a contact zone. In short, the school
regular earnings. The size of the existing houses varies from was designed to become a social space for the community in
one to five storeys. There are also a few social housing blocks general rather than a traditional fortified school building which
in the vicinity which contribute further to increasing population would repel people other than students.
density. Although the programme given by the organisers of the To achieve this, the school was conceived as a continuous
competition called for the design of a school, there were numer- winding ribbon whose main elements, the classrooms, twist
ous secondary demands, some of which were not included in in response to the surrounding contexts , i.e. it curves inwards
the brief itself but arose after careful analysis of the site. For that where the exiting streets meet perpendicularly the outer bound-
reason, Mazzanti approached the design as if it were an urban ary of the school and outwards reaching towards existing

GERARDO MOLINA SCHOOL. SOUTH ELEVATION .

Gerardo Molina School I Bogota, Colombia I 29

constructions across the street . That way the building creates whose courtyards adhered to a str ict preconceived geometry -
a variety of external spaces, public parks and squares that perfect squares or circles - Mazzanti's design responds to the
can be used permanently by the public, while simultaneously irregularity of the existing context. The circulation, then, absorbs
generating a heterogeneous courtyard inside the school for the the apparent disorderly distribution of classrooms , making the
use of students. Thus, the school generates spaces of different entire composition look non-linear and more dynamic. The main
qua lities: some are small, others are big; some are open while difference between Mazzanti 's choice of materials and that of
others are secluded. and this variety facilitates a mult itude of other Colombian modernist architects is the lack of brick as
public and private activities to take place . main cladding material. Instead , Mazzanti uses stone for the
Not dissimilar from the work of other famous Colombian external cladd ing of the main volumes. Like brick, this natural
modernist arch itects, such as Rogelio Salmona, the main func- material is durable and requires little maintenance. It also adds
tional areas of the programme (classrooms, offices, auditorium , a corrugated texture with variations in tone and colour. Apart
etc .) take rectangular volumes which are distributed on the site from his use of stone , a common material amongst younger
and connected by a continuous covered circulation, whose architects in Colombia, Mazzanti works with basic traditional
roof is lower than that of the volumes. However, unlike Salmona materials: concrete, metal, wood and glass.

GERARDO MOLINA SCHOOL. CORRIDORS AND RAMPS TO UPPER-LEVEL GERARDO MOLINA SCHOOL. FIRST FLOOR PLAN .
CLASSROOMS .

30 I 2 BUilding on the City's Edge

A number of level variations, ramps, stairs and leaning columns
contribute to exacerbate the vitality of the composition. Further-
more, irregular wooden trellises delimit the circulation (and the
rest of the bu ilding at floor level), permitting a visual link with the
surrounding context. Trellises also cast shadows that change
during the day, reinforcing the sense of dynamism in conjunc-
tion with the winding circulation and the varying height of roofs.
The largest volume of the building is positioned on the
north-western corner of the school , facing a currently un-built
site reserved for a park. The volume contains an auditorium and
other multi -functional rooms which open towards the park and
could be used for any activity being held there . Alternatively, the
auditorium could be used by local residents for social gather-
ings . This volume appears to be the physical link between the
school and the community. LEON DE GREIFF LIBRARY, MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA, GIANCARLO MAZZANTI.
Working in complex socio-political circumstances has AERIAL VIEW.
become one of Giancarlo Mazzanti's specialit ies. In the proc-
ess, he has perfected what could be called a personal design
strategy consisting of protuberant volumes which are articulated Leon de Greiff Library I MEDELLIN , COLOMBIA
by a circulation system with a roof lower than the volumes . Giancarlo Mazzanti
Separate volumes, contain ing the main programmatic
areas, are independent from one another so that each can The Leon de Greiff Library, built in 2007 and also know n by the
respond to specific circumstances (i.e. function , views, sunlight, locals as Parque Biblioteca La Ladera (Hillside Park Library), sits
etc.). As a result of the fragmentation of the building's main on the grounds of an old prison , Carcel de La Ladera, ap-
funct ions into separate volum es, the entire bu ilding - the sum proximately 1.5 kilometres away from the city centre and on the
of the volumes and the circulation system - can respond to very borderline between the (official) city and the spontaneou s
various aspects simultaneously and in different ways. He has peripheral settlements on the eastern hills. This way, the library
applied this design strategy to two libraries built on the north- fits the notion of the contact zone : an interstitial space between
eastern hills of Medell in, a very complex socio-political and diverse and antagonistic social groups. As has become charac -
topographic context. During the 1980s and through most of teristic in Mazzanti 's work, the library consists of three two-
the 1990s, Medell in was associated with crime. It was , virtually storey volumes which rest on a plinth. The latter, in this case,
and literally, a war zone. Statistics placed the city amongst the is recessed to give the impression that the three volumes float
most dangerous urban centres in the world. The average life above the surrounding park. Each volume houses a specific
span of a male citizen in the poor peripheral neighbourhoods function. The southernmost volume, nearer to the entrance, is
was estimated at 17, making the rate of mortality in the whole designed as a community centre containing meeting rooms,
metropolitan region exceedingly high. a gym and counselling facilit ies. The central volume accom-
The two libraries are part of a city-wide programme called modates the main library with its own reception , catalogue area,
Red de Bibliotecas Publicas de Medellfn (Public Library Network the collection , and reading rooms . The northernmost volume
of Medellfn). The network comprises an increasing number of in- contains the aud itorium. It is farther away from the entrance
terconnected libraries throughout the city.? More importantly, the because it is mainly used by organ ised groups and requ ires the
majority of the network's libraries are located in deprived areas most security and control.
of the city, some of which were virtually inaccessible ten years Connecting the three volumes is a double-high curved
ago due to violence. The main target of the programme is to circu lation space sandwiched between the retain ing wall on
offer educational and recreational opportunities for local children the east and the three volumes on the west. Near the entrance,
and young people. To that end, the programme developed the on the eastern side, there is a narrow rectangular volume that
concept of the 'library-park' , which consists of multi-purpose li- contains the offices, reception/cloakroom and toilets . As one
brary buildings (book collections, auditoria, teaching rooms, etc .) passes the entrance area, the circulation becomes wider to
surrounded by public spaces for general use by local residents . make room for an exhibition area, a cafe, two sunken gardens

Leon de Greiff Library I Medellin, Colombia I 31

LEON DE GREIFF LIBRARY. THE LIBRARY VOLUMES WITH THEIR VARYING ORIENTATION SEEM TO FLOAT OVER THE HILL.

LEON DE GREIFF LIBRARY. CROSS SECTION.

