Creativity Unleashed!

A brief look at the recent architecture of Latin America shows an amazing burst of creativity. A short while ago most of this continent was in a chokehold of authoritarian regimes or drug lords, which put all sorts of restraints on progress.  I believe that the universe continually expands to bigger and greater things, and in the same way mankind’s achievements become more and more outstanding.  Sometimes, however, this momentum is impeded for a time, and pressure builds up much like a natural river blocked by sediment and debris.  When the tension finally blows the dam, its energy is released in an overpowering deluge.

We see this playing out in history.  After their release from the tyranny of Nazism, the creativity of German architects was unleashed, pushing far beyond the orthodoxies of canonical pre-war Modernism.  Stamps issued in 1997 to commemorate great post-war architecture showcase pieces such as the Berlin Philharmonic, where Hans Scharoun assembled the audience around the orchestra; Gottfried Böhm's pilgrimage church in Neviges that took architecture of sacred places to a new level; Berlin’s New National Gallery, which marked Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's accomplishment in fusing Modernism with Classicism, and finally, Frei Otto's German pavilion at the Expo 1967 in Montreal, Canada, which demonstrated his attempt to adapt architectural structures to natural principles, thereby providing a dress-rehearsal for the Olympic roof structure in Munich 1972.

Something similar happened after Portugal and Spain overcame their authoritarian regimes in the mid 1970s. An overwhelming rise of creativity reinvigorated European architecture and urbanism, previously in an advanced state of decay. I remember being enthused by the fresh vigour emanating from buildings of Rafael Moneo, Alvaro Siza, and Alberto Souto de Moura.  For me there were two epiphanies in these countries’ history of architectural development; first, the re-emergence of Barcelona in the 1990s with its multitude of urban renewal projects at all scales, crisply architectural, and secondly the School of Porto.  Both hotspots displayed a locally-based, contemporary rationalism, unspoiled by the failure of Modernism in northern Europe.

And now we see the same liberation in Latin America, which in the process of breaking free from the dictatorships of sinister military governments and the captivity of drug barons. Instead we see adventurous new architecture evolving, inviting people to engage in the rebirth of civic life. We can see the young generation challenging the heavily-compromised status quo, as Chile students are currently demonstrating (more information here).  What I find most impressive is how the public spaces are leading the way to a new concept of society.  We find these zones of public expression either in the context of urban renewal or within educational and recreational complexes.

The city of Medellín, Colombia, once had the world’s highest crime rates.  Since the death of the drug lord Pablo Escobar and the disarmament of urban militias, public life is recovering.  The Hispanic love affair with the communal stroll, formerly expressed by Barcelona’s Las Ramblas in the 19th century, now re-emerges in places such as the Orquidearum of Medellín (JPRCR Arquitectos/plan:b arquitectura)  The Sports Coliseum for the IV South American games in the same city (Mazzanti Arquitectos/Plan:b arquitectura), creates a playful interpretation of the surrounding hilly landscape with its monumental roof trusses.

Carefully crafted volumes made of cheap materials contribute to an attentively scaled, humane social infrastructure even in poorer areas like Las Mercedes School also in Medellín (Juan Manuel Peláez-Friedel). A major aspect of the works seems to be the human scale.  On the occasions when buildings become part of a community identity, they can have monumental shapes, recognisable from afar; we see this in the España Library (Mazzanti Arquitectos) that towers above a shanty town.  These examples remind us that architectural interventions can be powerful tools to evoke civic pride.

I have rarely seen such respect for the landscape than shown in the recent architecture of Latin America.  The Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez Graduate Centre (Jose Cruz Ovalle) in Peñalolén, Chile, breaks the bulk of the building up into almost fluidly wound, superimposed ‘streams’, recalling the eroded Andes around it.  The Museum of Fine Arts in Cordoba, Argentina, (GGMPU Architects) displays a refined ‘dance’ with the trees and open spaces of an urban park.  On a small scale the Cururo house (Teresa Moller Asociados/FG Arquitectos) in Huentelauquén, Chile, is a perfect example of how to incorporate a spacious house into a pristine landscape.  In this case the collaboration of Landscape Architect (Moller) and FG Architects paid off in a building that is as archaic as it is contemporary; an intrinsic part of the land. The house was made to disappear, buried into a windswept plateau facing the Pacific coast.  If only this sensitivity to nature was the prevailing approach here in our own beautiful country!

In Mexico, the influence of the pre-Columbian legacy is apparent, for example in the Museum of Contemporary Art (Teodoro González de Leon) and Alberto Kalach’s Jose Vasconcelos Library (both buildings in Mexico City), with reference to bold  geometric shapes of ancient simplicity.  The School of Plastic Arts in Oaxaca (Rocha, Carrillo, Facio, Carrillo) has walls made of solid concrete cubes sourced from local aggregate, producing texture and colour that echo its setting.

Brazilian architecture is indebted to the legacy of Modernism and the hegemony of the old masters Paulo Mendes de Rocha and Oscar Niemeyer; the latter dominated the country's architecture since the 1930s. However, the evolving young talents build on the legacy by incorporating ecological aspects into their buildings.  Layered facades blur the boundaries between buildings and environment. The use of natural materials – often recycled – enrich the tactility of the buildings.

Interestingly the adventurous freshness of South American creativity has made an impression online as well. The blogs 'plataforma urbana' and 'plataforma arquitectura', founded by the Chilean architects David Basulto and David Assael, broke the mould by replacing well-established curators with engaged architectural geeks.  It became the most popular architecture website in the Spanish speaking world within two years. They repeated their success with New York based blog ‘ArchDaily’ on a global scale. These examples emphasise the potential in handing tools to young people instead of forcing them into obsolete approaches.

I'm fascinated by the new life in Latin America. I can see a powerful stream of creativity breaking free from meaningless concepts of bygone times.  The culture has been given new life, expression, and expansion.  This is a picture of hope; that even the grim, stifling power of dictatorships are doomed to finally surrender to man’s inherent, unstoppable creativity.

For further reading: Harvard Design Magazine 34 'Architectures of Latin America 2011'

Images taken from: Harvard Design Magazine 34; AV Monografias 138 ‘Latin America 2010’; AV Proyectos 001 2004; Martorell, Bohigas, Mackey, Puigdomenech, Barcelona 1992 The Olympic Village, Gustavo Gili, Barcelona 1991; Stamps from Deutsche Bundespost 1997