HAA 290m

Constructing Latin America
Patricio Del Real
Thursday, 1-3pm
In the 20th Century, architects, designers and urban planners in Latin America realized and projected visions of modernity through buildings and ideas that established the canonic works of modern architecture in the region. How do these buildings, forms and ideas engage the intellectual milieu produced by artists, writers and intellectuals in Latin America? What is the relationship between the notion of mestizaje debated by José Vasconcelos and Manuel Gámio, and Mexico’s University City? How did the idea of acomodação advanced by Gilberto Freyre impact the forms of Brazilian modernism? In this seminar, we will explore how architecture in Mexico and Brazil was mobilized to imagine and construct modern nations. We will engage in a close analysis of key works of architecture and examine the interactions between ideas and forms, texts and buildings, writers and architects. Our aim is to examine architecture in its expanded field and to study the multiple sites and strategies of constructing and imagining Latin America.