32 I 2 Building on the City's Edge

LEON DE GREIFF LIBRARY. VIEW FROM THE BALCONY. LEON DE GREIFF LIBRARY. RECEPTION AREA.

and, even , an area spontaneously dedicated to nursery at the Biblioteca Espana , for it was inaugurated by the king of Spain ,
end of the circulation. Despite its location, embedded between is located on the eastern hills towards the north of the city.
a landmass and the building, the multi-functional circulation Although accessible by road, the main way to get to the library
space is naturally lit and ventilated and, also, has panoramic is by cable car, known locally as Metro Cable. The cable car
views of the city. In turn, the roof of the circulation forms an system was implemented by the local authority in order to gain
external publ ic space above the library that serves as a continu- access to the higher and steeper parts of the peripheral hills
ous viewing platform to observe the city below and the hills which could not be reached either by bus or metro . Approach -
behind. It also provides acce ss to three outdoor theatres on ing the Santo Domingo Library is, therefore, a dramatic experi-
the roof of each volume. In the original design , the public plat- ence. It requires a 2-kilometre ride on the Metro Cable hanging
form integrated a number of existing recreational facilit ies - a at an average altitude of 20 metres over a densely built informal
swimming pool , various multi-purpose playing fields and green settlement, a squatter settlement which became permanent
areas - at the back of the library. Unfortunately, this part of the over the years.
project has not been completed.
Taking advantage of its position on high ground , each
volume is orientated towards a different aspect of the city. The
southern volume, which houses the community space, is aimed
towards the Plaza de Botero, in the old centre of the city, a
square surrounded by various important buildings such as the
Palacio de la Cultura and the Museo de Antioquia. The central
volume also has a view of the city centre and the western hills
across the valley. In turn, the northernmost volume is positioned
parallel to the river, looking towards the southwest, and so
gaining magnificent views of the entire Aburra valley.

Santo Domingo Library I MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA

Giancarlo Mazzanti

The second library designed by Mazzanti in Medellfn in 2007 is,

arguably, his most successful project to date and, certainly, the SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY, MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA, GIANCARLD MAZZANTI.
most controversial. The Santo Domingo Library, also known as AERIAL VIEW.

Santo Domingo Library I Medellin , Colombia I 33

SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY. VIEW FROM THE PLAZA.

SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY. CROSS SECTION.

34 I 2 Building on the City's Edge

SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY. VIEW FROM THE SETTLEMENT.

The library sits on a narrow, and very steep, residue plot near be accessed at ground level (public deck), although the main
the top of the hill. The architectural heterogeneity of the sur- entrance is also at lower ground (covered plaza) opposite the
rounding context, and its convoluted urban fabric, almost reception space. The northernmost volume is a community
precluded a standard solution. Instead, the site demanded centre which contains the offices in the basement, nursery at
a structure that reflected its physical and social complexity lower ground level, classrooms and community rooms in the
while, simultaneously, becoming a recognisable entity for local middle two levels and a multi-functional space at the top. The
residents and the city alike. circulation strategy is very similar to the one used in his previ-
In Mazzanti's own design tradition, the building consists ous library, it is compressed between the eastern retaining
of three separate volumes united by a circulation platform at wall and the volumes distributed along the west side. Although
ground and lower-ground levels. As in other projects, Mazzanti it is a continuous space, the width of the covered plaza at
assigned a specific function to each volume. In this case, the lower ground level varies in order to demarcate different areas
southernmost volume contains an auditorium. Although this can and to create transitions between them. The gaps between
be accessed directly from the public deck, its main entrance is the volumes allow for intermittent views of Medellfn as users
from the covered plaza at lower ground level (directly below the move along the space. The roof of the circulation provides a
public deck). The central volume is a multi-level library. It has public space for the community as well as a viewing platform
three double-high reading rooms topped by a multi-purpose to observe the city below. However, the urban connection
room on the seventh floor. This is the highest volume and can between the library and the existing fabric does not appear to

Santo Domingo Library I Medellin, Colombia I 35

 10 20m

SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY. SITE AND GROUND FLOOR PLAN.

SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY. INTERIOR VIEW: REFERENCE COLLECTION . SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY. INTERIOR VIEW: READING ROOM.

36 I 2 Building on the City's Edge

 . ., ... ,'
. ,,'
.
~

/:
,-
,-
r" . It'"
.

SANTO DOMINGO LIBRARY. FIRST FLOOR PLAN.

be fully resolved at the moment. The main pedestrian access de Arquitectura (2008). In addition to the numerous accolades,
from the south and the link with the adjacent street that runs the most remarkable achievement is the success it has had
along the east side of the library appear to be somewhat weak. amongst the local community who speak with pride about their
This could be due to the fact that external works usually get new library and cultural centre. I would like to suggest that, in
the least amount of budgetary attention. This may only be a fact. this is the main architectural value of the building. The
temporary flaw. At present, a new pedestrian bridge is being Santo Domingo Library has accomplished its aim of becoming
built to grant access from the low end (south-west) and the axis a centre of social activity and a strong image, which , along
linking the Metro Cable station with the library is also undergo- with a number of other projects in the area, has transformed a
ing reconstruction . Such changes will prompt the completion of highly violent and virtually inaccessible shanty town into a more
the public space around the library and its connection with the hospitable neighbourhood .
surrounding areas.
Considering its difficult location, and the socio-political Metro Cable I CARACAS, VENEZUELA
ambitions it represents, the Santo Domingo Library is a magnifi- Urban Think Tank
cent building. In fact, Mazzanti won the prize for best building
at the Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura held in Portugal Caracas is another Latin American city that has experienced
in 2008 and later that year received the First Prize at the Bienal an accelerated growth in the past 50 years. Before World War
Panamericana de Arquitectura in Ecuador. Curiously, the project II, Caracas was, in Latin American terms, a relatively small city
only received a honorific mention in the XXI Bienal Colombiana with less than a million inhabitants. Today, however, the popula-

Metro Cable I Caracas, Venezuela I 37

 physical fragmentation but, also, increasing socio-political
isolation. More importantly, the socio-political tension that arose
from such fragmentation materialised itself in disapproval of
the governments' plans and, also, in violence. The buildings
that we have analysed so far in this chapter are the result of a
different approach to the challenges presented by densely oc-
cupied informal settlements. These kind of projects have been
described by many theorists as 'articulators', 6 spaces which
attempt to reconnect fragments of the city that have become
separated and, in that way, facilitate the flow of goods, people,
vehicles and capital. It is, therefore, not accurate to suggest that
these buildings are a purely architectural initiative, they result of
larger political programmes. Their architectural significance lies
in the fact that they focus on the micro-politics of place rather
than the homogenising macro -politics of the modernist plans
METRO CABLE, CARACAS, VENEZUELA, URBAN THINK TANK. VISUALISATION OF implemented throughout the 20 th century.
ONE OF THE STATION BUILDINGS . The work of the Urban Think Tank (U-TT), led by Alfredo
Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner, adheres to this position.
They started their research practice in 1998 and have studied
the development of informal settlements in Caracas for over
ten years. Many of their projects are the result of workshops
attended by residents of the city's slums . They claim to design
in response to people 's needs as well as in response to their
specific conditions of habitation (physical, social and economic).
Usually projects are fully designed before the architects have
signed a contract with the government. In spite of working in an
inverse manner (opposite to the way most architectural prac-
tices operate) in the past five years, Brillembourg and Klumpner
have been able to realise a few of their proposals for Caracas'
poor areas.
METRO CABLE. SECTION OF STATION BUILDING . Their project for the Metro Cable from 2009 shares many
similarities with its counterpart in Medellin. The Caracas
Metro Cable is designed to facilitate access to San Agustin
tion of the metropolitan area exceeds six million people. Like in del Sur, a hilly area that developed on the south bank of the
other Latin American cities , such a dramatic growth caused the river and which is abruptly separated from the city centre
development of numerous informal sett lements in and around by the autopista (highway) that crosses the city from east to
the city's original core. The main characteristic of these settle - west , parallel to the river. At present, there is limited access for
ments was their lack of infrastructure: roads, transport, services vehicles; cars can only reach some areas at the lower end of
(water, power, etc .) as well as a lack of provision for education , the hilly sector. Instead of streets , San Agustin has a complex
recreation, health and social care. network of pedestrian narrow pathways leading to the higher
As mentioned earlier, the first reaction in most Latin parts of the settlement. In spite of its precarious urban condi -
American countries was to eradicate informal settlements tions, San Agustin sits on a privileged location . It borders the
by providing mass social housing in other parts of the city's botanic gardens and the famous campus of the Universidad
periphery. However, provision for education, recreation, health Central designed by Carlos Raul Villanueva, both on the west.
and social care was poor - sometimes inexistent - on the The infamous helicoide , the National Intelligence Headquarters, "
newly expanded peripheries. In fact, such facilities were often lies on the east end of the hill chain. The northern slopes of
situated in the city centres and people needed to travel long San Agustin have magnificent views over Caracas, an urban
distances to reach them. As a result , there was not only great landscape dominated by the presence of the Torres del Parque

38 I 2 Building on the City's Edge

METRO CABLE. STATION BUILDING IN CONTEXT OF EL MAGUITO QUARTER.

Metro Cable I Caracas, Venezuela I 39

VERTICAL GYM, CARACAS, VENEZUELA, URBAN THINK TANK. VISUALISATION OF
THE BUILDING IN CONTEXT.

Central, a 1970s high-rise development which includes two of

the tallest towers in Latin America.
As it does in Medellin, the Caracas Metro Cable will oper-
ate as a branch of the metro reconnecting San Agustin with the
rest of the city through its mass transport system . It is expected
that the Metro Cable will also bring visitors from other parts
of the city to enjoy the new amenities and the views from the
top - as has happened in Medellin and Sao Paulo where similar
elevated transport systems are already in operation . Each sta-
tion of the Caracas Metro Cable will have an additional specific
function . One will be a rehearsal centre for young musicians, VERTICAL GYM . SPORTS FACILITIES IN A DENSE URBAN FABRIC.
part of the successful Fundaci6n del Estado para el Sistema de
Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (State Foundation
for the Venezuelan System of Juvenile and Children Orchestras). the masts , for example, were dug by hand with shovels while
One will be a 'vertical gym' (also a concept advanced by U-TT). the masts themselves were prefabricated and brought to site by
The top station will be surrounded by a viewing platform and helicopter.
ample spaces for leisure and social interaction . This way, an
infrastructural project is transformed into a focus of urban Vertical Gym I CARACAS, VENEZUELA
revitalisation . Urban Think Tank
To achieve this, the gondolas of the cable car have
been calculated to transport cargo (up to 800 kilogrammes Another exemplary project developed by Alfredo Brillembourg
per gondola) during the off-peak hour s. This will allow local and Hubert Klumpner's U-TI is the Vertical Gym, a typology that
residents to bring in goods, construction materials and so on to results from the need to build 'upwards' in dense areas where
their properties in the upper parts of the hill. At the same time, vacant sites are both rare and extremely small. Rearticulating
the Metro Cable will provide opportunities for local residents creative ideas from multiple case studies (i.e. hotel gyms in
to create small industries at home because they will be able to tall buildings and ingenious popular solutions to make football
take their products out of San Agustin for trad ing. An anecdote pitches on steep hills in the barrios of Caracas), Brillembourg
that deserves mention is that, due to the density of the area, the and Klumpner have developed a prototype for a multi-layered
construction process has required a combination of high-tech sports facility that could be built in the hilly slums of Caracas.
construction methods and manual labour. The foundations for Although there is only one vertical gym currently operational,

40 I 2 Building on the City's Edge

 a few more are under construction. Due to the density of the
urban fabric, vertical gyms are not designed to have a striking
exterior image; they are often occluded by the surrounding
buildings. Instead, they are conceived to be experienced from
inside. The quality of interior space, rather than their image , is
essential to produce a sense of comfort that invites people to
stay and play sports. In order to reduce the cost of mainte-
nance , the architects have explored possibilities to make the
gyms sustainable and self-sufficient. The prototypes, designed
to be built in traditional materials such as concrete blocks and
metal trusses, also incorporate wind turbines and photovoltaic
cells as a way to make the project financially and socially viable.
It will be interesting to see how this seemingly appropriate new
typology evolves, once the vertical gyms are operational.
VERTICAL GYM. INTERIOR OF MULTI-SPORTS HALL.

VERTICAL GYM. AXONOMETRIC VIEW OF DIFFERENT LEVELS .

See Hernandez, F. , P. Kellet and L. Allen , Rethinking 4 See, for example, Joao Batista Vilanova Artigas 's ica edited by Hernandez, F., P. Kellett and L. Allen .
the Informal City: Critical Perspectives from Latin School of Architecture at the University of Sao Oxford/New York: Berghahn Books, 2009.
America. Oxford/New York: Berghahn Books, 2009. Paulo, FAU-USP, AffonsoEduardo Reidy's Museum of 7 The helicoide is an extraordinarily large building
Essays in this book discuss extensively the history Modern Art in Rio deJaneiro, or UnaBo Bardi 's Sao which occupies an entire hill in the middle of thecity.
and long-lasting effects of eradication programmes Paulo Art Museum . It was conceived as the largest cultural and com-
in LatinAmerican cities. 5 There arefive libraries currently in operation . Yet, in mercial centre in Venezuela. However, the project
2 See, for example, the plans designed byTown 2008, there was a competition for twomore libraries was never fullycompleted, nor was it fully occupied .
Planning Associates (Jose Luis Sert and Paul Lester expected to be builtin 2009/2010. Today, the building serves as headquarters for the
Wiener) in Rovira, J. Jose LuisSerf: 1902-1983. 6 See Fiori , J. and Z. Brandao, 'Spatial Strategies and National Intelligence Service.
Barceiona: Electa, 2003. Urban Social Policy: Urbanism and Poverty Reduction
3 See Pratt, M. L. , Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro' in Rethinking the
Transculturation. London : Routledge, 1992. Informal City: Critical Perspectives from LatinAmer-

Verti cal Gym I Caracas, Venezuela I 41

PARQUE DEL AGUA, BUCARAMANGA, COLOMBIA, LORENZO CASTRO. VIEW OF WATER COURSES.
 3 PUBLIC SPACES AS CONTACT ZONES

I have used the concept of the contact zone in order to

describe one aspect that appears to be central in the agenda
of many contemporary architects in Latin America: people.
Interestingly, the foregrounding of the social dimension of
architecture, as seen in the projects examined so far, has not
prevented architects from carrying out intriguing formal explora -
tions. On the contrary, careful analysis of the complicated socio-
cultural and political conditions, as well as the difficult economic
environment within which Latin American architects work, has
prompted a multiplicity of themes which, in turn, stimulate a
diversity of formal searches . More important, however, is the
fact that, while formally appealing, the projects examined in the
previous chapter were conceived deliberately in order to be
subverted by users . The three architects (or practices) whose AVENIDA 24 DE MAYO, QUITO , ECUADOR, DIEGO AND LUIS OLEAS. AERIAL VIEW
work was documented are at pains to underline that they AT NIGHT.

inevitably design buildings on the basis of certain prevalent

ideologies - mostly aesthetic but, also, technical, functional, etc.
- which are not necessarily significant or intelligible for the user. and Sunday afternoon feasts, they expect political gatherings to
Hence, by encouraging users to appropriate their buildings, take place and community councils to be held in their buildings.
they expect their very architectural aspirations to be challenged. The case to argue is that, if their optimistic expectations realise
The notion of the contact zone, then, appears to be fitting themselves, then buildings will not be the setting of harmonious
for various reasons. On the one hand, buildings emerge as brief resolution but, on the contrary, a place where socio-political
and transitory points where two separate and distant as- tensions and cultural differences will both become visible and
semblages overlap: architecture and people. More literally, the be enacted. For, as Mary Louise Pratt reminds us, contact
notion of the contact zone suitably illustrates the fact that build- zones are sites of struggle rather than unruffled consensus.
ings provide physical spaces where people meet and interact Like the previous six case studies, the following five
permanently. However, buildings are not expected to resolve, in projects help to make visible an emergent set of aspirations, a
its entirety, the problems of the people they are addressed to. change in attitude towards the practice of architecture amongst
As explained in each of the case studies above, buildings can a young generation of architects in Latin America who are inter-
only resolve directly a limited number of problems, mostly those ested in designing for the people without forgoing their position
associated with their programme, i.e. education, recreation and as designers. Although the five projects studied in this section
transport. However, by providing additional communal spaces, differ greatly in scale, function and location, they coincide in
these buildings create opportunities for people to meet and disproving theories according to which the only way to activate
attend to other matters regarding the community. Not without a public space is through retail. In fact, it could be argued that
certain naivety, the architects included in the previous chapter the five projects consist of removing excessive commerce in
describe enthusiastically that, in addition to football matches order to stimulate alternative ways of social interaction . Equally

I 43
AVENIDA 24 DE MAYO. VIEW OF WESTERN PLAZA WITH THEATRE AND AVENIDA 24 DE MAYO. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE AND ARCHWAY.
BOULEVARD .

refreshing is the fact that none of the proje cts resorts to the JerusalEm) which separated the town from the fields towards
now heavily unde rmined concept of 'culture' as a means to the south of Quito. At the beginning of the 20 th century, the
initiate urban regeneration - itself another questionable concept water stream was covered in order to build the Paseo
amongst contemporary arch itect s. Republicano, a boulevard with a monument commemorating
the country's independence. As the city had expanded beyond
Avenida 24 de Mayo I QUITO, ECUADOR the natural limit of the water stream, the boulevard separated
Diego and Luis Oleas the city centre from the southern suburbs, a situation that be-
came more acute during the 1970s when the traffic of vehicles
It appears to be fitting to begin this study of public spaces as increased . However, in the 1980s, the government proposed
contact zones, by reviewing a project which addresses an issue to sink the viaduct - as they had done with the brook - in order
that has affected many citie s in Latin America, namely to pedestrianise and reconnect the two severed areas. The
the severance caused by the construction of new roads through result was an irregular site approximately 0 .5 kilometre long with
historic areas . Until the 20 th century, the area currently occupied a 38-metre drop between the two extremes and widths that
by Avenida 24 de Mayo was a stream of water (Quebrada vary unevenly from 31 to 95 metres.

AVENIDA 24 DE MAYO. SITE PLAN.

44 I 3 Public Spaces as Contact Zon es

AVENIDA 24 DE MAYO. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE. AVENIDA 24 DE MAYO . PERSPECTIVE OF PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE.

The two main functional areas of the programme, realised in archway), the new pedestrian bridge is light and formally gra-
1990 , were located on opposite ends of the site. On the west, cious; it performs its function without obstructing other activi-
there is an outdoor theatre whose purpose is to consolidate the ties, which may happen simultaneously underneath it.
social character of this part of the site, dictated by the presence The two extremes of the site , the market square and the
of a church and a monument to the heroes of independence. th eatre space, are linked by a boulevard-like elongated spa ce
The theatre is surrounded by a hard landscape that permits which has been fragmented in order to multiply th e possibilities
multiple uses, i.e. festivals, religious processions, political rallies, of use and occupation. Thus , pedestrians can circulate at vari-
concerts or even art exhib itions. The east end was appropriate ous levels, ove r different surfaces or under different elements.
for the creation of a market square . Not only are the proportions A section of the boulevard is reserved for flower vendors - a
of this part of the site similar to other major pub lic spaces in the traditional trade in the centre of Quito - and a narrow fringe is
city centre (Plaza de San Francisco , Plaza de Santo Domingo taken for the slow traffic of vehicles (necessary for residents,
and Plaza de la Independencia), it is also flanked by two major services and emergencies), the rest is liberated for the use of
roads which facilitate the provision of goods and the collection pedestrians. Although the project was never fully completed
of waste. Thus , the space contains a few permanent commer- and has been significantly modified by users.' it is a remarkable
cial outlets and basic infrastructural facilities on two sides (north example of the way in which public spaces can become contact
and south); the remaining space is left vacant for appropriation zones, spaces which (re)connect formerly severed areas of cit-
by vendors. ies while encouraging social, economic and political interaction.
In order visually to ease the abrupt drop at the south-
eastern end of the site , where the viaduct emerges from Plaza de San Victorino I BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
underneath , the architects inserted a pedestrian bridge. Rather Lorenzo Castro
than simply a functional element - it resolves a minimum drop
perpendicular to the boule vard and smoothes the prog ress of San Victorino has been an area densely occupied by street
pedestrians when the market is in ope ration - the bridge plays vendors and knick-knack stores. The area of the current square
important symbolic roles. It is a reinterpretation of the colon ial was prev iously occupied by a permanent ramshackle market.
archway, a very common feature in the histor ic cent re of Quito It was congested , visibly poor, and the circulation of cars and
used to mark thresholds and trans itions between spaces. It also pedestrians was amb iguous. In spite of its strategic location in
humanises the scale of the market square and , more impor- the centre of Bogota, four blocks away from the capitol building
tantly, it appears as a physical link between the two areas of the and the Palacio de Justicia, San Victorino was considered a
city that had been historically disconnected. Indeed, the bridge dangerous zone. However, the area became the focus of an
is the most significant architectural intervention of the project. ambitious plan initiated in the late 1990s whose aim was to
Even though it is the reinterpretation of a historic feature (the recuperate the city centre by providing im proved public spaces,

Avenida 24 de Mayo I Quito , Ecuador I 45

PLAZA DE SAN VICTORINO, BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, LORENZO CASTRO.
AERIAL VIEW.

transport and urban infrastructure. Part of the plan was de-

signed by Rogelio Salmona, Colombia 's most famous architect,
who pedestrianised a long stretch of the Avenida Jimenez.
Other architects produced plans for a number of public spaces
including the Parque Tercer Milenio and the Hospital de San
Jose Square. Thus, San Victorino Square is only the latest of a
series of projects in the area, all of great architectural merit.
Lorenzo Castro 's project of 1998 proposed the partial PLAZA DE SAN VICTORINO. VIEW TOWARDS THE CORDILLERA.
pedestrianisation of three of the four streets which surround
the square. That way, existing retail venues could be integrated
with the square uninterrupted by pass ing vehicles, which now
can only circulate along the western edge of the square, though
at reduced speed; the streets on the east and south sides are
devoted to pedestrians only. Avenida Jimenez, on the northern
edge of the square, remains a viaduct for heavy traffic. Yet, it
was slightly altered in order to integrate a station of the city's
__ _
new mass transport system: Transmilenio. J --~

-..r- :" . . . "': ~_ ..

Remarkable for its simplicity, the square consists of three -- - - ..
clearly demarcated sectors: a mixed or semi-hard area consist -
ing of a concrete-slab floor finish with scattered trees on the
east; a hard area (brick floor finish) in the middle of the square
.'
crossed diagonally by a stream of water; and a slightly elevated
garden area on the west. This spat ial arrangement responds
successfully to the circulation of pedestrians and to the local
environmental conditions. Considering that most historical
and cultural attractions - as well as the city 's administrative )
buildings - are located only three blocks away from the square
towards the east, it is expected that most visitors will arrive from /

2-
/
and depart in that direction . Hence, the concrete floor finish on ~
the semi-hard area enters the square as a continuation of the
pavement directing people in and out of the square . The scat- PLAZA DE SAN VICTORINO. INITIAL SKETCH.

46 I 3 Public Spaces as Contact Zones

 helps to emphasise the three mentioned areas while , at the
same time , generating a multitude of smaller spaces within the
square which are creatively appropriated by users: children like
to play in the water, intellectuals read the paper or play board
games on the benches around the trees, others simply offer
their wares or skateboard along the edges of the low walls.

Parque del Agua I BUCARAMANGA, COLOMBIA

Lorenzo Castro

The sobriety and geometrical simplicity of the San Victorino

Square is a far cry from the Parque del Agua (Water Park) that
Lorenzo Castro designed in 2004 in Bucaramanga. With this
project Castro won the National Architecture Award at the XIX
PLAZA DE SAN VICTORINO. THE SQUARE IS ANIMATED BY A WATER COURSE. Bienal Colombiana de Arquitectura (2004) and the First Prize at
the XIV Bienal Panamericana de Quito the same year.
Bucaramanga is a much smaller city than Bogota with a
tered trees on that sector of the square provide protection from rugged topography and exuberant vegetation. Rather than an
the mild morning sun but permit easy access and circulation urban square , this was a large-scale intervention on the north-
of people. The central area of the square consists of an open eastern edge of the city. The aim of the project was to turn the
space that lends itself to multiple uses, i.e. itinerary markets, city's water treatment plant into a public park where visitors
streets vendors, Judo players or bird feeders - activities which could recreate while learning about the purification processes of
could easily extend to the previously described zone . The green water.
area on the west has larger trees which provide shelter from The project proposes a series of wide pedestrian circula-
the strong afternoon sun. The semi-elevated garden area is tions which articulate the different parts of the treatment plant.
surrounded by an assortment of benches, an attraction that Embedded in the circulation network are small spaces sur-
has proven to be irresistible to the high number of newspaper rounded by water and protected by dense vegetation. These
readers . The square , however, is not flat. A modified topography secluded niches form a separate system of tranquil spaces in

PARQUE DEL AGUA, BUCARAMANGA, COLOMBIA, LORENZO CASTRO. PARQUE DEL AGUA. PERIPHERAL PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION .
MAIN PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION.

Plaza de San Victorino I Bogota, Colombia I 47

 •
PARQUE DEL AGUA. SECONDA RY PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION , BENCH ES AND VEGETATION.

48 I 3 Public Spaces as Con tact Zones

PAROUE DEL AGUA. ARTICULATION OF LEVELS AND MATERIALS. PAROUE DEL AGUA. LAYERING OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS IN ELEVATION .

opposition to the dynamism of the pedestrian paths which are an element that introduces vitality and dynam ism into the park.
animated both by people and by water cascad ing along the Castro masterfully articulates such a variety of materials by lay-
sides . ering them - mostly in elevation . That way, each material reveals
Taking advantage of the rugged topography, Castro its function and contributes to dramatise the perspective - or
proposes an interesting play of distant and close views. Certain the way people understand space through perspective.
areas of the circulation open up to allow passers-by to see
large portions of the park and, in places, the city behind. This
also provides an opportunity for walkers to orientate themselves
in what otherwise could be described as a maze. Other parts
of the park are treated as enclosed and inward-looking corners
where visitors are encouraged to focus on specific details: a
tree, a wall, a cascade.
The material palette of the whole project is vast. Stone
appears to be dominant as both cladding and floor finish.
Concrete is left bare in many parts of the park where it works
as retaining wall, floor finish or simply as furniture. Brick is also
present throughout the park and is used as floor finish and to
make the walls of minor structures (kiosks and service booths) .
Wood is used for benches, tables and fences, and, also, as a
contrasting organic material against a mostly mineral palette.
Needless to say, water was considered as yet another material: PAROUE DEL AGUA. SKETCH OF PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION.

Parque del Agua I Bucaramanga, Colombia I 49

PARDUE DEL AGUA. DIALOGUE BETWEEN NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL MATERIALS. PARDUE DEL AGUA. MAIN PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION AND LOCAL VEGETATION.

As with the previous case , San Victorino Square, Castro refuses however, were disarticulated and contributed to the perceived
to introduce functions that dete rmine use. Instead, in the Water lack of order in the area. Of course, the problem was not only
Park, he proposes a system of paths which connect a series of morphological. The great socio-political instability of the 1980s
non-functional spaces, each different from the other in form and and 1990s had an enormous effect on areas where people from
in materiality. Thus, Castro leaves it up to users to decide how different economic strata met. Insecurity and vandalism drove
they want to appropriate space. Variations of scale, materials the observatory, the botanic gardens and, even, the university
and ambience are his way of multiplying the poss ibilities for to consider relocation . However, a series of urban interventions
people to use the park. Such an approach to design allows the at the end of the 1990s - including a stop of the metro at the
architect to display his or her creative ability without imposing university - prevented the closure of the three institutions and
specific functions on people. There is an interesting act of dis- helped to reconstitute the area."
sociation between form and function and, at the same time , an The Music Rehearsal Centre aligns itself with the Municipal
intention to reinforce the link between architecture and people. Observatory forming a diagonal across the entire block. The
building is elevated above the ground to permit the transit of
Parque de los Deseos I MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA
Felipe Uribe de Bedout

There is great affinity between the public spaces designed by

Lorenzo Castro and the themes that Felipe Uribe de Bedout
/
explores in his 2003 design for the public space that surrounds
the Planetario Municipal Jesus Emilio Ramirez (Municipal
Observatory) and the adjacent Edificio de la Muslca (Music Re-
hearsal Centre) in Medel/fn. In fact , the latter building was also
designed by Uribe de Bedout, and, so, the two interventions are
generally presented together. The site is located in a compli-

--
=. - - - -
-
-
cated area approximately 2 kilometres north of the city centre ,
a contact zone between the historic core and vast areas of
urban sprawl which developed rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s
towards the north of Medel/fn. In addition to the clash between
-- <=>
_ c::::>
different urban morphologies, the site is flanked by three major
public buildings: the campus of the Universidad de Antioquia, PARDUE DE LOS DESEOS, MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA, FELIPE URIBE DE BEDOUT.
the botanic gardens and the Municipal Observatory. The three , VIEW OF EDIFICIO DE LA MUSICA.

50 I 3 Public Spaces as Contact Zones

PAROUE DE LOS DESEOS. GENERAL VIEW OF THE PLAZA WITH EDIFICIO DE LA MUSICA (RIGHT) AND MUNICIPAL OBSERVATORY (LEFT) .

people beneath it. In the upper levels, the building provides J. c< .,,) ••~ .~
spaces for children and young musicians to rehearse. The
ground level was conceived as a covered square with a series
:j ~
of food stalls that serve mainly university students and nearby
office workers . These commercial outlets help to guarantee
activity in the square throughout the day.
The large windowless southern facade of the observatory
was transformed into a screen , while the northern facade of the
music building was designed as a 'projection booth' which dou-
bles as a stage . That way, images and videos can be projected
upon the external wall of the observatory or, alternatively, musi- , .
cians can perform to people on the plaza, events which happen
regularly throughout the year. Thus, the open plaza between

1]
,J ,I
!- -'o

PAROUE DE LOS DESEOS. VIEW OF EDIFICIO DE LA MUSICA PAROUE DE LOS DESEOS. GENERAL SITE PLAN.
AND FOUNTAIN.

Parque de los Deseos I Medellin, Colombia I 51

PAROUE DE LOS DESEOS. CINEMA PROJECTION FROM THE EDIFICIO DE LA PAROUE DE LOS DESEOS . ROTATING BEDS/BENCHES ON THE PLAZA.
MUSICA WITH PEOPLE SITTING ON THE PLAZA.

the tw o buildings is treated as a terrain that allows people to that is frequently visited by couples of students. The northern-
sit, or lay, and enjoy the shows. Indeed the name of the project, most tip has turned into a social hub due to the metro station
Parque de los Deseos, derives from the possibility to lie on the and the proximity of other public facilities such as the botanic
ground at night to observe the stars and make wishes. gardens and the Parque Explora.>The Parque de los Deseos
The diagonal alignment of buildings creates a series of is furnished with creatively designed bed/benches, table/
triangular spaces, each of which has different characteristics. lamp -posts and other devices which fulfil multiple functions and
There is a shallow reflecting pond on the north-eastern side invite users to appropriate them. In sum , the main idea behind
which invites people to take their shoes off and walk in the this architectural intervention is that people are the signifiers of
water. The south-western corner offers a more secluded space public space .

PAROUE DE LOS DESEOS. LONGITUDINAL SECTION ALONG THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE PLAZA.

I --n
. '
-,.,
<

~I' I
- -'"';

PAROUE DE LOS DESEOS. DETAILED SECTION OF PLAZA ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE EDIFICIO DE LA MUSICA.

52 I 3 Public Spaces as Contact Zones

PASEO COSTA, ANFITEATRO COSTA, BUENOS AIRES , ARGENTINA, CLAUDIO VEKSTEIN. OUTDOOR THEATRE STAGE AND ACOUSTIC SHELL.

Paseo Costa I BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA of endem ic vegetation. Both the beaches and the vegetation
Claudio Vekstein prevent the river bank from eroding, specially during the rainy
season floods.
In slightly similar conditions, the Argentine architect Claudio A series of pedestrian circulations connect the linear
Vekstein took the challenge of designing a longitudinal park promenade on the west edge of the park with the river shore.
along the shore of the River Plate in Buenos Aires, realised in The promenade - which has differentiated lanes for vehicles,
2000. The municipality had proposed to recuperate a stretch bicycles and pedestrians - contains services and public
of the river's edge which had fallen into disrepair and to regain facilities such as restaurants , cafes, pub lic toilets and parking
18 hectares of land from the river for recreational purposes. The for vehicles , most of which were designed by Vekstein . In turn ,
site required architects to deal with two heavily polluted streams pedestrian paths help to negotiate the complex arrangement of
of water which flow into the River Plate at the southern end of varying levels between terraces. However, this causes the paths
the proposed park . visually to disappear in the changing topography. To correct th is
Vekstein's proposal for stages three and four of the effect, Vekstein designed a lamp post which is used to light all
project' consisted of a series of terraces which start at the pedestrian circulations in the park. Ambiguously, to the viewer,
north end and descend towards the south where an open-air the lamp posts seem to emerge out of the ground so that only
theatre is built on a peninsula-like area formed at the point the posts can be seen but not the paths . Only at night, when
where the two polluted water streams reach the river. In orde r they glow, do the lamp posts fully serve their purpose, revealing
to negotiate the varying levels between the terraces, which the position of the paths, and, also, their angular shape.
descend from west to east (toward the river), and from north to In keeping with the geometry of the lamp post , or vice versa,
south (in the same direction as the river flows), Vekstein created pathways are not perpendicular to the promenade. Instead,
a series of artific ial beaches - made of refined debris produced they are rotated in different angles directing the views of
during the construction of the park and taken also from other passers -by towards the tidal River Plate which , in this part of
nearby construction sites - which are separated by patches Buenos Aires, is approximately 45 kilometres wide. Hence, as

Paseo Costa I Buenos Aires, Argentina I 53

Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 PORTSMOUTH"
to the next number of

Harper's Round Table

Five Cents a Copy. Two Dollars a Year.

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, N. Y.

EARN A TRICYCLE.
We wish to introduce our Teas. Sell 30 lbs. and we will give you a Fairy
Tricycle; sell 25 lbs. for a Solid Silver Watch and Chain; 50 lbs. for a Gold
Watch and Chain; 75 lbs. for a Bicycle; 10 lbs. for a Gold Ring. Write for
catalog and order sheet Dept. I

W. G. BAKER,

Springfield, Mass.
 HARPER'S NEW CATALOGUE
Thoroughly revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any
address on receipt of ten cents.

Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered

by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of
our club who can make helpful suggestions.

The prize-winners in the annual photographic competitions are as follows:

SENIOR PRIZE-WINNERS.

Figure Studies.
First Prize, $20—Mrs. Claud Gatch, Salem, Ore. Second Prize, $15—Mrs.
Sara W. Holm, 710 Farwell St., Eau Claire, Wis.

FIRST PRIZE, SENIOR COMPETITION, FIGURE

STUDIES.

By Mrs. Claud Gatch, Salem, Oregon.

SECOND PRIZE, SENIOR COMPETITION, FIGURE
STUDIES.

By Mrs. Sara W. Holm, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Landscapes.

First Prize, $15—Mr. Roy Pike, Lake City, Minn. Second Prize, $10—Mrs.
George E. Conn, Box 1, Green Lake, Washington.

JUNIOR PRIZE-WINNERS.

Figure Studies.

First Prize, $20—Samuel J. Castner, 3729 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Second Prize, $10—Edmund C. Stone, Baird, Shasta Co., Cal. Third Prize,
$5—Paul G. Warren, Wauwatosa, Wis.

Landscapes.

First Prize, $12—Anton H. Schefer, 40 West Thirty-seventh St., New York

city, N. Y. Second Prize, $8—Lesley Ashburner, Media, Pa. Third Prize, $5
 —Howard Cox, 531 Hemlock St., Helena, Mont.

Marines.

First Prize, $12—William D. Bowers, 50 Pleasant St., Hartford, Conn.

Second Prize, $8—Harry Chase, 175 Summer St., Nahant, Mass. Third
Prize, $5—Susie Brown, Box 306, Keyport, N. J.

HONORABLE MENTION.
Myron Eames Davis, Worcester, Mass.; Frederick C. Kelly, Xenia, O.;
William R. Durgin, Chicago, Ill.; Kenneth Towner, Asbury Park, N. J.;
Manfred Goldschmidt, New York city; Frederick G. Clapp, South Boston,
Mass.; Doar Saunders, Indianapolis, Ind.; William Selbie, Deadwood,
S. D.; William C. Davids, Rutherford, N. J.; Louise McLean, St Paul,
Minn.; Earl Raiguel, Philadelphia, Pa.; Clarence Pratt, 135 Hodge Ave.,
Buffalo, N. Y.; Willis H. Kerr, Bellevue, Kan.; Bert A. Porter, Brooklyn,
N. Y.; Homer C. Gaskins, Baltimore, Md.; W. Brian Hooker, Farmington,
Mass.; Walter Raudebush, Lebanon, N. Y.; Foster Hartwell, Lansingburg,
N. Y.; Bert Atkinson, Tilton, N. H.; John W. Horr, Worcester, Mass.;
Lothair Kohnstam, New York city; Arthur S. Dudley, West Salem, Wis.;
Charles Taber, Auburn, N. Y.; M. W. Nourse, Chicago, Ill.; William S.
Thomas, Detroit, Mich.; William O. Wichman, Great Barrington, Mass.;
Harry R. Patty, Los Angeles, Cal.; Charles J. Bates, Highwood, N. J.;
Arthur Inkersley, San Francisco, Cal.; Louisa Pearce, Moreno, Cal.

The pictures sent in for the annual competition show a decided advance both
in subject and finish over the early efforts of our Camera Club, proving that
the hints given from time to time in our club column on the making of artistic
pictures are read and acted upon.
In the Junior competition the first prize for figure studies was awarded to a
picture entitled "Two Little Neapolitans." Another picture of almost equal
merit entitled, "A Tarantula Dancer of Sorrento, Italy," was sent by the same
artist. "Setting Sail" was the title of the second-prize figure study, and was a
picture of two children in an old punt which was lying half in and half out of
the water, one small child tugging at the big oar, while the larger one stood in
the bow of the boat hoisting a stick on which was tied a rag for a sail. The
third prize was given to a picture of a small boy perched on a stump. This
picture had no title.
Some of the entries of landscape studies were very good. The first prize was
given to a picture entitled "In the Orchard"; the second to a picture called
"Along Lobster Lane"; and the third prize to a picture called "Sunset in the
Rockies." This title did not fit the picture, as there was no sunset effect, and
when the picture is reproduced it will appear under the title "Now comes still
Evening On."
"Surf at Rockaway" won the first prize in marine studies. The whole picture—
the cloud effect, the breakers on the beach, and the point of view from which
the picture was made—is very similar to the celebrated etching entitled "The
Surf-Tormented Shore," by Amos Sangster. William D. Bowers, who sent this
picture, sent also another marine called "On Long Island Sound," but which
might more appropriately be called "Scudding for Home," for it is a picture of
a yacht flying along with all sails set. The second prize was awarded to a
picture of the sea and cliffs at Nahant, while the third was given to a picture
of a yacht drifting along with the tide.
In the Senior competition the first prize for figure studies was a picture
illustrating Eugene Field's poem entitled "Shuffle-Shoon and Amber-Locks,"
the first verse of which is as follows:
Shuffle-Shoon and Amber-
Locks
Sit together building blocks.
Shuffle-Shoon is old and gray,
Amber-Locks a little child,
Yet, together at their play,
Youth and Age are
reconciled.
The posing of the figures and the expression on the faces of "Shuffle-Shoon
and Amber-Locks" show that both artist and subjects have caught the very
spirit of the poem. The second-prize picture is a genre study made out-of-
doors just at sunset. A woman with two pails suspended from a yoke over
her shoulders is crossing a rough bridge, while just behind her trudges a little
tow-headed urchin tugging a pail. The lighting in this picture is excellent, and
the whole picture most artistic.
The pictures which won prizes in the landscape competition for seniors were
both of snow scenes, and were far above the average photographs of snow
scenery, the snow looking like real snow and not like masses of white chalk.
The members of the club are to be congratulated on their fine pictures.
During the next few weeks all of the prize pictures will be printed in the
Round Table. All photographs save the prize ones have been mailed to their
owners.

Murray Marble, 55 Pearl St., Worcester, Mass.; Hickox Utley, 517 South
Walnut St., Springfield, Ill.; Bertram R. White, 616 Lexington Ave., New
York city; William S. Johnson, 263 School St., Athol, Mass.; Frederic Lyte
Harding, 5940 Overlook Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.; Herbert H. Pease, 28 Court
St., New Britain, Conn.; James M. Kimball, 16 Montague St., Providence,
R. I.—wish to become members of the Camera Club.
E. L. Dedham asks why some negatives are so sticky that the solio-paper
sticks to them and ruins them; and if the glycerine used for films must
be one special kind. Any pure glycerine will answer for soaking the films
to prevent them from curling. One-half ounce of glycerine to sixteen
ounces of water is the proportion for the glycerine bath.
CRAWFORD
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Crawford quality. Guaranteed for one year. Small sizes, $45, $40, $35;
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 JOSEPH GILLOTT'S
STEEL PENS.
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and the chicago exposition award.

THE MOST PERFECT OF PENS.

HOOPING-COUGH
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Proprietors, W. Edward & Son, Queen Victoria St., London, England. All
Druggists.

E. Fougera & Co., 30 North William St., N. Y.

 SOME NEW FICTION

THE VOYAGE OF THE RATTLETRAP

By Hayden Carruth, Author of "The Adventures of Jones." Illustrated by H. M.
Wilder. 16mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.

This is the story of three boy chums and of their cruise across the
Dakotas in a "prairie-schooner." Mr. Carruth has a genial humor in the
telling of ordinary happenings that is irresistible, and he even manages
to impart a great deal of useful information as he goes along. The author
tells us very pleasantly some things about this big slice of Uncle Sam's
territory.

THE LAST RECRUIT OF CLARE'S

Being Passages from the Memoirs of Anthony Dillon, Chevalier of St. Louis,
and Late Colonel of Clare's Regiment in the Service of France. By S. R.
Keightley, Author of "The Crimson Sign," "The Cavaliers," etc. With 4
Illustrations. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.

This is a romance not of love, but of daring adventure, and so well

worked as to be profoundly interesting.—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Cleverly told, and enchain the reader's attention immediately, holding
him captive to the last page.—Brooklyn Standard-Union.
A series of vivid pictures of the life of a soldier who was also a
gentleman.—N. Y. Press.

IN THE OLD HERRICK HOUSE

And Other Stories. By Ellen Douglas Deland, Author of "Oakleigh." Illustrated.
Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.
 Made up of tales of girl life, very earnest, pure, and interesting.—Boston
Traveller.
Delightful in their naturalness.... These amusing and simply-told little
stories.—Philadelphia Bulletin.
Will especially interest girl readers. They are pure, fresh, and
wholesome.—Chicago Inter-Ocean.

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York

The Weight of those Four Weights.

The man who dropped a 40-pound article and broke it into 4 scale-weights
excited the Table's curiosity. It was a singular fall. The 4 pieces weighed 1, 3,
9, and 27 pounds respectively. To get 2 pounds he puts the 3-pound weight
on one side, and the 1-pound one on the other, and has a 2-pound balance
on the 3-pound side. If he has occasion to weigh 35 pounds he puts the 27-
pound weight and the 9-pound weight on one side, and the 1-pound weight
on the other. We have tested these and a few other weights. Our
correspondent says any number of pounds from 1 to 40 can be weighed with
these weights.

From a Bright British Lad.

In my last letter I told you about some of the sights of India, where I
lived till I was twelve; but now that I am in England, I will tell you
something about the town in which I live. Bedford has over 40,000
inhabitants, and is a very clean town. There is a beautifully laid out park
containing forty acres, in which there is a pretty lake with two shrub-
covered islands on which swans and ducks make their nests.
 It is intersected with paths and carriage-drives, and is resorted to by
cyclists of both sexes. There are two very fine statues in Bedford. One is
that of John Bunyan, who was born not far from this town, at a place
called Elstow, where may be seen the moot-house or church where he
used to preach, and also the remains of his house. In a church named
after John Bunyan there is an arm-chair supposed to have belonged to
him.
The other statue is that of John Howard, the great philanthropist. It was
erected two years ago. The River Ouse runs through this town. In
summer it is alive with boats and steam-launches. I am an active
collector of stamps, and would like to exchange some Indian and other
stamps for those of other countries, with any boy or girl who has any to
exchange. I will also exchange crests, coins, and curios for stamps. If
any boy or girl would care to correspond about India or England, I would
answer every letter, as I love letter-writing. I go to the Bedford Modern
School, in which are over 600 boys. Your faithful reader,

E
rnest C. Groves.
B
elhaven, 33 Foster-Hill Road, Bedford.

From Among Mississippi Pines.

I was interested in your article on "Working a Turpentine Orchard,"
because I live in the Long Leaf Yellow Pine region, with turpentine
orchards all about us. All summer we see wagons loaded with "crude"
passing. If the Table would like to hear more about the process of
manufacturing spirits of turpentine and resin, I will write again.

H
erbert Shear.
C
hicora, Miss.
Please tell us about the process.
 The World of Amateur Journals.
The Jester of recent date has some clever pictures bringing an old joke up to
the bicycle age. A man elopes with the daughter, the steed being not saddle-
horses as of old, but a tandem bicycle. The father, from an upper window
does not shoot or holler, or get down and ride after the fleeing couple on his
fastest horse. Instead he fires some tacks out of his gun. The tires are
punctured, and the daughter returns humiliated.
The Corresponding Chapter, of which Charles Turnbull, of Hartford, Conn., is
president, Arthur F. Kraus is vice-president, and Edward F. Daas, 1717 Cherry
Street, Milwaukee, Wis., is secretary and treasurer, expects soon to have an
official newspaper organ. The Chapter is prospering. It wants members,
especially in foreign countries.
F. E. Maynard, 420 Angell Street, Providence, R. I., wants to receive sample
copies of amateur papers.
Homer C. Bright, treasurer of the Columbine Chapter of Denver, Col., sends
word to the Table that the old Columbine is doing well after a reorganization,
and has started the publication of the Columbine Jester, which is neat and
bright. Its editor is Homer C. Bright, and his address is 314 West Fourth
Avenue. He asks us some questions about copyright, and whether he may
take anything out of other papers, provided he gives credit. In answer to the
first: It is scarcely necessary to copyright an amateur paper. The cost is $1
each issue. Ask the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C., for printed
instructions. In reply to the question about clipping items: Yes, take extracts
from anything you find in any other publication, unless there is a notice
accompanying the article expressly forbidding it. You would not, however,
take the entire article without first getting consent from the publisher. This
you can, in the case of an amateur paper, probably secure for the asking.
Charles P. Follansbee, 118 South Elliott Place, Brooklyn, N. Y., desires to
receive sample copies of amateur papers. Henry Feldson asks if the Table
thinks autograph-collecting or amateur journalism the better hobby. It is
impossible to answer such a question in favor of one or the other. Both afford
instruction, and few hobbies ought to be ridden that do not do that much for
the rider. The only advice is, ride the one you take the most interest in.
Frances Bragdon, 1709 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, Ill., also desires sample
copies of amateur papers.
 Who Can Enlighten Us?
I enclose a sketch of a button. Can you tell me what it is? The star is
blue, set in a little from the white enamelled background. The belt is
silver, raised up above the white background. I have quite a large
collection of buttons, and would like to hear from other button collectors
on the subject of exchanging specimens.

D
. W. Hardin.
1
003 Court Street, Saginaw, Mich.
The drawing sent shows a button 5/8 inch across, with a belt surrounding a
star. The belt is fastened with a buckle.

Do You Like a Good Problem?

Here is a good mathematical question, perhaps not wholly new, but handy to
have when asked to tell, off hand, something to keep up the interest and
occupy the attention of the company. Frank Smith, of Cumberland, Md., says
he had a good time working it out, and he hopes others will enjoy it as much.
A, B, and C went to market to sell eggs. A took ten dozen, B thirty dozen,
and C fifty dozen, B and C selling, according to agreement, at the same price
that A sells his. Each sells all his eggs, and each brings home $2.75. What
were the eggs sold at per dozen?

A Fifteen Problem.
Is there a school in the country in which scholars never play "tic, tac, toe"? If
so, will not some one who attends it write the Table? It would be interesting
to know if the simple game is not universal. Charles Kingenberg suggests the
making of the double crossed lines as in the game named. Then place the
figures one to nine, one in a place, and using all places and figures, so that
horizontally, perpendicularly, and diagonally in both ways, the sum is fifteen.

Tact of Disraeli.
A new book has just been published in which are some fresh stories about
Disraeli the younger. This man was Prime Minister of England, and came later
to be Earl of Beaconsfield. Beginning life under many adverse circumstances,
and having racial prejudice against him, he was able not only to attain the
highest honor in the kingdom open to a man not of royal blood, but to do for
his sovereign services second to no Prime Minister who ever served a British
queen or king.
To deal with a sovereign and a woman requires tact. Lord Beaconsfield
possessed it. To a friend he said one day: "I never contradict. I never deny.
But I sometimes forget." He had many enemies, and yet he triumphed over
nearly all of them. "I never trouble to be avenged," he said. "When a man
injures me I put his name on a slip of paper and lock it in a drawer. It is
marvellous how men I have thus labelled have the knack of disappearing."

This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin

collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on
these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor
Stamp Department.
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